French news

News about and from France. The Cx symbol denotes subscriber-only articles.
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Pétain plaque to be removed from New York street

A plaque honouring France’s notorious wartime collaborator Maréchal Philippe Pétain is set to be removed from a street in New York.

Man finds grass snake in his beans

a grass snake enters the picture frame from the top left with its tongue out

A man was shocked to find a grass snake in the can when he opened up some beans on his return from holidays.

New beach mat helps disabled visitors enjoy seaside

A beach in Bouches-du-Rhône has come up with an innovative mat solution to help disabled beach-goers to access the sand and shoreline more easily.

Drone delivers unknown parcel to prisoners in Valence

Mail111 / Pixabay / CC0 Creative Commons

A drone has managed to enter the courtyard of a prison in Valence (Drôme) and deposit an unknown parcel, prompting fears of future security breaches.

'Back to school' cost down for primary, up for lycée

The cost of this year’s rentrée (‘back to school’) has dropped for primary schools but risen slightly for those at lycée (high school) level.

Water restrictions for 84 departments across France

Gratisography / Pexels / Creative Commons

New water restrictions have been put in place for 84 departments in France, from 17 August onwards. The restrictions have four specific levels, varying in severity.

Warning over carte vitale email scam

Service-Public.fr warns of new 'phishing' attempt

List of fipronil-tainted products published

Ministry of Agriculture releases first list of products tainted with the insecticide that have been sold in France

Clip your yew to help against cancer

Poisonous needles contain substance that can be turned into anti-cancer chemical

Circuses anger over minister's animal welfare comments

Traditional circuses demand urgent meeting with environment minister following radio interview

Consumers 'pay too much for fruit and veg'

Farmers selling direct to the public offers much better value for money, Modef president claims

No need for concern over shark sightings

Biologist explains phenomenon is commonplace, as females head to shore to give birth in 'nurseries'

French turn to homeopathic remedies

Country is one of the world's biggest users of the treatments

Macron makes legal complaint against photographer

President Macron has made a legal complaint against a photographer for allegedly harassing him and his wife Brigitte during a private holiday in Marseille.

Autistic boy receives thousands of birthday cards

A 10-year-old autistic boy from Grenoble has received thousands of birthday cards, letters, gifts, and drawings after a Facebook post by his father went viral.

Why French universities do not rank on world stage

The president of a French university group has defended France’s relatively low rankings in this year’s Shanghai Ranking, saying the French university system is not “necessarily well represented” by the list.

Man jumps into live bullring fight in protest

A vegan activist has jumped into a bullring during a fight in Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) to protest against what he called “the barbarity represented by this practice”.

New 'anti-Brexit' party to be launched

The former chief of staff to the Brexit Minister is set to launch a new ‘anti-Brexit’ party next month.

Paris 2024 aiming to cut carbon emissions by half

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are aiming to reduce their carbon emissions by half, compared to London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Energy firms still issue illegal bills, says regulator

Electricity and natural gas companies in France are still issuing illegal bills over the 14-month backdating limit, the national regulator for energy has found.

List of fipronil-affected egg products to be published

The list of products at risk of contamination by the insecticide egg scandal will be published publicly in the next few days, it has been announced.

Tunnel collapse cuts France-Germany rail link

Repairs will not be completed until end of the month, SNCF says