European Political Instability and Migration Tensionsactive

For more than a year, Jordan Bardella had been preparing to run for head of state for the National Rally. But those plans have been disrupted by a recent court ruling that shortened the election ban on far-right leader Marine Le Pen and allowed her to run. Jean-Yves Camus, a French political scientist specializing in far-right extremism, explains in an interview how the National Rally would want to change France if it won. What we ask in the interview: How will the verdict against Marine Le Pen influence the presidential polls? How will France change if Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella becomes president? Does the National Rally (RN) have a coherent electoral program? Will France, if RN wins, move away from the EU’s traditional foreign policy? Could a far-right victory in France mean a deeper transformation of the EU? How can the recent verdict concerning Marine Le Pen influence the upcoming presidential election? The first consequence of that verdict was that until July 7 we were not sure who would be the National Rally’s presidential candidate – Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella. Le Pen decided to run, while Bardella had been at the center of attention for several months. Most observers expected a sentence and a ban on Le Pen’s candidacy, so the court’s decision surprised them greatly. At a certain point, Bardella definitely believed he would be the candidate and that this would free him from Marine Le Pen. In the end, things turned out differently. The consequence…

Former prime ministers, a former president, and party leaders are using their political experience as a key campaigning point, in contrast with Emmanuel Macron's lightning emergence on the scene.

Germany: 'We are implementing the new Pact.' In mid-July, Rome was non-compliant

Former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who is also a candidate in the 2027 presidential election, has filed a legal complaint after becoming the target of deepfakes, accusing "foreign interference originating from Russian networks."

In France, the murder of Lyhanna, a young girl, by a known sex offender sparked widespread outrage and prompted the justice minister to call for a review of police procedures. Now, a leaked letter from Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin to the interior minister details serious failures in the handling of child sexual abuse cases. Camille Knight explains.

Former DC official, he was 90 years old. With him, positions were based on the weight of the parties and factions.

Chancellor Merz's move: Rome will have to take back those who arrived in the EU from our country. Thus, Germany is restarting expulsions that have been halted since 2022. But with Meloni, 340,000 have entered.

Abdirisaq Warsame, 22 years old, arrived in Assia last April. She will be sent back to our country on August 19.

Former prime minister and presidential candidate Gabriel Attal has filed a complaint over an alleged Russian disinformation campaign ahead of next year’s French presidential election, local news outlets reported on Saturday. Attal’s lawyers told French media that the complaint, filed on Friday, denounces “acts of foreign interference, manipulation of information, fabrication of content likely to undermine the fundamental interests of the nation and the sincerity of the upcoming presidential election.” They told BFMTV that several accounts on social network X, some of which impersonated French and international media, had disseminated fake video reports and newspaper articles attributing false statements to Attal that were “intended to discredit him as a candidate.” Attal, the candidate of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, said earlier this week that he had been a victim of attempted election interference originating in Russia, and that he expected such destabilization efforts to increase ahead of the April 2027 presidential election. Viginum, the country’s agency for fighting online disinformation, confirmed it had detected the operation against Attal and said it bore the hallmarks of pro-Russian disinformation tactics. Attal is the latest French presidential candidate to have fallen victim to such disinformation campaigns. Former prime minister Edouard Philippe was reportedly targeted last week, as was center-left parliamentarian Raphaël Glucksmann.

European Aquatics Championships taking place in city Threat to water quality tested two years after Games Paris is staging its first high-diving competition in the Seine, with athletes launching themselves from a 20-metre platform in front of the Eiffel Tower – a spectacular new test of the city’s effort to reclaim its river for sport. The event on the Pont de Bir-Hakeim has also exposed the fragility of that ambition. Organisers suspended training on Thursday when traces of hydrocarbons were detected upstream. By Friday, the French Swimming Federation said the affected area had been treated, allowing athletes to return to the water and the event to proceed as planned. High diving concludes on Saturday with the final two rounds and medal events, while the broader European Aquatics Championships run through to 16 August. Continue reading...

