France

13 Aug 2020; MEMO: France said Wednesday that it will temporarily increase its military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, Anadolu reports.

President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the latest situation in the region, Macron’s office said in a statement.

BONDY, France (AP) — Festering beneath France’s promise of guaranteed health care for all lie deep disparities across economic and racial lines — differences laid painfully bare by the COVID-19 crisis.

Two recent studies have documented these gaps, but government officials haven’t issued new proposals in response. However, as France records a new uptick in virus cases, a health advocacy group called Banlieues Santé — Suburbs Health — is trying to help, offering medical care and guidance in poor and migrant-heavy suburbs and neighborhoods.

PARIS (AP) — As Lebanese rescuers counted the dead and combed rubble for signs of life a day after a huge explosion shattered swaths of Beirut, nations near and far pledged Wednesday that the country, already trapped in a deep economic crisis, would not be left alone.

The explosion at the capital’s port that killed at least 135 and injured thousands, with shock waves smashing deep into the city, stunned the world. From Australia to Indonesia to Europe and the United States, countries readied to send in aid and search teams.

PARIS (Reuters) - A second wave of the coronavirus epidemic is “highly likely” to hit France in the autumn or winter, the government’s top scientific body warned on Tuesday, as authorities seek to contain an increase in new cases over the past two weeks.

After strict lockdown measures pushed down infection rates, many European countries are now watching numbers creep back up, a consequence of easing curbs to try to limit economic damage and greater social mixing in the holiday season.

PARIS, Aug 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of coronavirus cases recorded worldwide has passed 18 million, according to tally from official sources at 2240 GMT Sunday.

At least 18,011,763 cases have now been registered as the pandemic’s rate of infection continues to accelerate. A million more cases have been detected in just the last four days.

More than half of the world’s cases have been recorded in the United States and in Latin America and the Caribbean region.

LILLE, France (Reuters) - Prime Minister Jean Castex urged France on Monday to remain as vigilant as possible against COVID-19, which has shown signs of a resurgence in the country, as the virus was “not on holiday”.

“We must not let our guard down,” Castex told reporters in Lille, where masks are now compulsory in many of the northern city’s pedestrian areas and parks.

“The virus is not on holiday, and neither are we,” he said, adding it was vital that France avoided another nationwide shutdown.

PARIS, Aug 1 (NNN-XINHUA) – French weather agency, Meteo France, yesterday put 29 regions, including Ile-de-France — the great Paris region, under orange alert on heatwave till this morning.

“A very intense heat peak is currently affecting the country…Temperatures broke records yesterday notably in the south-west with up to 41.9 degrees Celsius in Socoa,” the national meteorological service said.

“Today, temperatures have cooled significantly on the Atlantic coast, but will reach very high values over most of the country,” it added.

PARIS (Reuters) - France’s economic slump may not be quite as bad as forecast and activity in the euro zone’s second biggest economy could return to pre-crisis levels in early 2022, the central bank governor has said.

Francois Villeroy de Galhau told Paris Match magazine that President Emmanuel Macron’s government must spend wisely to rebuild trust in the economy. Household and private sector confidence were the key to a relatively swift recovery, he said.

PARIS (AP) — European plane maker Airbus saw its deliveries halve during the first six months of the year as travel collapsed during the pandemic and airlines scrounged for cash.

The company, based in France, said Thursday that its deliveries fell almost 50% to 196, with revenue sliding almost 40% to 18.9 billion euros.

It said it was further scaling back production of its A350 long-haul jet, from six a month to five, after trimming from nine a month in April.

PARIS (AP) — As the sun went down, their partying got into full flow, with an unwanted guest: the coronavirus.

An outbreak among 18- to 25-year-olds at a seaside resort on the Brittany coast is crystallizing fears that the virus is flaring again in France, on the back of vacationers throwing COVID-19 caution to the summer winds.