Page 36 - France

Over 900 people arrested in France overnight as rioters clash with police

Rioting raged in cities around France for a fourth night despite massive police deployment, with cars and buildings set ablaze and stores looted, as family and friends prepared Saturday to bury the 17-year-old whose killing by police unleashed the unrest. The government suggested the violence was beginning to lessen thanks to tougher security measures, but damages remained widespread, from Paris to Marseille and Lyon and French territories overseas, where a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet in French Guiana. The interior ministry announced 994 arrests around France by early Saturday. France's national soccer team including international star Kylian Mbappe, an idol to many young people in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods where the anger is rooted pleaded for an end to the violence. Many of us are from working-class neighbourhoods, we too share this feeling of pain and sadness over the killing of 17-year-old Nahel, the players said in a statement. Violence resolves

France shooting shows US is not alone in struggles with police brutality

A police killing caught on video. Protests and rioting fueled by long-simmering tensions over law enforcement treatment of minorities. Demands for accountability. The events in France following the death of a 17-year-old shot by police in a Paris suburb are drawing parallels to the racial reckoning in the U.S. spurred by the killings of George Floyd and other people of color at the hands of law enforcement. Despite the differences between the two countries' cultures, police forces and communities, the shooting in France and the outcry that erupted there this week laid bare how the U.S. is not alone in its struggles with systemic racism and police brutality. These are things that happen when you're French but with foreign roots. We're not considered French, and they only look at the color of our skin, where we come from, even if we were born in France, said Tracy Ladji, an activist with SOS Racisme. Racism within the police kills, and way too many of them embrace far-right ideas so .

French president urges parents to keep teens at home to quell riots

French President Emmanuel Macron is urging parents to keep teenagers at home to quell rioting spreading across France and says social media are fueling copycat violence. After a second crisis meeting with senior ministers, Macron said Friday that social media are playing a considerable role in the spreading unrest triggered by the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old. He said he wants social media such as Snapchat and TikTok to remove sensitive content and said that violence is being organised online. Of young rioters, he said: We sometimes have the feeling that some of them are living in the streets the video games that have intoxicated them.

UK calls for UN reform with permanent Security Council seat for India

The UK government has reiterated its call for reform of the United Nations as one of its top transnational priorities and supported India's bid for permanent membership of the powerful Security Council. India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UN Security Council (UNSC), saying it rightly deserved a place as a permanent member of the United Nations. Currently, the UNSC has five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. Only a permanent member has the power to veto any substantive resolution. In a speech at a conference at the Chatham House think tank in London on Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for a reinvigorated multilateral system that is more reflective of the times. He pointed out that the world's economic centre of gravity is shifting away from the Euro-Atlantic and towards the Indo-Pacific but the multilateral institutions are yet to catch up. I have five transnational priorities. First, reform of the .

600 arrested, 200 police officers hurt on France's 3rd night of protests

Protesters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police in French streets overnight as tensions grew over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old that has shocked the nation. More than 600 people were arrested and at least 200 police officers injured as the government struggled to restore order on a third night of unrest. Armored police vehicles rammed through the charred remains of cars that had been flipped and set ablaze in the northwestern Paris suburb of Nanterre, where a police officer shot the teen identified only by his first name, Nahel. On the other side of Paris, protesters lit a fire at the city hall of the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and set a bus depot ablaze in Aubervilliers. The French capital also saw fires and some stores ransacked. In the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police sought to disperse violent groups in the city center, regional authorities said. President Emmanuel Macron planned to leave an EU summit in Brussels, where France play

Protests grip France for 3rd night over deadly police shooting of teenager

French protesters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police in the streets of some French cities overnight as tensions mounted over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old that has shocked the nation. Armored police vehicles rammed through the charred remains of cars that had been flipped and set ablaze in the northwestern Paris suburb of Nanterre, where a police officer shot the teen, who is only being identified by his first name, Nahel. On the other side of Paris, protesters lit a fire at the city hall of the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois. The French capital also saw garbage bins set ablaze and some store windows smashed. In the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police sought to disperse violent groups in the city center, regional authorities said. Tens of thousands of police officers were deployed to quell the protests, which have gripped the country three nights in a row. More than 400 people were arrested overnight around the country and around 200 police

