Page 12 - Emmanuel Macron

Macron prioritises trade, Ukraine as Jinping opens European tour in France

French President Emmanuel Macron will seek to press China's Xi Jinping to use his influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine during a two-day state visit to France. Both leaders were also expected to discuss trade disputes over electric cars, cognac and cosmetics. Macron's office said talks about diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine and put pressure on Russia are a top priority for France. Discussions will also include the Middle East, trade issues and global challenges including climate change. The European Commission president will join part of the meetings to raise broader EU concerns. France is the first stop on a European trip by Xi aimed at rebuilding relations at a time of global tensions. After France on Monday and Tuesday, the Chinese leader will head to Serbia and Hungary. France hopes discussions will help convince China to use its leverage with Moscow to "contribute to a resolution of the conflict" in Ukraine, according to a French presidential official.

Higher consumer spending, investment boost French first quarter growth

Economists broadly expect activity to pick up over the course of the year as lower inflation boost consumers' purchasing power and interest rate cuts fuel an increase in investment

Paris Olympics: Policing to include checks for some of city's residents

Special anti-terrorism measures being put in place to safeguard the unprecedented opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the River Seine will also apply to all buildings along the route, meaning people who work and live there and their guests will be subjected to background security checks, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said on Thursday. Those affected will be cross-checked against security services' databases, to see whether they have previously been flagged as suspected Islamist extremists or for other radicalism, Nunez said. The wildly ambitious July 26 ceremony is proving to be a gargantuan security challenge. Athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on 94 boats along a six-kilometre (nearly four-mile) stretch of the Seine, from east to west. They will be accompanied by 87 other boats for security, media and other people. All of the parade route will be inside a high-security zone that Nunez described as an "anti-terrorism perimeter". He said it wi

Macron's hawkish commentary on us poses 'serious strategic problem': Russia

Meshkov added that the presence of French soldiers in Ukraine "could pose a threat to themselves" and that a small number of "French mercenaries" had already died in the war

Emmanuel Macron says 'no doubt' Russia will try to target Paris Olympics

French President Emmanuel Macron believes Russia could try to sabotage the Paris Olympics, including in terms of manipulation of information, which is a part of "Russia's arsenal of warfare" today

Senegal's Constitutional Council confirms Bassirou Diomaye Faye as Prez

The announcement, made on Friday, sets the stage for Faye's inauguration, slated for April 2nd

French, Brazilian presidents meet, announce $1.1 bn investment for Amazon

The Brazilian and the French presidents on Tuesday announced a plan to invest 1 billion euros (USD 1.1 billion) in the Amazon, including parts of the rainforest in neighbouring French Guiana. The two countries' governments said in a joint-statement the money will be spread over the next four years to protect the rainforest. It will be a collaboration of state-run Brazilian banks and France's investment agency. Private resources will also be welcomed, Brazil and France said. French President Emmanuel Macron's and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Incio Lula da Silva are meeting this week to revive the relationship between the countries after years of frictions with former President Jair Bolsonaro, deepen cooperation to protect the rainforest and boost trade. Macron started his three-day visit to Brazil in the Amazon city of Belem, where he met his long-time ally Lula. The French president then took a boat to the Combu island to meet with Indigenous leaders. Both Macron and Lula saw a .

France raises security readiness to highest level after attack in Russia

France's government increased its security alert posture to the highest level Sunday after the deadly attack at a Russian concert hall and the Islamic State's claim of responsibility. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced the decision in a post on X, saying authorities were taking into account the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country." The announcement came after Presiden t Emmanuel Macron held an emergency security meeting prompted by Friday's attack in a Moscow suburb that killed more than 130 people. The attack was claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. France has repeatedly been hit by deadly Islamic State attacks, including the Bataclan theater massacre in 2015 in which extremists opened fire on concert-goers and held hostages for hours. French troops have also fought against Islamic extremists in the Middle East and Africa. France was already on high security alert ahead of the Paris Olymp

France rejects bill to ratify EU-Canada trade deal, cites farmers' concerns

France's Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reject legislation to ratify a 2017 trade deal between the European Union and Canada that has been criticised by farmers as bringing unfair competition from abroad. The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, provisionally went into effect in September 2017 after all EU governments agreed to it, but its full implementation requires approval by each national parliament. Thursday's 211-44 vote in the Senate does not necessarily mean that France ultimately will reject ratification. The vote sends the bill back to the powerful National Assembly, which previously has approved it and can move to override the Senate rejection and give final approval to the measure. If the Assembly should reject the legislation during its second vote, that would signal France's failure to ratify and could unravel the EU trade deal. Opposition in the Senate centred on concerns about shielding local farmers from what they consider unfair

French government says it's being targeted by unusual intense cyberattacks

The French government said Monday that several of its services have been targeted by cyberattacks of unprecedented intensity, and a special crisis centre was activated to restore online services. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's office said in a statement that the attacks started Sunday night and hit multiple government ministries, without providing details. By Monday afternoon, it said, the impact of the attacks has been reduced for most services and access to government sites restored. A group of hackers called Anonymous Sudan, which is considered by cybersecurity experts as pro-Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks in online posts. The French prime minister's office and digital safety agency wouldn't comment on the claim, or provide details of what was targeted or what damage might have been caused. A French official said they were denial-of-service attacks, a common type of cyberattack that involves flooding a site with data in order to overwhelm it and knock it ...