The silent humanitarian emergency and the resistance of women

Owner of X and the world's first trillionaire Elon Musk attacked French presidential candidate Marine Tondelier on Thursday, after the Greens party leader said French authorities should be able to suspend the platform during electoral campaigns in case of foreign interference. "I demand that she be shut down for treason against France!" Musk wrote on X, prompting a strong reaction from Tondelier. "France does not need lessons in patriotism from a foreign billionaire who thinks he gets to decide which European political leaders should be silenced. Democracy is not for sale. Not even to the richest man in the world," she responded. "I’d rather be accused of defending democracy than of trying to buy it." Musk, who is a former adviser to U. S. President Donald Trump, has regularly weighed in on European politics and thrown his support behind far-right candidates and parties — and France is no exception. In July, Musk said far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was "France’s last hope," but her National Rally party was quick to downplay his backing to avoid being associated with the controversial owner of Tesla and SpaceX. Hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon also slammed Musk’s attacks against Tondelier on Thursday, before accusing the French government of not doing enough to fight foreign interference. "The French presidential election is an open bar for all the manipulators in the world," he wrote — a criticism Foreign Minist…

A masked appearance by armed Corsican separatists and threats made against people moving to the island from mainland France has reignited tensions over the Mediterranean island’s political future, amid growing concerns about intimidation and violence.

PARIS — Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal is the latest in a string of French presidential candidates allegedly targeted by a Russian disinformation campaign. Attal, the candidate of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, said on Thursday he had been “a victim” of an electoral “interference” attempt originating from Russia, and that he expected such “destabilization efforts” to increase ahead of France’s April 2027 election. Viginum, the country’s agency for fighting online disinformation, confirmed it had detected the operation against Attal and attributed it “with a high level of confidence” to “pro-Russian” disinformation tactics. Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who is also running for president, was the first to be reportedly targeted last week, before center-left parliamentarian Raphaël Glucksmann, who is expected to run, shared that he had been targeted by a “Russian operation” on Monday. Attal said on RTL radio on Thursday the smear campaign against him consisted of falsified news reports about his health and policy proposals, which copied the branding of French news outlets. “Russia wants to steal the election from the French,” he said. A 2024 report from Viginum identified a similar “pro-Russian campaign” known as “Matriochka,” which involved news and media reports impersonating well-known French outlets. “Combating foreign interference and protecting our democratic framework are a priority,” current Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu posted online on Wednesday. “Several instances of foreign interference targeting candidates have already been detected, and in each case, the individuals were immediately notified.”

Gabriel Attal, France’s former prime minister and Renaissance party leader, has been targeted by “foreign interference originating in Russia”, in the latest in a series of Kremlin‑linked operations aimed at destabilising the 2027 presidential election.

A separate Russian-linked propaganda network has also recently targeted two other presidential candidates, Edouard Philippe and Raphaël Glucksmann, according to French authorities.

A consortium of banks should allow far-right candidate Marine Le Pen to obtain a loan in France. In past campaigns, she took loans from Russian and Hungarian establishments after French banks were reluctant to be associated with her.

Lenders signal willingness to offer campaign loans if government guarantees are in place

The far-right presidential candidate has sent Jordan Bardella to appeal to a community that usually shuns her party.

'More Than A Restaurant' (5/6). Perched above the Seine and facing Notre-Dame, this legendary establishment earned its renown with its pressed duck recipe served since the 19th century. It's been run by the Terrail family for three generations.

Some in Dover say their town is being exploited by content creators and politicians, but others claim there is a genuine problem If you believe rightwing influencers and politicians, Dover and the wider Kent coast has been the site of an “invasion” for years now. And, for an online audience of millions, they and their camera crews have been the vanguard in the nation’s defence. Indeed, if you believe all you see on the algorithms of amateur Channel watchers, the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, braved a hail of French gunfire as he took to the water in a fishing boat this week; an attempt by the French authorities, he suggested, to deter him in his mission of highlighting the small boats crisis. Continue reading...

For nine days, Bordeaux's departmental operations center has coordinated management of the megafire in the Gironde department, which has ravaged 42,000 hectares.