France to deploy 40,000 officers to quell violence after police shot teen

France's government vowed to restore order on Thursday after two nights of urban violence triggered by the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old, announcing it would deploy tens of thousands more officers and crack down on neighborhoods where buildings and vehicles were torched. Bus and rail services were shutting down at 9 pm (1900 GMT; 3 pm EDT) to safeguard transportation workers and passengers, a decision sure to impact untold thousands of travellers in the French capital and its suburbs. Our transports are not targets for thugs and vandals! Valerie Pecresse, head of the Paris region tweeted. France's government says it would deploy 40,000 police officers and take a zero-tolerance approach in neighbourhoods where buildings and vehicles were torched. Ministers fanned out to areas scarred by the sudden flare-up of rioting, appealing for calm but also warning that the violence that injured scores of police and damaged nearly 100 public buildings wouldn't be allowed to continue.

India, France launch Strategic Space Dialogue to strengthen partnership

India and France have launched the Strategic Space Dialogue, seeking to further deepen their nearly-six-decade-old partnership in the sector. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the inaugural India-France Strategic Space Dialogue was held in Paris on Monday. Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra led the Indian delegation for the talks with French Secretary-General, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Anne-Marie Descotes. The nearly-six-decade-old Indo-French space partnership spans collaborations in technologies for satellite launches, research, operational applications, innovation and NewSpace partnerships for deep space exploration. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) have been partnering in the fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems. Earlier this month, CNES President Philippe Baptiste travelled to

2024 Olympics: Flame to be carried for 68 days before cauldron is lit

The Olympic flame for the 2024 Paris Games will pass through 64 departments including five overseas and 400 towns over 68 days before the cauldron is lit. Organizers announced the route for the torch relay on Friday at a Paris university. Paris 2024 is the greatest collective project in our history, organizing committee president Tony Estanguet said. The torch relay plays an important role because it has the capacity to touch so many people. The torch will be lit by the sun's rays on April 16 in Ancient Olympia, Greece. It will then be carried around the nation before its handover in Athens. The flame will leave Athens on April 27 aboard a three-mast ship named Belem for the French port of Marseille a former Greek colony founded 2,600 years ago. The Belem was first used in 1896, the same year the modern Olympics came back. It will be skippered by French navigator Armel Le Clac'h, winner of the solo around-the-world race Vende Globe in 2017. The crew will reach Marseille on May

UEFA Euro Qualifiers: France emerge victorious, defeat Greece 1-0 at home

In the UEFA EURO Qualifiers match, France defeated Greece 1-0 in a thrilling encounter on Tuesday at the Stade de France stadium.

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France accuses Russia of faking websites to sow confusion about Ukraine war

France's government accused Russia on Tuesday of operating a long-running online manipulation campaign, including impersonating the websites of leading French media and the French Foreign Ministry, aimed at spreading confusion and false information about the war in Ukraine. The French agency responsible for fighting foreign digital interference, VIGINUM, said it has monitored the alleged operation since soon after Russia invaded its neighbour and that France was one of several European countries targeted. It said it traced the campaign to Russian individuals, companies and state entities or entities affiliated to the Russian state. Last month, the agency detected a mirror website mimicking the French Foreign Ministry's and intervened with protective and preventive measures, VIGINUM said in a report published Tuesday. France condemns these actions, which are unworthy of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. No attempt at manipulation will distract France from its

France hails 'hero with rucksack' who intervened knife attack on children

The attacker slashed at the 24-year-old man with the knife that he used to savagely stab one young child after another. But rather than run, Henri held his ground using a weighty backpack he was carrying to swing at the assailant and parry his blade. French media hailed Henri as the hero with a rucksack Friday after he was shown in a video grappling with the assailant and charging after him during the knife attack that critically wounded four children between the ages of 22 months and 3 years old, and also injured two adults. Henri had a heavy rucksack on his back and was holding another in his hand when the attacker slashed at him. Even after being slashed at, Henri still continued to harass the attacker by pursuing him inside a playground where the man repeatedly stabbed a child in a stroller and then out of the park again, carrying his rucksacks all the while. He appeared to hurl one of the sacks at the assailant at one point and then pick it up again to take another ...

