France

PARIS (Reuters) - France accelerated plans on Thursday to make it compulsory to wear protective face masks in enclosed public spaces because of concerns about COVID-19, and the Mayenne region made it obligatory immediately in several places.

President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday mask-wearing would be mandatory in places such as shops from Aug. 1 because of signs the new coronavirus was “coming back a bit”.

PARIS (Reuters) - Back at the start of France’s COVID-19 crisis in February, epidemiologist Cyrille Delpierre encountered a problem when trying to find out what groups of people were falling sick.

While other nations had data showing a worryingly disproportionate infection rate among ethnic minorities, France had no such information due to a long-standing taboo on compiling citizens’ race intended to prevent discrimination.

CALAIS, July 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The interior ministers of France and Britain signed an agreement creating a new joint police intelligence unit to combat migrant traffickers and reduce the “unsustainable” numbers crossing the Channel illegally.

France’s new Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and his British counterpart Priti Patel met on Sunday in Calais in northern France, a region where migrants have traditionally gathered in a bid to find a way to get to Britain.

BAYONNE, France (AP) — The wife of a French bus driver who was beaten to death after he asked four passengers to wear face masks aboard his vehicle called Saturday for “exemplary punishment” for his killers.

The assault on Philippe Monguillot has scandalized France. President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday dispatched the interior minister to meet the driver’s widow after his death was announced Friday. He had been hospitalized in critical condition after the July 5 attack.

PARIS (AP) — France’s highest administrative body ordered the government to take immediate measures to combat pollution in Paris and several regions or pay up to 20 million euros ($22.6 million) a year in fines.

The Council of State’s unusual ruling Friday came after the government failed to fulfill a 2017 order to reduce pollution in accordance with EU rules.

PARIS (Reuters) - Paris’ centuries-old Notre-Dame Cathedral will be rebuilt as it was before being engulfed in a fire last year, the public body in charge of its restoration said on Thursday.

The April 15, 2019 blaze gutted the Gothic landmark and major tourist attraction, destroying the spire and roof in a disaster that stunned the nation.

A national heritage and architectural commission approved plans to restore the cathedral to its last “complete, coherent and known” state, including the spire, the restoration body said in a statement.

09 July 2020; MEMO: The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas hailed on Tuesday the unanimous decisions taken by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on 1 July, as the organisation restated several Palestinian rights.

TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) workers began a brief strike on Wednesday over plans to cut up to 15,000 jobs in response to the coronavirus crisis, which has stripped demand for jets as airlines cope with a plunge in tourism and business travel.

Unions said up to 8,000 workers were expected to join the action scheduled to last 1.5 hours in Toulouse, France, where employees were preparing to march alongside one of the runways at Toulouse-Blagnac airport overlooked by Airbus headquarters.

The airport was due to remain open.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron ousted his top security official Monday following protests over police brutality, as part of a government shakeup aimed at focusing on France’s post-pandemic economic recovery for the remaining two years of Macron’s term.

Tehran, July 5, IRNA – French Foreign Ministry in a statement on Sunday reaffirmed commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

France's statement was in reaction to a letter forwarded by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s to EU High Representative Josep Borrell on invoking Dispute Resolution Mechanism envisaged by the context of the JCPOA.

By invoking DRM, Zarif expressed dismay of the Islamic Republic of Iran at lack of respect to the nuclear deal and failure of France, UK and German Governments to honor their commitments.