Women's Day: France inscribes the right to abortion in its constitution

France inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution Friday, a powerful message of support for women's rights on International Women's Day. Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti used a 19th-century printing press to seal the amendment in France's constitution at a special public ceremony. Applause filled the Place Vendome. The measure was overwhelmingly approved by French lawmakers earlier this week, and Friday's ceremony means it can now enter into force.

Western troops on ground in Ukraine not ruled out in future, says Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that sending Western troops on the ground in Ukraine is not ruled out in the future after the issue was debated at a gathering if European leaders, as Russia's full-scale invasion grinds into a third year. The French leader said at the meeting of 20 European heads of state and other Western officials in Paris that we will do everything needed so Russia cannot win the war. There's no consensus today to send in an official, endorsed manner troops on the ground. But in terms of dynamics, nothing can be ruled out, Macron said in a news conference. The meeting included German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as leaders from the Baltic nations. Macron declined to provide details about which nations were considering sending troops, saying he prefers to maintain some strategic ambiguity. Macron earlier called on European leaders to ensure the continent's collective security by providing unwavering support to Ukra

In today's Russia, free spirits are sent to Gulag: French President Macron

Reacting to the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, French President Emmanuel Macron said that free spirits are sent to the Gulag and condemned to death in today's Russia

Zelenskyy signs security pact with France after similar deal with Germany

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with France hours after he officialised a similar one with Germany. The agreements send a strong signal of long-term backing as Kyiv works to shore up Western support nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale war. Zelenskyy was greeted in Paris at the Elysee presidential palace by President Emmanuel Macron. The agreement provides an additional package worth 3 billion euros (USD 3.2 billion) in military aid this year, the largest annual amount France has given to Ukraine since the war began. The outcome of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine will be decisive for our interests, our values, our security and our model of society, Macron said. Yes, we must further invest to support Ukraine at a greater scale and in the long term, he added. Macron said he would travel to Ukraine by mid-March. Zelenskyy's stop in France comes after he met earlier in the day in Berlin with German

France, Ukraine to sign security pact in Paris in presence of Zelenskyy

French President Emmanuel Macron will sign a bilateral security agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday in Paris to provide long-term support to the war-ravaged country which has been battling Russia's full-scale invasion for nearly two years. The French presidency said in a statement Thursday that Macron and Zelenskyy's bilateral meeting in late afternoon will be followed by a news conference and a working dinner at the Elysee presidential palace. It did not release specific details about the agreement. Macron said earlier this year that France was negotiating a bilateral deal on the model the one Ukraine recently agreed with the United Kingdom, which covers 10 years and provides a package worth 2.5 billion pounds (USD 3.2 billion) over the next fiscal year. It is the largest the UK has given to Ukraine since the war began. A French official, speaking anonymously because he was not allowed to disclosed the details of the deal, said the agreement aim

World leaders react after King Charles gets diagnosed with cancer

King Charles has been wished "speedy recovery and good health" by Indian PM Narendra Modi. Modi's message comes after Buckingham Palace reported that the English monarch had been fighting cancer

Your visit will boost India-France friendship: PM Modi to Emmanuel Macron

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said French President Emmanuel Macron's recent India visit and participation in the Republic Day celebrations will surely boost India-France friendship. The French president was on two-day visit to India last month and was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations here on January 26. Macron on Sunday shared a video montage from the visit on X and wrote, "A look back at an exceptional trip in India." Tagging his post, Prime Minister Modi said, "It was an honour to have you in India, President @EmmanuelMacron." "Your visit and participation in the Republic Day celebrations will surely boost India-France friendship," Modi said. India and France on January 26 unveiled an ambitious defence industrial roadmap to co-develop critical military hardware, firmed up a space situational awareness programme, while the Tata Group and Airbus announced to jointly build H125 helicopters, following talks between Modi and Macron.

French farmers' union call for end of blockades as anger spreads in Europe

Farmers' complaints across Europe include being choked by green rules, taxes, rising costs and unfair competition from abroad

Ready to 'break new ground' to solidify ties with France, says Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered to "break new ground" to give a fillip to the China-France ties, days after French President Emmanuel Macron's high-profile visit to India during which the two countries unveiled an ambitious defence roadmap besides intensifying cooperation in the strategic Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific region. Macron's visit to India also coincided with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France. In his message on the occasion, Xi said As today's world is once again at a critical crossroads, China and France should jointly open up a path of peace, security, prosperity and progress for human development. Xi said China attaches great importance to the development of bilateral ties and he stands ready to work with Macron to take the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an "opportunity to uphold fundamental principles, break new ground, build on past achievements, open up a new future, and make China-France comprehensive ...

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