Child victims of stabbing attack in France in critical but stable condition

France's president travelled on Friday to the side of families traumatised by the savage stabbings of four very young children, all said to be in stable condition after emergency surgery, while investigators worked to unravel the motives of a Syrian man taken into custody. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte traveled together to a hospital treating three of the four children who suffered life-threatening knife wounds in Thursday's still unexplained attack in and around a play park in the Alpine city of Annecy. Macron's prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, said all four children aged between 22 months and 3 years underwent surgery and are under constant medical surveillance. Their situation is stable, she said. Government spokesman Olivier Veran, a medical doctor by training, said two of the children remain in critical condition. Most of the children were rushed after the attack to a hospital in the French Alpine city of Grenoble the first stop for Macron and his wife on

India, France, UAE begin two-day mega wargame exercise in Gulf of Oman

The navies of India, France and the United Arab Emirates have carried out a two-day mega wargame in the Gulf of Oman reflecting their growing cooperation to deal with challenges in the maritime sphere. It was the first edition of the wargame involving navies of the three countries, officials said on Thursday. Indian Naval ship INS Tarkash, French ship Surcouf, French Rafale aircraft and the UAE Navy's maritime patrol aircraft participated in the exercise that began on Wednesday. "The exercise featured a wide spectrum of naval operations such as surface warfare, involving tactical firing and drills for missile engagements on surface targets, helicopter cross deck landing operations, advanced air defence exercise and boarding operations," said an Indian Navy official. The official said the exercise aimed to enhance trilateral cooperation between the three navies and pave the way for adopting measures towards addressing traditional and non-traditional threats in the maritime environme

India, France, UAE begin maiden joint maritime exercise in the Gulf of Oman

The two-day maritime exercise will involve a wide range of naval operations, including surface warfare and helicopter cross-deck landing operations

Knife attacker injures several people, including children, in France

France's interior minister says an attacker with a knife injured children and others in a town in the Alps on Thursday. Gerald Darmanin said the attack took place in a square in the town of Annecy. In a short tweet, he said police have detained the attacker. Several people including children have been injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy, he tweeted.

Unions plan last wave of protest against Macron's higher retirement age

French unions are seeking to reignite resistance to President Emmanuel Macron's higher retirement age with what may be a final surge of nationwide protests and scattered strikes on Tuesday. A third of flights were cancelled at Paris' Orly Airport because of strikes, and about 10 per cent of trains around France were disrupted. Some 250 marches, rallies and other actions are planned around the country on the 14th day of national protest since January over the pension reform. Macron's move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 -- and force the measure through parliament without a vote -- inflamed public emotions and triggered some of France's biggest demonstrations in years. But the intensity of anger over the pension reform has ebbed since the last big protests on May 1, and since the measure became law in April. Some see Tuesday's actions as a last big show of opposition for the movement. Macron says the reform was needed to finance the pension system as the population ages. ..

Kylian Mbappe named Ligue 1 Player of the Year for fourth consecutive time

Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe takes home the trophy -- Ligue 1 Player of the Year -- for the record fourth consecutive year.

PSG goalkeeper Sergio Rico hospitalized after being hit by a loose horse

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Sergio Rico was hospitalized with a head injury after being hit by a loose horse in an accident in Spain. The player's representatives said in a statement that the accident happened near the southern Spanish city of Seville on Sunday, where Rico used to play for Sevilla. Sergio is in good hands, fighting to recover, the statement said, adding that the next 48 hours will be important to determine the progress of his recovery. The statement said Rico had just arrived from France and was headed to a mass with his relatives when the accident happened. Earlier media reports said Rico was horse-riding at the time of the accident. French champion PSG said it remains in constant contact with his loved ones. PSG won the French league on Saturday. Several clubs and players sent messages of support for the 29-year-old Spanish keeper.