France

PARIS, March 11 (Reuters) - France faced a seventh day of demonstrations on Saturday against President Emmanuel Macron's unpopular pension reform plans amid ongoing rolling strikes which have affected refineries, public transport and garbage collections.

A coalition of French unions, maintaining a rare show of unity since the protest movement was launched at the end of January, hopes to keep up to pressure on the government to withdraw the reform, whose key measure is a two-year extension of the retirement age to 64.

PARIS, March 10 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attempted on Friday in Paris to mend bilateral relations strained by disputes in recent years over a fishing deal, illegal migration through the Channel, and Australian submarine contract stab.

In a joint press conference after the 36th Franco-British Summit, Macron, calling the summit a "summit of new ambition," voiced hope that the summit will mark a "new start" for the two countries.

10 Mar 2023; MEMO: Members of the French NGO International Emergency Fire-fighters (PUI) received a text message just as the first of two earthquakes jolted southern Turkiye on 6 February, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Volunteers ready to go to Kahramanmaras province were asked to inform their managers of their availability, and a team of 36 volunteer fire-fighters left France on a plane to Turkiye.

PARIS (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was meeting Friday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron in efforts to mend relations following post-Brexit tensions, as well as improving military and business ties and toughening efforts against Channel migrant crossings.

Both leaders shook hands and briefly posed for photographers, smiling, as Sunak arrived at the presidential palace.

PARIS (AP) — French train and metro drivers, refinery workers, garbage collectors and others held further strikes Wednesday against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64, maintaining pressure on the government as senators debated the reforms.

New protest actions focused on women — and the retirement reform’s impact on working mothers — were expected, to coincide with International Women’s Day. Feminist activists see the pension reform as unfair to women, especially because they say it would further deepen gender inequalities.

PARIS, March 3. /TASS/: The UK’s King Charles III will arrive in France on March 26 for his first state visit since ascending the throne, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources in the Elysee Palace.

According to its information, Charles III's first state visit will last four days and will end on March 29. The news agency theorized that the visit was due to the sides’ willingness to hit the reset button on the relationship, which was "strained" after a series of disputes.

2 Mar 2023; MEMO: French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that he will continue to "move forward" to strengthen Paris' relationship with both Algeria and Morocco.

However, media sites have said that the French government found itself "besieged at the international level and the African one in particular."

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will unveil on Monday his country’s changing economic and military strategy in Africa in the coming years, as France’s influence substantially declines on the continent.

Macron is expected to call for a more balanced partnership with African nations, in a speech at the Elysee presidential palace before he begins an ambitious Africa trip on Wednesday to Gabon, Angola, the Republic of Congo and Congo.

Monday’s speech comes at a time when France’s influence on the continent is facing more challenges than it has in decades.

PARIS (AP) — The lower house of France’s parliament debated a contested pension bill aimed at raising the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64 during what was expected to be lawmakers’ last discussion on the proposal before sending the legislation to the Senate.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government has vowed to go ahead with the reform despite nationwide protests and strikes and opinion polls consistently showing a majority of French people oppose the change.

PARIS/TOURS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday seeking to keep up pressure on the government over its pension reform plans, including a move to raise the retirement age to 64 from 62.

After three days of nationwide strikes since the start of the year, unions are hoping to match a mass turnout from Jan. 19 when more than a million people marched in opposition to the plans.