Amid the presidential campaign, political attacks have not stopped pouring in France from all fronts, from the far right to the far left, since the forest fires have taken on an absolutely historic dimension in recent days, fueled by extreme heat and drought. The National Rally of Marine Le Pen has been opposing environmental regulations for years. However, the far-right party uses the worst fires the country has suffered in years to argue that President Emmanuel Macron's government is failing in one of its most basic duties: protecting the population and their homes. Edwige Díaz, a deputy of the National Rally and close ally of Le Pen, originally from the Gironde region, struck by the fires, states that these disasters are the latest episode in a series of crises—ranging from extreme weather phenomena to concerns about crime and child safety—that highlight the government's overall inability to protect its citizens. The terrible images of the fires ravaging Gironde and Landes fill all French people with horror. To the victims, to the families overwhelmed by the anxiety of evacuation and crushed by the pain of losing their belongings, I send a message of support, comfort… — Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) July 24, 2026 “All the proposals we have presented over the years joint…

PARIS — Far-right leader Marine Le Pen isn’t the only candidate in France’s presidential election vowing to upend the status quo in the European Union. If far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon were to emerge as French president, he has signaled he would seek to overturn the bloc’s foundational relationship: the Franco-German partnership that has underpinned European integration for decades, but which he believes has primarily served Berlin’s interests. There are still nine months until France’s crucial presidential vote, but Mélenchon’s strong start to his campaign and the infighting among the rest of the left has positioned him as one of the best-placed candidates to challenge Le Pen in a second round, polling shows. That’s hardly seen as an encouraging prospect in Berlin. M´elenchon devoted an entire book in 2015 to his disdain for the German model and — in a clean break from the traditional Paris-Berlin alliance that underpins the EU — said this month that he would not commit to a recent series of agreements between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on issues ranging from nuclear deterrence to industrial policy. Right now, a Mélenchon victory isn’t seen as likely in the halls of power across the Rhine, and recent surveys show Le Pen would handily defeat him if both advanced to a runoff. But German lawmakers acknowledge the anticapitalist’s disruptive potential. “Mélenchon’s political positions on key issues of European policy, his hostility toward Germany … would make him a massive problem for Franco-German cooperation,” said Roland Theis, a lawmaker from Merz’s conservatives known for his work on Franco-German issues. Berlin is much more focused on the prospect of a Le Pen victory, which would pose its own set of problems. Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founded her political party alongside Nazi collaborators and was notorious for downplaying the Holocaust. While the younger Le Pen has tried to distance the National Rally from its past, even kicking her father out of the party, she remains a strident euroskeptic who has vowed to slash French contributions to the European Union. Ahead of the pivotal contest, Germany and France have jointly expedited work on shared EU objectives, though they say their urgency is born out of economic necessity rather than getting work done ahead of a Le Pen presidency. But Mélenchon poses a threat to the current German government as well. Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron are pictured in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany on July 16, 2026. | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images “A Mélenchon presidency would significantly complicate bilateral and European cooperation at the highest levels,” said Anton Hofreiter, a Green lawmaker and head of the European affairs committee in the Bundestag. He warned that this could lead to European projects being built without French involvement, citing defense capabilities as an example. ‘The German poison’ Mélenchon’s antipathy toward Brussels and Berlin stems more from ideological opposition, especially to Germany, than the nationalist sentiment that fuels Le Pen’s euroskepticism. “The Germans are imposing ordoliberalism [a German-inspired vision of free-market economics with state oversight] on Europe,” said Aurélien Taché, a lawmaker from Mélenchon’s France Unbowed party who sits on the French National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee. “We are not anti-European; we are against ordoliberalism.” France Unbowed believes the Franco-German engine does not exist, but rather that the Germans are seeking to impose their agenda onto the EU. Instead, Mélenchon wants France to strengthen ties with China as well as French-speaking countries in Africa, as well as South American countries. He sees the United States as an imperialist danger, while Germany — despite its turbulent relations with President Donald Trump — views the transatlantic relationship as paramount to its foreign policy. Mélenchon is opposed to Germany’s deeply held attachment to its free-market economic model and favors a planned economy instead. Mélenchon is also critical of Germany’s rearmament and the continued presence of U. S. nuclear weapons on its soil, which he said: “raise serious security concerns for neighboring countries.” Berlin aims to become Europe’s predominant military power in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and American retrenchment from Europe. Mélenchon’s 2015 book “Bismarck’s Herring,” subtitled “The German Poison,” was meant to be a response to the many politicians who at the time in France viewed Germany as a policy model thanks to its low unemployment and strong growth rates. Mélenchon pointed to the poverty rate in Germany, which at that time was several points higher than in France, and low birth rates as examples of the model’s failures. “My goal is to pierce through the veil of bliss surrounding so many commentators who are fascinated by Germany,” reads the book’s blurb. “A monster has been born right before our eyes — the child of deregulated finance and a country that has devoted itself to it, ravaged by the accelerated aging of its population.” Parts of French media, even left-leaning outlet Libération, deemed the book excessively Germanophobic. In it, Mélenchon adopts a provocative tone and states that “political confrontation with German governments is one of the conditions for the liberation of peoples.” Mélenchon coauthored a roughly 20-page foreign policy analysis released earlier this month that outlines some of his key international priorities, including withdrawing from NATO due to Washington’s “openly hostile” posture toward the alliance. Le Pen’s National Rally, meanwhile, has only proposed leaving NATO’s integrated command. The document also said France should pledge to uphold the EU’s Article 42 clause, which guarantees aid and assistance from other member countries in case of an attack on one member, and even called it an “absolute priority” to extend it to territories “affiliated” with EU countries, such as Greenland. But Mélenchon and his coauthors insisted that France should by no means be “chained to a geographic bloc,” within the EU, which is “characterized by extreme Atlanticism.” Pedro Sánchez speaks to the media in Turre, Spain on July 13, 2026. | Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images Mélenchon is much more interested in strengthening ties with another one of France’s neighbors, Spain, whose center-left Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez he views as a better-suited ally due to his confrontational approach toward Trump and Israel. But Berlin has been searching for new allies — especially Rome — as disagreements with Paris have piled up. Disagreements over the EU’s landmark Mercosur trade deal with South America — backed by Germany and opposed by France — and the decision to kill a joint project to build a next-generation fighter jet have shaken Franco-German ties. “The major decisions of the past six years — such as those regarding Mercosur or the free trade agreements with Donald Trump — have consistently favored the Germans, not the French,” said Taché, the France Unbowed lawmaker. Yet Frédéric Petit, a centrist lawmaker in the French parliament who represents French citizens living in Germany, believes that the bond between the two countries is strong enough to survive what he called “an electoral accident.” “The Franco-German relationship, which is backed by majorities in both countries, would absolutely not be called into question,” he said. “There are dual citizens, joint organizations and policies which, regardless of who is the next president, won’t be possible to immediately undo.”

