Page 18 - France

France's election outcome 'negative' for credit rating, says Moody's

France is facing complex negotiations to form a government after a left-wing surge in elections on Sunday blocked Marine Le Pen's quest to bring the far right to power

France's elections end with no clear majority. What happens next?

Election results show French voters have chosen to give a broad leftist coalition the most parliamentary seats in pivotal legislative elections, keeping the far right away from power. Yet no party won an outright majority, putting France in an uncertain, unprecedented situation. President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance arrived in second position and the far right in third still drastically increasing the number of seats it holds in the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament. No clear figure has emerged as a possible future prime minister. Macron says he will wait to decide his next steps, and heads to Washington this week for a NATO summit. The new legislators can start work in parliament on Monday, and their first new session starts July 18. A hung parliament? Three major political blocs emerged from the elections yet none of them is close to the majority of at least 289 seats out of 577. The National Assembly is the most important of France's two houses of

Paris Olympics 2024: All about tickets, stays, ways to get around Paris

Paris Olympics 2024 is set to be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024. Check details about tickets, stays get around and other things

If France is boring you, go watch something else, says coach Deschamps

A boring France team? Coach Didier Deschamps doesn't care. Tuesday's European Championship semifinal between Spain and France is a matchup of very different styles. One team is playing some of the most exciting soccer at Euro 2024, and the other is playing arguably the dullest. A team that has won all five of its matches, against a team that has won just two (excluding Friday's penalty shootout victory over Portugal ). A team that has scored a tournament high 11 goals, against a team whose players have yet to score from open play having notched two own goals and a penalty. If we're boring you, you can watch something else, it doesn't matter, Deschamps said on Monday when asked about criticism of his team's form. It's a very particular European Championship, with less goals than normal. We have the chance to make France happy, in a delicate situation for the country. If (others) are bored, I don't really care. France has underwhelmed and captain Kylian Mbapp is frustrated as he

Far-right groups from France, Hungary to be new political force in EU Parl

Far-right parties from 12 countries, including France's National Rally and Hungary's ruling Fidesz, announced on Monday that they have joined together to form a new bloc in the European Parliament and plan to become a major political force. The European Parliament moved perceptibly to the right following Europe-wide elections a month ago as many voters abandoned the business-friendly liberals and environmentalist Greens. Mainstream centre-right and centre-left groups still hold the majority though. The new bloc, dubbed Patriots for Europe, is made up of 84 EU lawmakers and will be led by Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old protg of Marine Le Pen. Kinga Gl, from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn's Fidesz party, will be first vice president. Right-wing parties from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain are also involved. Forming a group brings parties more influence, money and the possibility of coveted posts on ...

French revolution

Hung Parliament points to turmoil ahead

French elections: Macron the gambler wins chance to play Kingmaker

Results for the final round of France's snap parliamentary election suggest voters have delivered an emphatic 'non' to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally

French elections 2024: Left leads, far-right rises, no majority secured

The left coalition in France won the most seats in Sunday's legislative elections, countering a far-right surge but failing to secure a majority

Violence breaks out in France as left-wing coalition leads snap election

French election night turned turbulent as results showed a left-wing coalition poised to claim the majority of parliamentary seats

French voters deliver political deadlock as left falls short of majority

The awkward leftist alliance, which the hard left, Greens and Socialists hastily put together before the vote, was far from having an absolute majority of 289 seats in the 577-seat assembly

French PM Attal resigns as leftist coalition defeats Macron's ruling party

The election results marked a significant shift in French politics, with the National Rally, led by Jordan Bardella, claiming substantial gains

France's business elite braces for new era of political volatility

Far right and left-wing parties want to roll back some of Macron's reforms, ranging from raising the retirement age to scrapping a wealth tax on financial assets

French turn out in force for parliamentary election, far right seeks power

In the outgoing parliament, French President Macron's alliance had only 250 seats and he required support from other parties to pass laws

