Page 30 - France

Meet Gabriel Attal, France's youngest & first openly gay prime minister

Gabriel Attal will be the youngest in modern French history, as well as the first openly gay man to hold the position

Gabriel Attal becomes France's youngest PM as Macron shakes up govt

Gabriel Attal was named on Tuesday as France's youngest-ever prime minister, as President Emmanuel Macron seeks a fresh start for the rest of his term amid growing political pressure from the far right. Macron's office announced the appointment in a statement. Attal, 34, rose to prominence as the government spokesman and education minister. He is France's first openly gay prime minister. His predecessor Elisabeth Borne resigned Monday following recent political turmoil over an immigration law that strengthens the government's ability to deport foreigners. Macron, a 46-year-old centrist whose term ends in 2027, is to name a government in the coming days.

French PM Borne resigns following recent political turmoil over immigration

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigned on Monday following recent political turmoil over a new immigration law, paving the way for President Emmanuel Macron to seek fresh momentum by appointing a new government in coming days. The shakeup was widely seen as an attempt by the 46-year-old centrist Macron to head off a looming lame-duck status. Macron's term is to end in 2027, and he won't be able to run again for president in line with the French Constitution. In her resignation letter, Borne suggested she resigned at Macron's request, citing the president's will to appoint a new prime minister. Borne's resignation followed the passage late last month of contentious immigration legislation backed by Macron aimed at strengthening the government's ability to deport some foreigners, among other measures. Macron's centrist alliance was able to pass the measure only after making a deal with the conservative Republicans party, which many observers saw as the government's shift to t

France sets up an exclusive Country Pavilion at TNGIM 2024 to boost ties

France has set up an exclusive country pavilion at the third edition of the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet, a two-day event from January 7, which is aimed at fostering economic ties with India, an official release on Saturday said. The Consulate of France in Puducherry and Chennai and the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced that France is one of the country partners for the event and has set up an exclusive France Country Pavilion at the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024. "This significant initiative aims to foster economic ties between India and France while showcasing the prowess of French companies in Tamil Nadu, a region with long-standing historic, cultural, and business significance," an official release said. France has partnered with the Tamil Nadu government since the maiden GIM in 2015 which was held under the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and again in the second edition in 2019 when 'Edappadi' K Palaniswami of the AIADMK was the chief ...

CID records statements of 66 passengers of flight sent back from France

The statements of all 66 passengers from Gujarat on the Nicaragua-bound flight that was sent back to India by France have been recorded as part of the state CID's probe into alleged human trafficking, and an FIR will be lodged soon, an official said on Saturday. The flight operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines had landed at Vatry near Paris on December 21 after which French authorities intervened to probe a human trafficking angle. The flight, with 276 passengers, landed in Mumbai on December 26. While the flight that landed in France had 303 Indian passengers, 27 sought asylum in the European nation and stayed back. Speaking about the probe, Sanjay Kharat, Superintendent of Police, CID-Crime and Railways, who is investigating the case, said details of 15 immigration agents suspected to be involved in the case have been gathered. "There were 66 persons from Gujarat on board. The CID Crime has recorded their statements. They are now back in their native villages in th

Carrefour says it will not sell PepsiCo products due to price hikes

Carrefour is telling customers it will no longer sell PepsiCo products like Pepsi, Lay's crisps and 7up because they had become too costly

Most passengers back, consular help will be given to those in France: MEA

Bagchi noted that the chartered flight was heading from UAE to Nicaragua. He said that the cases are being dealt with by French authorities as per their local laws

Push to safeguard Paris Olympics promises of jobs, new starts after riots

With a name that doesn't ring old-school French like Jean, Pierre or Jacques, and a home address in a tough suburb of Paris where riots flared, Salah Benkadmir is discovering how hard it can be to make prospective employers in France see beyond their prejudices. Despite having a high school diploma in sales and work experience as a vendor on his resume, the 19-year-old job seeker says that when he sends it to stores making hires, often no one calls him back. I feel like I've got a label stuck to me. It is very unpleasant," he says. But with the Olympic Games soon to hit Paris, Benkadmir thinks his fortunes may be about to improve. Organizers urgently need thousands of security guards to help keep athletes and spectators safe and reduce the likelihood of another deadly extremist attack in the French capital. Demand for people at checkpoints, to scan tickets and help manage crowds is so great that France's state employment agency is offering free and expedited security guard training

L'Oreal heir Francoise Meyers becomes first woman with $100 bn fortune

The milestone came as shares of L'Oreal SA, the beauty products empire founded by her grandfather, rose to a record high, with the stock set for its best year since 1998

Jacques Delors, former European Union's Commission president, dies at 98

Delors served an unprecedented three terms as the President of the European Commission, from January 1985 untill the end of 1994

25 Indians from grounded plane seeking asylum in France freed: Reports

Twenty-five Indian passengers who had stayed behind seeking asylum in France after their flight from the UAE was grounded last week over suspicion of human trafficking before being allowed to take off for India have now been freed, according to local French media reports on Wednesday. These 25 passengers were not on the flight carrying 276 mostly Indian passengers which took off for Mumbai on Monday afternoon after four days of being held at Chlons-Vatry airport near Paris. The 'Le Monde' newspaper quoted prosecutors to say that the local judge had ordered their release on formal grounds, considering that the head of the border police at France's main Charles De Gaulle airport "had not referred the case to him" within the timeframe stipulated by law. "They are therefore free to do as they please, even if they are in an irregular situation on French territory," the Bobigny public prosecutor's office told the French newspaper. The 25 passengers, who had applied for political asylum i