PARIS — Out-of-control wildfires fueled by extreme heat and drought might seem unlikely electoral fodder for France’s far right. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has spent years opposing green regulations. Yet the party is seizing on the country’s worst blazes in years to argue that President Emmanuel Macron’s government is failing in one of its most basic duties: protecting people and their homes. Edwige Diaz, a National Rally MP and close Le Pen ally from the fire-hit Gironde region, says the blazes are the latest in a series of crises — from extreme weather to concerns over crime and child safety — that expose the government’s broader inability to protect the public. “All the proposals that we have been putting forward for years with Marine and Jordan [Bardella] … today we realize that those are the only ones that could have spared us these situations, from protecting us from wildfires to saving our children,” she said. “Current events, alas, prove us right.” Whether that argument will gain traction remains uncertain. But National Rally may not need voters to see it as an authority on climate change; its opening lies instead in the declining credibility of the parties that have governed France — and a sense among some voters that the state is no longer capable of protecting them. Recent research shared with POLITICO — based on four focus groups with former center and center-left voters who appeared unlikely to support those parties again — found repeated references to a country that was falling apart. Participants cited a series of recent crises, including the murder of an 11-year-old girl by a suspect previously known to police, as evidence that the government was failing to act. Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella arrive to attend a ceremony in Nice, France on July 14, 2026. | Pool photo by Philippe Magoni via AFP/Getty Images That frustration extends to climate preparedness. In a YouGov poll published this month, 74 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Macron’s climate-adaptation policies. “The National Rally mechanically benefits from its anti-system positioning whenever there is a news event that gives the impression, right or wrong, that successive governments have not taken effective action to address the difficulties faced by the French people,” said Mathieu Gallard, research director at Ipsos France, a polling firm. The fires have burned more than 1,000 square kilometers across southwestern France since the start of the summer — an area roughly 10 times the size of Paris — and forced more than 200,000 people from their homes. Coming after an extreme heatwave left the countryside tinder-dry, they have already scorched nearly twice as much land as during the last devastating fire season in 2022. Images of the Bordeaux region, home to a large population and many popular vacation spots, engulfed by flames have deepened an already grim mood in the political class and among ordinary citizens alike. Macron made an impromptu visit to the area on Monday to meet with local firefighters and appealed for national unity as his government sought to contain criticism of its response. Le Pen herself struck a more restrained tone. In a post on X, she said the images had filled the country with horror, offered support to victims and evacuated families, and praised firefighters and civil-protection forces for their “exceptional self-sacrifice.” She did not directly criticize the government. As France has sweltered through record heat, the National Rally has so far paid little political price for its lack of credibility on climate and environmental policy. Instead, the party has sought to focus attention on adaptation — how the government protects people from the consequences of a warming climate — rather than on measures to reduce emissions. During a heatwave in June, it proposed financial assistance to install air conditioning in homes and public buildings, casting the plan as an immediate response to voters’ concerns about their health and safety. The proposal drew attention, Gallard said, but he questioned whether the wildfires would offer the National Rally the same political opening. “I’m not sure they will benefit hugely in this case because they have very limited credibility on environmental issues,” he said. The National Rally struggled to explain how its air-conditioning proposal would be funded. Opponents dismissed it as political window-dressing from a party that has repeatedly opposed measures intended to limit climate change. Smoke from nearby wildfires covers the skyline of Bordeaux on July 26, 2026. | Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images Still, the pitch exposed a vulnerability among mainstream parties. As voters become more concerned about the immediate effects of heat, fires and other extreme weather, the political debate is shifting from long-term climate targets toward whether governments can protect people now. Left-wing rivals who have long advocated for stronger measures to address climate change counter that the party has been consistently voting against plans meant to address its root causes, both at the EU and national level. “At some point, everyone will have to answer for their positions before the public and before history,” center-left MEP and presidential hopeful Raphaël Glucksmann posted on Facebook. “For months and years now, the right and the far right have been engaged in a relentless battle against the European climate agenda,” he added. National Rally’s Diaz turned that argument on its head, blaming environmental rules themselves for hampering the response. She pointed to EU-mandated anti-pollution rules on firefighting equipment as an example of policies she said were poorly adapted to conditions on the ground. “Those who claim to be at the forefront of environmental issues have imposed policies that are now responsible for the current situation,” said Diaz. “If there is a party today that can save the environment, it’s ours.” Alexander Burns contributed reporting to this story.

