France

China's Xi, France's Macron pledge cooperation on global crises, trade

China and France pledged deeper cooperation on global issues like the war in Ukraine and trade, as France prepares to take on the presidency of the Group of Seven next year. French President Emmanuel Macron met with China's Xi Jinping on Thursday morning as part of a three-day state visit focusing on trade and diplomacy. France seeks help to end Ukraine war --------------------------------------- The French leader is seeking to involve Beijing in pressuring Russia toward a ceasefire with Ukraine after a recent burst of diplomacy around a U.S.-led peace plan. We are facing the risk of the disintegration of the international order that brought peace to the world for decades, and in this context, the dialogue between China and France is even more essential than ever, Macron said Thursday. I hope that China will join our call, our efforts to achieve, as soon as possible, at the very least a ceasefire in the form of a moratorium on strikes targeting critical infrastructure, he said.

India-France conclude 8th edition of bilateral air exercise Garuda 2025

As per the Ministry of Defence, during the exercise, the IAF participated with Su-30MKI fighters, supported by IL-78 air-to-air refuelling aircraft and C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft

Macron eyes energy cooperation, Airbus deals and 'pandas' on China visit

French President Emmanuel Macron's three-day China visit brings top ministers and CEOs as France pushes for progress on energy, trade, agriculture and panda diplomacy

Xi courts Emmanuel Macron in diplomatic efforts to isolate Japan's Takaichi

A three-day visit that kicks off Wednesday comes as the democratically-ruled island claimed by Beijing is back in the spotlight

Beijing urges France to back one-China policy during feud with Japan

China has tried to rally diplomatic support during its dispute with Japan by sending a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week accusing Takaichi of violating international law

Macron to unveil French voluntary military service amid Russia threat

President Emmanuel Macron will unveil a new national military service plan Thursday as France seeks to bolster its armed forces to address growing concerns over Russia's threat to European nations beyond the war in Ukraine. Macron will stress the need to prepare the nation for growing threats, the president's office said ahead of his visit to the Varces military base, in the French Alps. Earlier this year, Macron announced his intention to provide French youth with a new option to voluntarily serve in the military. Conscription, which France ended in 1996, is not being considered. France is seeking to boost its defences as Russia's war in Ukraine puts the European continent at great risk, Macron said. The day that you send a signal of weakness to Russia which for 10 years has made a strategic choice to become an imperial power again, that's to say advance wherever we are weak well, it will continue to advance, he told radio RTL on Tuesday. Macron has announced 6.5 billion euros

Four more arrested in $102 mn Louvre jewel heist, says Paris prosecutor

The Paris prosecutor announced four more arrests Tuesday in connection with the stunning heist at the Louvre Museum in October by a gang that made off with $102 million worth of jewels. The two men and two women taken into custody are from the Paris region and range in age from 31 to 40, said the prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, whose office is heading the investigation. Her statement didn't say what role they're suspected of having played in the Oct 19 theft. Police can hold them for questioning for 96 hours. French media report that one of those arrested, a 39-year-old already known to police services, is believed to be the fourth member of the team thought to have carried out the daring daylight robbery and is from Aubervilliers, a suburb north of Paris other suspects have connections with. The other three alleged members of the so-called commando team have been previously arrested and face preliminary charges of theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy. Their DNA has been .

'Long live friendship', says French President Macron after meeting PM Modi

Prime Minister Modi, on his part, described the meeting as a "delightful exchange" and said that India-France ties remain a "force for global good

DRDO, DGA of France ink pact to develop solutions for defence challenges

A technical agreement was on Thursday signed between the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) of France, aiming to leverage the combined expertise and resources of both entities to develop innovative solutions for future defence challenges. Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO, Samir V Kamat and National Armaments Director, DGA, France, Lt Gen Gael Diaz de Tuesta, inked the agreement at the DRDO Bhawan here to deepen collaboration in defence research and development. It provides a formal framework for joint research and training programmes, testing activities, exchange of information, organisation of workshops, and seminars to enhance the skills and knowledge in defence research and development, the defence ministry said in a statement. Under the agreement, the transfer of equipment, know-how and technologies will be available to both countries. Key areas of cooperation outlined in this agreement ...

