France

French Open offers players protection against online harassment

PARIS (AP) — French Open organizers are giving all players access to an online tool meant to protect them from cyberbullying and harassment on social media.

The French tennis federation said Monday the technology developed by a French company will be made available to all players taking part in this year’s clay-court Grand Slam tournament. The software uses artificial intelligence to filter comments posted to social media accounts and block those that are deemed toxic or abusive.

France to pay reparations to thousands of Algerians and their families

17 May 2023; MEMO: The French government is to pay reparations to thousands more Algerians and their families who were held in internment camps in France after the North African country's war of independence, AFP reports.

According to the report, the French government agreed to increase the number of Algerians and their relatives eligible to claim compensation for being forced to live in deplorable and squalid living conditions several decades ago.

France pledges more military aid as Ukraine’s Zelenskyy makes surprise Paris visit to meet Macron

PARIS (AP) — France pledged additional military aid for Ukraine on Sunday, including light tanks, armored vehicles, training for soldiers and other assistance as the Ukrainians gear up for a counteroffensive against Russian forces, following surprise talks in Paris between the Ukrainian and French presidents.

France: 22 dead women, no names: Interpol seeks clues on cold cases

PARIS (AP) — The 22 women mostly met violent deaths. Their bodies, some dismembered, were found in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands over a span of 43 years — the most recent in 2019. Police say some showed signs of abuse or starvation.

But who they were is unknown, frustrating detectives’ hunts for their killers.

France: Journalist working for AFP news agency killed in Ukraine

PARIS (AP) — French international news agency Agence France-Presse says its Ukraine video coordinator was killed Tuesday during a rocket attack near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Arman Soldin, 32, was with a team of AFP journalists traveling with Ukrainian soldiers when the group came under fire with Grad rockets, the agency said. The rest of the AFP team was uninjured.

France: Macron leads ceremony marking end of WWII in Europe

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron led the traditional ceremony on Paris’ Champs-Elysees Monday, commemorating the day that marked the end of World War II in Europe in 1945.

Flanked by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Macron laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe monument. A brass band played the Marseillaise.

Italian PM ‘incapable’ of resolving migrant crisis: French minister

PARIS, May 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “is incapable of resolving the migration problems” faced by her country, France’s interior minister said Thursday in comments that risk fuelling tensions
between Paris and Rome.

In a radio interview in Paris, Gerald Darmanin said Italy faced a “very serious migration crisis” and he drew parallels between Meloni and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

French police clash with black-clad anarchists during May Day rallies

PARIS, May 1 (Reuters) - French police clashed with hundreds of black-clad anarchists in Paris and other cities during union-led protests against President Emmanuel Macron's increase in the retirement age, as workers staged Labour Day rallies across Europe.

Demonstrators pelted Paris police with Molotov cocktails and fireworks, torched building materials and smashed up bus stops. Protesters marching peacefully booed the police as they responded with tear gas and baton charges.

Analysis: Braving boos, Macron hopes 'cathartic' walkabouts will soothe pension anger: France

PARIS, April 27 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has thrown himself into what he calls a "catharsis" operation by confronting angry voters in a series of walkabouts, an attempt to regain control of the narrative that could also expose how distant he has become.

After weeks of protests against his decision to raise the minimum pension age by two years, Macron's popularity ratings have plunged to near record-low levels, threatening to paralyse his reform agenda and turn him into a lame duck.

Subscribe to France