France

Paris, Jun 20 (AP-PTI) Marine Le Pen's far right party is riding high on her tough-on-security, stop-immigration message as French voters start choosing regional leaders Sunday in an election that's seen as a dress rehearsal for next year's presidential vote.

President Emmanuel Macron's young centrist party is expected to fare poorly, lacking a strong local political base and suffering from frustration at his government's handling of the pandemic.

PARIS (AP) — A school undergoing construction work collapsed in the Belgian city of Antwerp, killing five workers and injuring nine others, according to local authorities. An investigation is underway into the cause of the accident.

Firefighters and rescue dogs labored through the night after Friday’s accident to pull out the victims one by one, while the construction company cleared rubble and worked to secure the site, according to a running account on Twitter by the Antwerp fire service.

19 June 2021; MEMO: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday welcomed what he described as the end of verbal altercations between Paris and Ankara, and demanded in return real initiatives from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a series of contentious issues.

Le Drian told BFM TV: "There is a truce in verbal attacks. It is a good thing, but it is not enough," considering that the bilateral ties between the two sides are "in a stage of recovery".

WATTRELOS, France, June 17 (Reuters) - Abdel Denfer gave up on France's traditional political groups and shifted his support to Marine Le Pen's far-right party after a group of Roma were allowed to reside on land near his home.

The pensioner complained the Roma had been a nuisance, burning tires, quarreling with one another and upsetting locals. Their presence was the final straw, he said, after years of broken promises by a political elite that no longer listened.

(Reuters) --- French European Affairs junior minister Clement Beaune said on Monday that current tensions over Brexit between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government and the European Union were "a test" for Europe.

The tensions between Britain and the EU threatened to overshadow the Group of Seven summit's conclusion on Sunday, with London accusing France of "offensive" remarks that Northern Ireland was not part of the United Kingdom. 

11 June 2021; MEMO: French President Emmanuel Macron said today that despite disagreements with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders have decided to meet and talk, Andadolu Agency reports.

PARIS (AP) — Bubbling beneath France’s political landscape is an assortment of ultra-right groups, a subculture that shot to the nation’s attention when a young man slapped President Emmanuel Macron and blurted out a centuries-old royalist cry.

Ultra-rightist groups are considered increasingly dangerous despite their small following and are on the radar of authorities. Numerous arrests have been made and several groups banned. Challenges to the French identity are often at the center of their ideologies.

PARIS (AP) — The French national financial prosecutor’s office has opened a preliminary investigation into the actions of Lebanon’s central bank governor involving potential money laundering, the prosecutor’s office said Monday.

The French move came months after Switzerland started a probe into possible money laundering and embezzlement at Lebanon’s central bank, which is now at the center of an unprecedented financial crisis roiling the small Mediterranean country.

PARIS (AP) — France’s anti-competition watchdog decided Monday to fine Google 220 million euros ($268 million) for abusing its “dominant position” in the online advertising business, an unprecedented move, the body said.

Practices used by Google “are particularly serious because they penalize Google’s competitors” in certain markets and publishers of mobile sites and applications, the statement by the Competition Authority said.

07 June 2021; MEMO: France has opened a preliminary investigation into the wealth of Lebanon's central bank governor, Riad Salameh, AFP reported yesterday.