How Macron went from successful political newcomer to a weakened leader

French President Emmanuel Macron's expected political failure in decisive parliamentary elections Sunday may paralyse the country, weaken him abroad and overshadow his legacy, just as France prepares to step into the global spotlight as host of the Paris Olympics. France's youngest-ever president is known on the international stage for his tireless diplomatic efforts and pro-European initiatives. Now, many wonder how he will manage to keep the reins of the country with likely no majority in parliament and a confrontational government. Constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term in 2027, Macron, 46, is facing a struggle not to become a lame duck. Whatever the outcome of Sunday's runoff, it's not expected to be good news for Macron. French media have recently described an end of reign atmosphere at the Elysee presidential palace. Polls show Macron's centrist alliance is headed for defeat in Sunday's runoff, after coming in third in the first round. It looks a

Euro 2024 quarterfinals: Ronaldo heads home as France beats Portugal 5-3

France's heartache in penalty shootouts is over. So is Cristiano Ronaldo's last-ever European Championship. In a clash of the soccer superstars, it was Kylian Mbapp and not Ronaldo, his idol advancing to a semifinal match against Spain as France beat Portugal 5-3 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw on Friday. Portugal substitute Joao Felix hit a post with the only miss in the shootout and Theo Hernndez showed no sign of pressure by converting the clinching kick into the top corner. It was a record sixth and final European Championship for the 39-year-old Ronaldo, who scored Portugal's first penalty in the shootout and ended up consoling fellow veteran Pepe afterward as the 41-year-old defender cried on his captain's shoulder. We need to go through this moment of our loss, which is very painful, Pepe said. Ronaldo's 20-year career in the Euros included the title in 2016 when Portugal beat France in the final and it remains to be seen if the five-time world player of the year wil

World leaders congratulate Starmer after Labour's victory in UK election

We will continue the work begun with the UK for our bilateral cooperation, for peace and security in Europe, for the climate and for AI, said French President while congratulating Keir Starmer

French elections: Exit polls predict hung parliament; Far Right could gain

A total of 577 constituencies are being decided in the election, one for each seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament

1300-year-old French magical sword goes missing leaving the locals stunned

The theft of the magical Durandal sword has become the talk of the town. The sharpest sword could cut boulders with a single strike. Authorities are trying to recover the lost historical artefact

Germany fears victory for far-right could harm close relations with France

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is worried about the outcome of the run-off election in France. Scholz, who is normally tightlipped when asked about domestic politics in other European countries, has in recent weeks more than once expressed concern that the far-right, nationalist National Rally may win the second round of elections in neighbouring France on Sunday. Earlier this week, the decidedly pro-European German chancellor even revealed that he and beleaguered French President Emmanuel Macron are texting on a daily basis as the election draws closer. We are discussing the situation, which is really depressing," Scholz said at a summer gathering of his Social Democratic Party in Berlin on Tuesday, according to German news agency dpa. In any case, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the French, whom I love and appreciate so much, the country that means so much to me, will succeed in preventing a government led by a right-wing populist party," Scholz added in an unusually emotiona

Roadmap for 2036: PM seeks athletes' inputs on conduct of Paris Olympics

Confident that India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics will be successful, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged athletes bound for this month's Paris Games to share their views on the arrangements in the French capital to help the country's ambitious push to bring the showpiece here. In an interaction with Paris-bound athletes, conducted both in person and online on Thursday, Modi said those travelling to the French capital would do the country a huge service by providing inputs from their experience. "We are hoping to host the Olympics in 2036, it will help in creating a sporting atmosphere. Work is in progress to prepare infrastructure for it," he said in the interaction, which was attended by the national men's hockey team, the shooting contingent, boxers and track-and-field stars such as Neeraj Chopra. The interaction's complete video was shared by Prime Minister's Office on Friday. "I won't ask you to do anything in the middle of your events but when you are free, I would urge