french

As Strike Drags On, French Gov To Unveil Pension Plan

December 11, 2019 4:26 pm

The French government will unveil the details of a pension reform plan Wednesday that has already seen workers down tools in anticipation, crippling transport for a week as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in protest.

A speedy resolution appears unlikely, with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warning Tuesday — the sixth day of an open-ended transport strike — of a lengthy battle ahead as unions vowed not to yield.

The industrial action has paralysed public transport in Paris and disrupted national rail services and grounded many planes.

It is the biggest show of union force since President Emmanuel Macron …

Great Day For Losers: Wimpy Kid Author Gets French Medal

December 9, 2019 5:00 pm

The Wimpy Kid has finally done good — and his creator Jeff Kinney has even got a medal from France to prove it.

The American creator of the bestseller “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books was made an officer of France’s Order of Arts and Letters on Monday, an honour also conferred on Nobel laureates T. S. Eliot and Seamus Heaney as well as music megastars such as Bono and David Bowie.

As the medal was pinned to his chest, Kinney, 48, said he never expected his stories to become such a cult children’s hit, selling more than 200 …

French Strike Snarls Commutes In Crucial Week For Macron

December 9, 2019 4:59 pm

Travellers across France endured a fifth day of turmoil on Monday amid a massive strike over planned pension reforms, as the government held a final meeting with union officials before unveiling details of the overhaul this week.

Unions have vowed to keep up the fight until President Emmanuel Macron abandons the plan, with another mass demonstration planned in Paris and other cities on Tuesday.

Most Paris metro lines were shut completely while others provided only a few trains during rush hour — leading to huge traffic jams in the capital — with network operator RATP forecasting similar disruptions for Tuesday.…

French Government Sticks By Pension Reform As Atrike Bites

December 6, 2019 2:37 pm

The French government on Friday expressed determination to plough ahead with far-reaching pension reforms in the face of the biggest strikes in years, which have brought public transport in much of the country to a standstill.

The strikes, which began Thursday, have seen most high-speed trains cancelled, flights affected and most of the Paris metro shut down in a major challenge to the ambitious reform agenda of President Emmanuel Macron.

The turmoil is expected to continue over the weekend and through until at least Tuesday when unions have called more nationwide protests to follow mass rallies on Thursday that

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Teen Admits Attempted Murder Of French Boy At London

December 6, 2019 2:37 pm

A British teenager on Friday pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a six-year-old French boy, who was thrown from the 10th floor viewing platform of London’s Tate Modern art gallery.

Jonty Bravery, 18, admitted the charge during a hearing at the Central Criminal Court. He was remanded in custody pending psychiatric reports and sentencing on February 17.

The young boy suffered a broken spine, legs and arm in the attack, which happened in front of horrified visitors to the riverside contemporary art gallery on August 4.

Bravery, who was 17 at the time of the attack, appeared in court

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Montpellier’s French Top 14 Salary Cap Fine Revoked

November 21, 2019 2:56 pm

French Top 14 club Montpellier have had their 400,000 euro ($442,511) fine for salary cap infringements removed by the French Rugby Federation’s appeals commission, according to documents seen by AFP on Thursday.

However the commission increased a previous 50,000 euro fine handed down by the National Rugby League (LNR) to 100,000 euros for “breaches of transparency obligations”.

Montpellier were originally fined for exceeding the cap, at 11.3 million euros, by paying players an additional 428,000 euros during the 2017-18 season when they finished second.

The salaries that had attracted suspicion included those of South African brothers Bismarck and Jannie du …

French Steeplechaser Reportedly Fails Doping Test

November 19, 2019 2:00 pm

French 3,000m steeplechase specialist Ophelie Claude-Boxberger has tested positive for EPO, a source close to the case said on Tuesday.

This is third doping case in French athletics in less than a year.

Paris’ Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed it had opened a “preliminary investigation on 14 October into offences under anti-doping and poisonous substances legislation” following a report from the French anti-doping agency (AFLD).

“I learned once again from the press that there would be a positive test, there was no confirmation from the AFLD,” said Andre Giraud, the president of the French Athletics Federation (FFA).

He said a change …

Macron

Macron Pledges French Help To Fight Armed Groups In Congo

November 12, 2019 3:41 pm
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday pledged military support to DR Congo counterpart Felix Tshisekedi to fight armed groups in the vast central African country’s volatile east.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been wracked by conflict near its eastern border after numerous militias evolved from the two Congo wars (1996-1997 and 1998-2003).

“France is fully engaged at the side of DRC to fight armed groups which are destabilising the country”, some of which are linked to the Islamic State group, Macron told Tshisekedi during a meeting in Paris.

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CAMA: Buhari Planning A Coup Against Christianity – Cleric

French Bishops Approve Payouts For Sex Abuse Victims

November 9, 2019 4:09 pm

French bishops on Saturday approved a programme of payouts to victims of sex abuse by priests — but survivors have already objected that the Church has not gone far enough in admitting responsibility.

Voting at the bi-annual Conference of French Bishops (CEF) in the southern city of Lourdes, a large majority of the 120 bishops approved the payments to those who had suffered abuse within the Church.

The size of the payouts will be made will be determined at a meeting in April, conference chairman Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the archbishop of Reims, told reporters.

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Erdogan Sues French Magazine Over ‘Eradicator’ Cover

Erdogan Sues French Magazine Over ‘Eradicator’ Cover

October 25, 2019 7:42 am

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched legal proceedings against a French magazine which branded Turkey’s president “The Eradicator” after he sent troops into Syria to push back Kurdish forces, media reported Friday.

The complaint was filed against Le Point director Etienne Gernelle and the head of the magazine’s international service Romain Gubert, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

On this week’s cover, Le Point published a picture of Erdogan giving a military salute with the subtitle “Ethnic cleansing: the Erdogan method”, provoking sharp criticism from Turkish government officials.

The cover’s headline called Erdogan “The Eradicator” and asked: “Will he be allowed …

French Prepare For Final Farewell To Ex-President Chirac

French Prepare For Final Farewell To Ex-President Chirac

September 29, 2019 10:01 am

The French public on Sunday began bidding a final farewell to late former president Jacques Chirac, fondly remembered as a charismatic giant of domestic and international politics despite a mixed legacy.

Chirac’s death on Thursday aged 86 prompted a flood of tributes to a man whose high-profile political career spanned three decades capped by 12 years as president from 1995-2007.

But it also sparked questions about how much this consummate political operator had actually achieved during a long spell in office and again threw the spotlight on a 2011 conviction for graft over his time as Paris mayor.

Nevertheless, a

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A customer shot a waiter dead at an eatery on the outskirts of Paris, apparently enraged at being made to wait for a sandwich,

French waiter shot dead for being ‘too slow with sandwich’

August 18, 2019 12:27 am
A customer shot a waiter dead at an eatery on the outskirts of Paris, apparently enraged at being made to wait for a sandwich, a source close to the investigation said Saturday.

The waiter’s colleagues called police after he was shot in the shoulder with a handgun in the Noisy-le-Grand suburb east of Paris on Friday night, the source said.

Attempts to revive the 28-year-old failed and he died at the scene.

The gunman, who a witness said lost his temper “as his sandwich wasn’t prepared quickly enough”, fled the scene.

Read Also: Family of police inspector killed by soldiers

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