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed Monday "to rebuild a different kind of forest" as he visited an area ravaged by wildfires in southwest France, adding that "the coming weeks will be tough". FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Yuval Zelnik, Researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Ecology Department.

PARIS — France’s far-right National Rally appears to be in alignment on lowering the age of retirement to 62 but is looking at other options to bring down pension spending before Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign gets fully underway. Two party officials say Le Pen ruled in high-level meetings on July 16 and 17 that the National Rally would maintain a previous pledge to bring back down the legal retirement age, confirming reporting from French daily Libération. French President Emmanuel Macron’s flagship pension reform raised the retirement age to 64 for most workers. However, according to two participants in these meetings, Le Pen tasked the party with studying potential other retirement reform tweaks before they formally unveil their campaign platform in the coming months. One such option is to scrap a rule that allows individuals to retire on a full pension at 67, even if they haven’t paid in long enough to otherwise qualify, as reported last month by POLITICO. According to one participant in the meetings who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations, the National Rally is also looking into a potentially controversial proposal which would encourage workers to contribute to private pension schemes in addition to paying into the state system — a proposal long supported by fiscal conservatives. Rival factions within the National Rally have for weeks battled over what to do about France’s generous pension system in light of the country’s increasingly dire financial outlook. Party President Jordan Bardella and other seemingly more business-friendly National Rally figures have argued against committing to lowering the retirement age in order to bolster their credibility on economic issues. Bardella was long seen as the National Rally’s presumptive presidential candidate as Le Pen appealed an embezzlement conviction that looked likely to knock her out of the contest. But a court ruling on July 7 cleared the way for her to run next year. The confirmation of Le Pen as the party’s presidential candidate was a victory for the traditional wing of the party that favors lowering the retirement age. “Some are acting as though it’s already settled,” said another participant in the meeting, who belongs to the National Rally’s pro-business faction. “It’s not the [same] reform as 2022 if there are changes,” they said, referencing Le Pen’s promise to maintain a legal retirement age at 62 ahead of the last presidential election.

