France

25 June 2022; MEMO: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has warned that coastal communities in the Mediterranean are at risk of a tsunami by 2030.

The organisation confirmed that it would train all at-risk coastal communities to deal with the matter.

PARIS, June 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Covid vaccines prevented nearly 20 million deaths in the first year after they were introduced, according to the first large modelling study on the topic released Friday.

   The study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, is based on data from 185 countries and territories collected from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021.

   It is the first attempt to estimate the number of deaths prevented directly and indirectly as a result of Covid-19 vaccinations.

PARIS, June 20 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist camp scrambled on Monday to seek support from parliamentary rivals in order to salvage some of his reform agenda and avoid political paralysis, after voters punished them in a legislative election.

While Macron's "Ensemble" grouping secured the largest number of lawmakers in the 577-seat National Assembly, it fell well short of an absolute majority in a vote on Sunday that saw a leftwing alliance and the far-right perform very strongly.

There is no script in France for how things should unfold.

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) - France's far-right scored a historic success in legislative elections on Sunday increasing its number of lawmakers almost tenfold and cementing the party's rise from fringe status to the mainstream opposition.

Since taking the helm of the party in 2011, leader Marine Le Pen has sought to rid the National Front - now called the National Rally (RN) - of the anti-Semitic image it acquired under the nearly 40-year leadership of her father, ex-paratrooper Jean-Marie Le Pen.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance was projected to lose its majority despite getting the most seats in the final round of parliamentary elections Sunday, while the far-right National Rally appeared to have made big gains.

The projections, which are based on partial results, say Macron’s candidates would win between 230 and 250 seats — much less than the 289 required to have a straight majority at the National Assembly, France’s most powerful house of parliament.

PARIS (AP) — French voters are going to the polls in the final round of key parliamentary elections that will demonstrate how much legroom President Emmanuel Macron’s party will be given to implement his ambitious domestic agenda.

In last week’s first vote, the left, under firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, made a surprisingly strong showing, sending jitters through Macron’s allies.

PARIS, June 16 (Reuters) - Ukraine alone should decide whether or not to accept any territorial concessions towards Russia in view of ending the war, French President Emmanuel Macron told TF1 television in an interview as he visited Kyiv.

"This is up to Ukraine to decide," Macron said when asked what concessions, including on its territory, Ukraine should accept, adding: "I think it is our duty to stand by our values, by international law and thus by Ukraine."

 PARIS, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poor countries are expected to suffer the most from worldwide food crises exacerbated by the war in Ukraine as they will be forced to pay more for less food, the United Nations warned.

The global food import bill was on course to hit a new record of $1.8 trillion this year as the Ukraine conflict pushes up cereal and grain prices.

But it was higher prices and transport costs rather than volumes that would account for the bulk of the expected increase, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization wrote in its latest Food Outlook.

PARIS, June 10 (Reuters) - France is unwilling to make concessions to Russia and wants Ukraine to win the war against Moscow's invading forces with its territorial integrity restored, a French presidential official said on Friday, as Paris seeks to assuage concerns over its stance in the conflict.

President Emmanuel Macron has been criticised by Ukraine and eastern European allies after published interviews on Saturday quoting him as saying it was vital not to "humiliate" Russia so that when the fighting ends there could be a diplomatic solution.

PARIS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A preliminary investigation was opened here on Thursday following complaints alleging salmonella poisoning in children who had consumed Kinder chocolates produced by Ferrero, the Italian confectionery giant, the Paris Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday.

The investigation was opened on the counts of "involuntary attacks on physical integrity" and "endangering the lives of others," the French daily Le Figaro reported, citing the Prosecutor's Office.