François Bayrou, France’s fourth prime minister in a year, knew he had trouble ahead. In his inaugural speech in December, he acknowledged “all kinds of difficulties”: a debt mountain, political strife and, alarmingly, “the splintering of society itself.” So far, he’s at least succeeded in holding a government together. Tasked with reducing a deficit currently … Read more
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Donald Trump to Paris on Saturday with a full a dose of presidential pomp as the two men resumed the relationship they established during Trump’s first term after a four-year hiatus. Trump, the once and future American president, said the two would be discussing a world that’s gone “a … Read more
Paris:A coalition on the left that came together unexpectedly ahead of France’s snap elections won the most parliamentary seats in the vote, according to polling projections Sunday. The surprise projections put President Emmanuel Macron‘s centrist alliance in second and the far right in third. The lack of majority for any single alliance threatened to plunge … Read more
France’s left put up a united front on Friday, vowing a “total break” with President Emmanuel Macron‘s policies if it wins historic polls that could propel the far right to major gains in parliament. Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, also making a pitch to voters, pledged a “national unity government” if her party takes power … Read more
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen isn’t on the ballot at the weekend’s European Parliament election but she’s likely to emerge as one of its biggest winners. Polls expect her National Rally party to be the top vote-getter in France, trouncing President Emmanuel Macron‘s moderate pro-business party. And across Europe, the anti-immigration, nationalist ideas Le … Read more
President Emmanuel Macron on Monday hosted religious leaders for talks on combatting anti-Semitism in France, a day after a Paris march rallied tens of thousands to express anxiety over an upsurge in acts against Jews. There have been growing tensions in France, home to large Muslim and Jewish communities, as war rages in the Gaza … Read more
A file of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron. | Photo Credit: The Hindu The junta in Myanmar has killed 3,700 people since the coup of February 1, 2021 and France should prevent India from transferring weapons and dual use technology to the military rulers of Naypyitaw, a covert group of activists … Read more
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, left, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, centre, and French President Emmanuel Macron attend the conference in solidarity with the Ukrainian people in Paris, on December 13, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP Dozens of countries and international organisations were throwing their weight behind a fresh and urgent push on December 13 … Read more
Paper ballots tucked in paper envelopes. No absentee voting, and no early voting either. French voters in Sunday’s presidential election are using and old-school system that has defied calls for more flexibility or modernization. As France’s 48.8 million voters are invited to choose between President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, here … Read more
For two decades, Vladimir Putin has struck rivals as reckless, impulsive. But his behavior in ordering an invasion of Ukraine – and now putting Russia‘s nuclear forces on high alert – has some in the West questioning whether the Russian president has become dangerously unstable. In recent days, Putin has rambled on television about Ukraine, … Read more