France

France bets on green plane in package to 'save' aerospace sector

PARIS (Reuters) - France launched what it billed a 15-billion-euro ($17 billion) support plan for its aerospace industry on Tuesday, accelerating research on a green jetliner and warning 100,000 French jobs could be lost due to the coronavirus crisis.

The plans - which include 7 billion euros of aid already awarded to Air France (AIRF.PA) and bring forward some defence spending - involve a joint effort by government and industry to keep French jobs and prepare the next generation of civil jets.

Rise in complaints against French police as public anger mounts

PARIS, June 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France’s police watchdog said it had received almost 1,500 complaints against officers last year, as the country reels from protests against perceived racism and brutality.

About half of the complaints were for alleged violence against civilians, according to a report of the IGPN watchdog, with President Emmanuel Macron urging government to “accelerate” steps to improve police ethics amid widespread public anger over alleged abuses.

France: Notre-Dame workers start removal of fire-damaged scaffolding

8 June 2020; AFP: Workers at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on Monday began the delicate task of removing tons of metal scaffolding that melted together during the fire that destroyed the monument's roof and spire last year, one of the riskiest operations in the rebuilding effort so far.

Around 40,000 tubes were fused into a tangled mass in the intense heat of the blaze, and must be removed without further damaging the limestone walls supporting the gothic vault.

France tells China it still backs 'one country, two systems' for Hong Kong

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has told Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping he is following events in Hong Kong closely and continues to back the “one country, two systems” principle for Beijing’s rule over the city, an Elysee official said.

“The President said he was monitoring the (Hong Kong) situation closely and reiterated France’s support for the principle of ‘one country, two systems’,” the official told Reuters on Saturday.

Floyd case restokes anger over death of black man in France

PARIS (AP) — Churning U.S. protests over the death of George Floyd have revived anger in France over police violence, systemic racism and the complicated case of Adama Traore, a black Frenchman who died in police custody in July 2016.

For Traore’s family, the Floyd protests have also revived their hopes for change.

Clashes at Paris protest against racism and deadly police violence

3 June 2020; AFP: Clashes broke out between police and protesters in Paris on Tuesday after around 20,000 people defied a ban to rally over the 2016 death of a black man in police custody, galvanised by US demonstrations against racism and deadly police violence.

The protesters used slogans from the American protest movement to call for justice for Adama Traore, whose death four years ago has been a rallying cause against police brutality in France.

French court orders Rwanda genocide suspect be tried at U.N. tribunal

PARIS (Reuters) - A French court on Wednesday ordered Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga be handed over to a United Nations tribunal for trial.

U.N. prosecutors accuse Kabuga of bankrolling and arming ethnic Hutu militias that killed 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda during a 100-day period in 1994. He is indicted for genocide and incitement to commit genocide, among other charges.

Kabuga, whose arrest in Paris in May ended a manhunt that lasted more than two decades, has called the charges lies.

France says latest U.S. trade threats over digital tax a 'contradiction'

PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire criticized U.S. threats of trade sanctions over digital service taxes, which he said clashed with its calls for G7 unity on other issues.

Washington launched probes on Tuesday into digital services taxes being adopted or considered by Britain, Italy, Brazil and other countries, following an earlier investigation into France, in a move that could lead to new punitive tariffs.

France Reports 107 New Single-Day Deaths From COVID-19

PARIS, June 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) – With 107 COVID-19 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, France’s total death toll from the coronavirus-caused disease rose to 28,940 on Tuesday, official figures showed.

Among the deaths, 18,590 were reported in hospitals, 84 more than the day before, 10,350 were reported at nursing homes and medico-social establishments, since Mar 1, said the Health Ministry in a statement.

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