France

PARIS (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France wanted to open a strategic dialogue with its European partners about the role of French nuclear deterrence policy in European security.

The overture to Europeans chimes with Macron’s insistence that Europe should reinforce its strategic autonomy in the face of growing global threats and stop relying solely on the United States and the transatlantic alliance for its defense.

AIX-EN-PROVENCE (France), Feb 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Around 20 of the 250 people flown back to France from China on Sunday because of the coronavirus outbreak are presenting symptoms of the virus, the country’s health minister said.

“About 20 people who presented symptoms have stayed on the tarmac” at Istres airport in the south of France, Agnes Buzyn told journalists. They included French and non-European nationals.

Army medics there were carrying out tests to establish whether or not they actually had the coronavirus.

PARIS, Jan 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — About 1.4 million children could die from pneumonia over the next decade in Nigeria, according to the UN.

The UN’s children agency Unicef has in its latest forecast said Nigeria could have the world’s highest amount of deaths caused by pneumonia.

Overall, Unicef said its forecast estimates 6.3 million children could die worldwide from pneumonia.

The UN estimates India will be the second worst place for childhood pneumonia deaths and the Democratic Republic of Congo could be the third worst.

PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday it could approve a Brexit trade deal quickly if Britain committed to maintaining regulations in line with those in Europe, but it would not rush into a deal before the end of the year if its red lines on “dumping” were not met.

“On trade issues, we must ensure conditions for fair competition are maintained,” French European Affairs minister Amelie de Montchalin told reporters.

PARIS, Jan 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French police clashed with firefighters protesting in Paris against their working conditions and demanding more pay.

Thousands of firefighters attended the Tuesday protest in the French capital, asking for an increase of their hazard bonus, which has not changed since 1990.

Police fired tear gas and hit some protesters with batons.

In October, firefighters also protested in Paris, calling for better pay, guarantees of their pension benefits and greater respect for their profession.

(Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) faces billions of dollars of fines after agreeing in principle to a settlement with French, British and U.S. authorities following a crippling three-year investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption.

A settlement would allow it to avoid criminal charges which, if proven, could have led to the company being disbarred from public contracts in the United States and European Union - a massive setback for one of Europe’s top defense and space firms.

STRASBOURG, January 27. /TASS/: Russia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will never accept any infringements upon its rights in the assembly, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Monday after Russia’s rights within PACE were challenged.

PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday he hoped the United States would have the “good sense” not to withdraw its support for French military operations in West Africa, where al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked groups are expanding their foothold.

France has about 4,500 troops operating in the Sahel region.

He also told a news conference he had no new information on three French nationals who went missing last week in Iraq.

PARIS, Jan 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — France will withdraw from use an explosive tear gas grenade used by riot police and blamed for injuring numerous protesters, the interior minister said, amid growing anger at perceived police brutality.

Sanctioned for use by French law enforcement since 2011, the GLI-F4 grenade explodes with a loud, powerful blast to release a cloud of tear gas. Each shell contains 26 grammes of TNT.

PARIS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Gunshots were heard in a sensitive district in Nimes, southern France, no victim was reported, according to local newspaper Midi Libre.

At around 20:00 local time (1900 GMT), the shooting, in which "war weapons" were used, broke the calm in Pissevin, a neighborhood classified as urban policy priority districts, where poverty, unemployment and crime are high, the newspaper reported.