France news

France news

According to Christian Louboutin, there are three parts of France where locals proudly claim their regional identity before their national one: the Basque Country, Corsica, and Brittany. The latter, a rocky peninsula on France's northwestern coast, is where the shoe magnate's family is from. "I love the Breton climate, which is very garden-friendly," he says. "And the pride that the people take in their culture and traditions."

Belleville has always been a little bit rowdy, whether it meant to be or not. Long before it was folded into Paris in 1860, it existed as its own working-class wine village perched on a hill, slightly removed from the city both geographically and ideologically. In recent years, as Paris's 10th and 11th arrondissements have slid fully into hipster territory, and even the gritty Barbès neighborhood feels increasingly polished, Belleville has held onto its identity with surprising resolve.

Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif says she is willing to undergo genetic sex testing to compete in the Olympics should the International Olympic Committee (IOC) require it. "Of course, I would accept doing anything I'm required to do to participate in competitions," the 26-year-old cisgender Algerian boxing champion told CNN this week, stipulating that she would only submit to testing by the IOC. According to CNN, Khelif's statement marks the first time she has publicly addressed the possibility of having to submit to genetic testing

Dozens of messages contained in the latest tranche of Epstein files lay bare the attempts by Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon to tap Jeffrey Epstein for support and funding to bolster European far-right parties. The messages mostly date to 2018 and 2019, when Bannon, after being sacked by Trump, regularly visited Europe in his quest to forge a movement in the European parliament uniting ultra-rightwing and Eurosceptic forces from several countries including Italy, Germany, France, Hungary, Poland, Sweden and Austria.

In 2024, Indian nationals received the largest number of highly-qualified worker and researchers visas, according to the latest figures from Eurostat, the EU's statistics office. Indian citizens were granted the largest number of EU Blue Cards in 2024 (16,300), ahead of citizens of Russia (6,700, a number that declined from 9,500 in 2023), Türkiye (5,600) and China (4,600). Almost 1,900 Blue Cards were issued to US citizens, just over 1,200 to Brits and almost 600 to Canadian nationals.

British citizens need a visa to remain in Europe for more than 90 days out of 180 days, so if you're moving to France, the first mistake to avoid is to make sure you apply for the right visa - there are several types, and it's very hard to undo once you're in France says The French Property Show organiser Calum Harkiss. And second, don't go thinking you can leave the application until a few weeks before your move.

Prosecutors have raided the French headquarters of Elon Musk's social media platform X and summoned the tech billionaire and the company's former chief executive for questioning as part of an investigation into alleged cybercrime. A search is under way by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor's office, the national police cyber unit and Europol, the Paris prosecutors' office said in a post on X on Tuesday, adding that it would no longer be publishing on the network.

The French offices of Elon Musk's X are being raided by local police, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. The search is being carried out by a cybercrime unit in relation to an investigation opened in January 2025, the Paris Prosecutor's office said in an X post on Tuesday. X has faced investigations and backlash in Europe over sexual images generated by its AI chatbot Grok.

CNews is the country's most-watched 24-hours TV news station but it scarcely reports the news. It provides a running commentary of loud-mouthed opinion. Emmanuel Macron is a charlatan; the Left is wicked; immigrants are mostly violent criminals; Donald Trump is a breath of fresh air; Vladimir Putin has some faults but many qualities; France is swamped with crime because of the moral weakness of the ruling elite.

French police have raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X on Tuesday morning, escalating a criminal investigation into its Grok AI chatbot and its production of sexually explicit images involving minors. Prosecutors said the search was carried out by France's cybercrime unit in coordination with Europol as authorities examine whether Grok was used to generate and distribute illegal content ranging from sexually explicit deepfakes to Holocaust denial.

A secondary school student stabbed an art teacher in southern France on Tuesday, leaving the 60-year-old in critical condition, the local public prosecutor said. The pupil, in a class of early teenagers, stabbed the teacher at least three times. He was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, said Raphael Balland, the public prosecutor in the southern city of Toulon. France's education minister, Edouard Geffray, said that he was headed to La Guicharde secondary school, where the stabbing took place, in the town of Sanary-sur-Mer.

Budget negotiations have consumed the French political class for nearly two years, after President Emmanuel Macron's 2024 snap election delivered a hung parliament just as a massive hole in public finances made belt-tightening more urgent. The budget talks have cost two prime ministers their jobs, unsettled debt markets and alarmed France's European partners. However, Lecornu whose chaotic two-stage nomination in October drew derision around the world managed to secure the support of Socialist lawmakers through costly but targeted concessions.

According to the text that has now been adopted, the budget deficit is to be reduced to 5% of gross domestic product. There will be higher taxes on some businesses, including an extra tax on large companies' profits, which is expected to bring in around 7.3 billion ($8.6 billion) in 2026. The plan also boosts military spending by 6.5 billion, a move the premier last week described as the "heart" of the budget.

knowingly disguised an employment relationship as a business contract to evade its obligations as an employer

What you need to know about France's speeding laws, a checklist for the increasing number of Americans planning to move to France, whether children of British citizens born here need a UK passport - and Chandeleur traditions. Despite what you may think, French authorities actually do take speeding seriously, we reported this week that speed cameras on French roads will be modified throughout 2026 so that they bring back the 'flash' that lets drivers know they have been caught exceeding the speed limit.

As a disapproving, noise-sensitive harpy who once managed to communicate use headphones to an Italian tween on a train despite us not sharing a common language, I ought to be the ideal candidate for the French rail operator SNCF's new Optimum, no-kids-allowed carriages. The service was promoted last month as a civilised space in which executives could conduct important business in cosseted peace, unmolested by sticky fingers or La Pat' Patrouille (Paw Patrol) blaring from an iPad.

French authorities rescued more than 6,000 migrants attempting to reach Britain in small boats last year, while 25 people died and two remain missing, the maritime prefecture said Friday in its annual report. France has long been a launchpad for migrants hoping to cross the Channel and start a better life in Britain, where the centre-left Labour government is under pressure from the anti-immigration hard right to curb arrivals.

Dozens of protesters rallied in Paris on Wednesday against US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, voicing horror and fear after a second fatal shooting by immigration agents capped months of escalating violence. "F**k ICE, shut it down, in every city, every town," demonstrators chanted as they bundled up against the cold at a protest in central Paris organised by pro-democracy groups Indivisibles and La Digue.

From 'teaching' cameras to the multi-function beasts that can issue tickets for eight separate driving offences, France has a wide variety of different speed cameras. France has thousands of speed cameras (known as radars) along its huge road network, and being caught by one of them can result in a fine, points, losing your licence or even - in extreme cases - jail time.

When you first walk into the heart of Pont-Aven, you're greeted by a natural soundtrack of the River Aven that runs through the centre, tumbling over large boulders along its way towards the sea. One hour northwest of Vannes, it's a microcosm of so many elements of a Breton town, with its harbour of sailboats, charming huddles of granite dwellings and surrounding woodlands framing the scene.