Libya is ready to work with European governments to stem the migrant flow

The UN-backed government of national unity is working to ensure the rule of law in Libya and could tackle traffickers at source, writes Walid Ellafi

The ambition of Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to join the UK-France migrant returns agreement overlooks one of the m…[Read more]

EU and US edge closer to trade deal as tariff deadline looms

US officials are ‘optimistic’ that an agreement could be imminent.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that negotiations between the European Union and the United States over a long-running trade dispute are making progress.

Speaking in Berlin on Wednesday ahead of a dinner wit…[Read more]

France’s global aid programmes at risk from ‘unprecedented’ budget cuts

Almost 190 non-governmental organisations are sounding the alarm over a “historic” €700 million in cuts to the country’s aid budget announced by the prime minister earlier this month. Coming hard on the heels of other cuts to France’s aid budget last year, the NGOs are warnin…[Read more]

French papers divided over PM Bayrou’s ‘shock treatment’ budget

Wednesday, July 16: French left- and right-wing papers have different evaluations of Prime Minister François Bayrou’s proposed new budget: necessary “shock treatment” or a “purge”? Next, British papers explain the unprecedented superinjunction legal order that was used to hide a…[Read more]

French PM looks to scrap two public holidays in bold bid to cut national debt

France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou has proposed cutting two public holidays as part of a 2026 budget proposal to slash overall spending while also increasing defence expenses.

Bayrou suggested axing Easter Monday and 8 May, a day that commemorates the Allied…[Read more]

France, UK, Germany to reimpose Iran sanctions in August if no progress

France’s foreign minister says sanctions lifted under a 2015 deal would return if no breakthrough on nuclear issue.

France, the United Kingdom and Germany will reinstate harsh sanctions on Iran by the end of August if no progress is made on a nuclear deal, Western d…[Read more]

French inflation revised higher to 0.9% as service costs rise

French consumer prices rose more than initially estimated in June, confirming a broader euro zone trend of gradually rising inflation as service costs accelerate and declines in energy price moderate.
France’s harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone…[Read more]

French probe of Musk’s X deepens as police are called in

A French probe into Elon Musk’s social media platform X deepened on Friday, when the Paris prosecutor’s office said it had enlisted police to investigate suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by the company or its executives.
The move adds to the pressure on Musk, a…[Read more]

UK to return some migrants to France within weeks, PM says

The UK will begin returning migrants arriving in small boats to France within weeks under a new pilot scheme, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Under the “one in, one out” deal, some arrivals would be returned to France and in exchange the UK would accept an equivalent number of asylum seekers,…[Read more]

Iran charges French detainees Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris with spying for Israel

Two French nationals detained for more than three years in Iran have been charged with “spying” for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, diplomatic and family sources said Wednesday, adding that the pair had also been charged with conspiring to overthrow the…[Read more]

Europe’s heatwave moves east as row erupts in France over air conditioning

French far-right leader’s ‘grand plan’ to expand AC comes under attack, while Germany braces for possible record heat

The European heatwave has moved east, threatening record temperatures in Germany, as a political row broke out in France over air conditi…[Read more]

Fires break out in France as southern Europe heatwave intensifies

In France, wildfires broke out in the Corbières area of Aude in the southwest, where temperatures topped 40 degrees (104°F), forcing the evacuation of a campsite and abbey as a precaution.

Firefighters mobilized in several countries to tackle blazes as southern Europeans sought s…[Read more]

French minister calls for extension of EU-US trade talks

France’s finance minister has called for extending EU-U.S. trade talks beyond the July 9 deadline in order to secure a better agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has set the deadline for the trade talks, warning that failure to reach agreement could trigger higher U.S. tariffs on goods…[Read more]

France implements smoking ban at beaches and parks in step towards ‘tobacco-free generation’

Under new rules anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park from Sunday will be breaking the law

Anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park in France will be breaking the law from Sunday under new rules aimed at protecting children fro…[Read more]

Social democracy: PM Bayrou’s proclamations are not enough

Weakened by record unpopularity, his inability to assert authority over the centrist bloc and his complex relationship with the president, French Prime Minister François Bayrou downplayed the deadlock in the key pensions negotiations between labor unions and employers’…[Read more]

Louvre: ‘We want to find a lasting solution to overcrowding

The museum’s director, Laurence des Cars, and the chief architect of France’s historic monuments, François Chatillon, speak to Le Monde about the architectural competition to renovate the world’s most-visited museum.

At the end of January, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the…[Read more]

US ‘science refugees’ arrive at French university after Trump spending cuts

Eight researchers who left the US as a result of President Donald Trump’s spending cuts have arrived at France’s University of Aix-Marseille as part of a programme designed to attract American academics.

Eight American researchers have arrived at a university in…[Read more]

Macron challenges Europe to rival US, China in space

President Emmanuel Macron threw France’s backing behind plans for a European satellite manufacturing champion and called for accelerated deployment of Starlink-type satellites as he declared space the new theatre for world power competition.
Speaking at the Paris Airshow on Friday, after France…[Read more]

Dassault Aviation gets French government support for its VORTEX spaceplane demonstrator

Dassault Aviation (AM.PA), opens new tab and the French government signed on Friday an agreement whereby France’s armed forces ministry would support the development of Dassault Aviation’s VORTEX spaceplane demonstrator.
The agreement was signed at the Paris…[Read more]

Iran threatens to target American, British and French military bases

Tehran says it will take action if western countries help block Iranian retaliatory strikes against Israel

Iran has warned the US, UK and France that their military bases and ships will be targeted if they help block the Iranian missile and drone retaliation for Israel’s a…[Read more]