France

PARIS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The epidemic situation in France was "particularly fragile" as those more infectious variants of the coronavirus circulate faster, but there was no need for the moment to impose a new nationwide lockdown, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday.

With daily averages of 20,000 new infection cases, 1,600 hospital admissions and 320 deaths, "the situation remains worrying," Castex warned.

STRASBOURG, January 28. /TASS/: Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted on Thursday in favor of extending the Russian delegation’s rights in the organization, a TASS correspondent reported.

A total of 107 members voted yes, 36 were against and 24 more abstained.

PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing’s 737 MAX airliner is safe to return to service in Europe, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said on Wednesday, lifting a 22-month flight ban after two crashes of the jet which caused 346 deaths.

“We have every confidence that the aircraft is safe, which is the precondition for giving our approval. But we will continue to monitor 737 MAX operations closely as the aircraft resumes service,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said.

PARIS, Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Almost half a million people have died in natural disasters linked to extreme weather events in the last 20 years, according to a new assessment of the direct threat posed to humanity by climate change.

The mortality burden of climate-related catastrophes such as storms, flooding and heatwaves is overwhelmingly borne by developing countries.

25 Jan 2021; MEMO: A special commission in the French National Assembly approved the "charter of republican values" which was announced earlier by the nation's president as the fight against Islamist separatism, Anadolu reports.

The bill was introduced Oct. 2 by Emmanuel Macron to fight so-called "Islamist separatism."

PARIS (AP) — After increasingly strained U.S.-France relations under Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Sunday to work closely together to fight the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.

Their first conversation since Biden’s inauguration aimed at mending frayed ties between the historic allies. Biden “stressed his commitment to bolstering the transatlantic relationship” via NATO and the EU. Macron pledged his “determination to work at the side of the U.S.”

PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing’s 737 MAX airliner will receive final clearance to resume flying in Europe next week, the head of the EU’s air safety watchdog said on Tuesday.

The EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published a draft airworthiness directive in November and has made some largely presentational changes after public consultations, Executive Director Patrick Ky said in an online media briefing.

PARIS (Reuters) - The European Union and the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should suspend a trade dispute to give themselves time to find common ground, France’s foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday.

“The issue that’s poisoning everyone is that of the price escalation and taxes on steel, digital technology, Airbus and more particularly our wine sector,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview.

PARIS (Reuters) - Three European powers on Saturday warned Iran against starting work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, saying it contravened the 2015 nuclear deal and stressing that it had no civilian use but serious military implications.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Tehran said on Wednesday that Iran had started the work, in the latest breach of its nuclear deal with six major powers as the country presses for a lifting of U.S. sanctions.

PARIS (Reuters) - Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire expressed France’s stiff opposition to a possible near-$20 billion takeover of Carrefour by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard on Friday, driving the French retailer’s shares down by 4.5%.

“Food security is strategic for our country so that’s why we don’t sell a big French retailer,” Le Maire told BFM TV. “My answer is extremely clear: we are not in favour of the deal. The no is polite but it’s a clear and final no,” he said.