Paris blackout halts metros, darkens streets as thousands lose power

A power outage hit parts of Paris and Hauts-de-Seine on Thursday morning, cutting electricity to thousands of homes and briefly stopping metro services and traffic lights

Ace art director Thota Tharrani to receive France's Chevalier honour

Ace art director Thota Tharrani has been selected for the prestigious French honour -- the Chevalier de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), the Alliance Francaise Madras announced. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed pleasure, saying the joy of the announcement has doubled by a personal connection. The CM recalled that he unveiled a portrait of renowned social reformer Thanthai Periyar (E V Ramaswamy) painted by Tharrani, at Oxford University's St Antony's College, on September 4, during his visit to the UK. In a social media post on Wednesday, Stalin said, "It is an honour to see Thotta Tharrani, who studied at the Government College of Arts, joining the ranks of great personalities from India to receive this award. Congratulations on your remarkable achievement." Ambassador of France to India Thierry Mathou would confer one of France's most prestigious distinctions on Tharrani on November 13, a press release from Alliance Francaise

Paris court to rule on former President Sarkozy's bid for early release

A Paris court is deciding on Monday whether to release former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison, less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. Sarkozy, 70, became the first former French head of state in modern times to be sent behind bars after his conviction on Sept. 25. He was jailed on Oct. 21 pending appeal but immediately filed for early release. Under French law, detention before an appeal ruling is supposed to be exceptional. Judges will weigh whether Sarkozy presents a flight risk, might pressure witnesses, or could obstruct justice. If the request is granted, Sarkozy could leave Paris' La Sante prison within hours under judicial supervision. The former president, who governed from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a plot linked to the former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy also faces separate proceedings, includ

France moves to suspend Shein after childlike sex dolls found online

France has started action to suspend Shein after banned items like childlike sex dolls and weapons were found on its website, just hours after the Chinese retailer opened its first Paris store

'Louvre' for password? Decade-old blunder haunts French museum after heist

After the October 19 heist, the Louvre's security failures have come to light, exposing weak passwords, old systems and years of ignored warnings

Inside the $100 million Louvre jewel heist that stunned the world

More than a week after thieves made off with treasures from the Louvre, a picture is emerging of a seemingly well-planned burglary that exploited security lapses at the museum and outpaced the police

Louvre jewellery heist: Five more arrests made in Paris as probe deepens

Earlier, two suspects from Aubervilliers were charged with organised theft and criminal conspiracy after being held for nearly four days

Former Madagascar president Rajoelina stripped of citizenship after coup

Former Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has been stripped of his citizenship after he was ousted during a military takeover just over a week ago. Rajoelina, whose whereabouts remain unknown after he fled the country following protests that demanded his resignation, also holds French citizenship. The country's new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, has signed a decree invoking laws which strip all Madagascans of their citizenship if they have citizenship of another country. Rajoelina's possession of French nationality had previously caused a debate about his eligibility to run for the presidency in the 2023 polls, an election he won. He fled the country at the height of youth-led protests, which brought thousands into the streets in several cities and initially sparked a harsh crackdown by security forces that left 22 people dead and more than 100 injured, according to the United Nations. At the time, he said he feared for his life, and addressed the nation from an unk

Two suspects arrested over multimillion Louvre museum heist in Paris

French police detained two men for allegedly stealing 19th-century jewels from the Louvre's Gallery of Apollo in a daring daylight heist

Louvre theft could make France's stolen Crown Jewels as famous as Mona Lisa

The robbery at the Louvre has done what no marketing campaign ever could: It has catapulted France's dusty Crown Jewels long admired at home, little known abroad to global fame. One week on, and the country is still wounded by the breach to its national heritage. Yet the crime is also a paradox. Some say it will make celebrities of the very jewels it sought to erase, much as the Mona Lisa's turn-of-the-20th-century theft transformed the then little-known Renaissance portrait into the world's most famous artwork. In 1911, a museum handyman lifted the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece off its hook. The loss went unnoticed for more than a day; newspapers turned it into a global mystery, and crowds came to stare at the empty space. When the painting resurfaced two years later, its fame eclipsed everything else in the museum, and that remains so today. That's the uneasy question shadowing on Sunday's robbery: whether a crime that cut deep will glorify what's left behind. Because of the .

France raises bird flu alert level to 'high' after fresh outbreaks

France has heightened its bird flu alert to 'high' after new outbreaks were confirmed in poultry farms and wild birds, prompting tighter biosecurity measures across the country.