Gujarat police begin questioning of passengers sent back from France

To unearth a suspected illegal immigration network, the police have begun questioning some Gujarat residents who reached their native places on Wednesday, days after their plane was grounded in France over suspected human trafficking, an official said. The Nicaragua-bound aircraft, an Airbus A340, carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking. It landed in Mumbai in the wee hours on Tuesday. According to a senior official of the state Crime Investigation Department (CID), those passengers included at least 21 from Gujarat. We have learnt that 21 passengers were from Gujarat and some of them have reached their respective places in the state. Our teams are in the field right now and we have already begun their questioning, Superintendent of Police, CID (Crime), Sanjay Kharat said. The police will try to find out how the passengers were contacted for possible illegal immigration into America, how they were supposed to go

Gujarat police to coordinate with passengers who returned from France

The Gujarat Police have formed teams to unearth a suspected illegal immigration network involving "agents" and will coordinate with the passengers of a plane that has landed in Mumbai from France, a senior official said. Many passengers of the plane hail from Gujarat, he said. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking. It landed in Mumbai in the wee hours on Tuesday. "The CID crime wants to take action against agents who had promised help to the victims to enter the US and other countries (illegally). We have formed four teams which will get information from the victims regarding promises made to them by these agents," Superintendent of Police, CID (Crime), Sanjay Kharat said. He said most of the passengers on the chartered plane that returned from France were from Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat. "Police will coordinate with the passengers when they reach

'Donkey' flight, stranded in France, lands in Mumbai. Here is all we know

The Airbus A340, carrying 303 passengers, had taken off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was grounded at the Vatry airport

CISF interrogates Indian passengers implicated in alleged trafficking scam

The CISF personnel officials have interrogated some of the passengers, following which they allowed them to go. Meanwhile, some passengers are still being interrogated

Plane grounded in France over human trafficking lands in Mumbai

A charter plane carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, which was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, landed in Mumbai on Tuesday, an official said. The Nicaragua-bound flight operated by a Romanian company was detained for four days at Vatry airport near France. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, landed in Mumbai shortly after 4 am, the official said. It had taken off from Vatry airport around 2.30 pm local time. The charter flight that carried 303 passengers had taken off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and was grounded at the Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, on Thursday over suspected human trafficking. According to French authorities, the plane had 276 passengers on board when it took off for Mumbai, and 25 persons, including two minors, had expressed the wish to apply for asylum and were still on French soil. Two others, who were brought before a judge, were released and placed on assisted witness status, a French news channel said.

Grounded plane with Indian passengers finally takes off from France

The departure of a Romanian aircraft carrying nearly 300 passengers, mostly Indians, to Mumbai was delayed on Monday as some of them did not want to return to their country of origin, media reports said on Monday, three days after being grounded by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected "human trafficking." The situation was, for a time, confusing, according to Me Liliana Bakayoko, lawyer for the Romanian airline Legend Airlines. Speaking to BFMTV, she said that some passengers did not want to return to their country of origin and that they had refused to board the plane initially this Monday morning. "Some of the passengers would be unhappy with this return because they wanted to continue their journey to Nicaragua as planned, the French news broadcast television and radio network reported. According to the Le Monde' newspaper, the local prefecture, or official in charge, confirmed that the plane would indeed take off "but not before noon local time. Two .

Halted plane carrying Indians to take off from France on Monday for India

A plane carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, is expected to take off on Monday morning for India, three days after they were detained by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected "human trafficking", according to a local media report. The Nicaragua-bound flight that took off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates carrying 303 passengers was grounded at the Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, on Thursday over suspected "human trafficking". On Sunday, the French authorities allowed the A340 aircraft, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, to resume its journey. The plane is expected to take off Monday morning at around 10 am (local time), the lawyer for the airline, Liliana Bakayoko, was quoted as saying by BFM TV, a French news broadcast television and radio network. The plane is likely to take off towards Mumbai in India, the country from which the passengers, potentially victims of human trafficking, originate, it said. "We are very relieved, we w

Grounded plane with 303 passengers, mostly Indians, allowed to leave France

A Nicaragua-bound flight carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was allowed to resume its journey on Monday after three days of grounding by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected "human trafficking", according to local media reports on Sunday. After authorising the plane to leave, the French judges chose to cancel the hearings of the over 300 passengers due to irregularities in the procedure, BFM TV, a French news broadcast television and radio network, reported. Four French judges earlier in the day began questioning the 303 passengers detained by French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected "human trafficking". The hearings were conducted as part of the investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor's office on suspicion of human trafficking. The plane is expected to take off again on Monday morning. Its destination is not yet known. It could travel to India, where the passengers are from, to Nicaragua, its ...

France to decide on extending stay of 303 passengers of grounded flight

Four French judges on Sunday began questioning the 303 passengers, mostly Indians, of a Nicaragua-bound flight detained by French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected "human trafficking", according to local media reports. "The judges have the authority to extend the detention order being used by border police by eight days initially and for another eight if required. They have two days to complete speaking to the passengers. The judges are being helped by translators, said a report in Le Monde' newspaper. According to the French media, some of the passengers spoke Hindi and others Tamil and are believed to have contacted their families by telephone. Ten of the passengers have requested asylum, the newspaper quoted a source close to the case as saying. The plane includes 11 unaccompanied minors and two passengers in custody since Friday had their detention extended on Saturday evening for up to 48 hours, according to French prosecutors. T