PARIS — Politics in France has rarely been more divisive, but presidential candidates of various political persuasions have finally found something they agree on: The new movie about Charles de Gaulle is a masterpiece. “De Gaulle,” a two-part, five-hour-long opus, has become an unexpected summer hit after a slow start at the box office. The film tells the lesser-known tale of the legendary general’s political maneuvering to maintain France’s sovereignty and fend off a domineering American president’s plans for Europe. “De Gaulle” is a movie for the moment, and not just because the comfort of dark, air-conditioned theaters offers refuge from heat waves scorching France this summer. The epic tale of a solitary, dogged patriot fighting to save his country from annihilation while standing up to an overbearing ally across the Atlantic captures the zeitgeist of French politics today. As France again faces questions about the future of its alliance with the United States, French people find themselves forced to choose between various leaders portraying themselves as national saviors ahead of the presidential election next year. So presidential hopefuls from across the political spectrum, including those from parties that view De Gaulle less favorably, are hailing the film’s portrayal of the wartime general’s brilliance in times of trouble — and, in thinly veiled casting attempts, trying to portray themselves as France’s next providential leader. Prim…

Fire crews in France are battling unchecked wildfires that have forced more than 300,000 people to flee were overwhelmed on Sunday as the unpredictable blazes advances. To help stop the flames from spreading, a giant A400M military cargo aircraft has been converted for firefighting in southwest France. Swooping low over arid, fire-threatened woodlands, the plane dropped a long plume or ochre-coloured retardant. FRANCE 24's Charlotte Hughes tells us more about the techniques being used by French firefighters.

Sunday’s traditional stage in Paris has been shortened to reduce pressure on emergency services tackling wildfires.

The aircraft was deployed on Saturday to support the French civil protection fleet in an attempt to contain the wildfire that has ravaged tens of thousands of hectares and forced over 140,000 people to evacuate their homes.

At home, they called her "the leftist of the family." Her father, biologist Michel Delsol, a traditionalist and right-wing man, told her that. Chantal Delsol (Paris, 1947) inherited her appreciation for science, although she chose philosophy. Later, she approached conservative thought, but not in a predictable way: she was critical of May 68 and in the 70s became a feminist. Often, this French and Catholic thinker tends to be disconcerting. Member of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences and founder of the Hannah Arendt Institute, Delsol is one of the most relevant intellectuals of conservative thought, author of Populisms, The Twilight of the Universal, and The Insurrection of Singularities, among others. "Right-wing nonconformist," according to Le Figaro, she defines herself as "liberal-conservative." A few months ago, she caused controversy by inviting tech magnate Peter Thiel to the Academy, as part of a working group on democracy issues. She explains to La Tercera: —I was reading Peter Thiel's texts and wanted my colleagues at the Academy to realize the mediocrity of his thought, despite the publicity he receives. It was time to show how simplistic and even uncultured these American currents can be, even though they invoke great thinkers— in this case, René Girard— whose ideas they distort. Naturally, the left-wing press concluded that I admired Thiel. P…

The threat of a Le Pen presidency has provided an incentive for Paris and Berlin to come together

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered the armed forces to deploy an A400M military transport aircraft as early as Saturday to help combat fires raging in the southwest, his office said.

The Gironde region around Bordeaux is once again battling major wildfires, four years after a devastating blaze swept through the area. As Morgan Ayre explains, a combination of high-risk factors, including vast forests of maritime pine, persistent drought and heavy tourist traffic, has made the region especially vulnerable to fast-moving fires.

Far-right politicians in Europe and the Americas have gained support by promising to curb the disruptions of globalization, pledging strict borders and inward-looking economic and security policies. In France, voters have another reason to consider the hard right: many see no alternative. That’s the conclusion of a new study of French voters conducted by Deborah Mattinson and Claire Ainsley, two prominent British political strategists. Mattinson and Ainsley, both affiliated with the center-left Progressive Policy Institute, have conducted focus groups with persuadable voters across Europe, the United States, and Australia. For long-established political parties, the picture is bleak. The collapse of the center and the rise of extremes is a global trend, confirmed in scores of elections and PPI’s international focus groups. Even in that bleak context, France stands out as a land of political desolation — a country where voters are so despairing and the center and left so depleted that Marine Le Pen, criminal conviction and all, may well be the next president. “One of the things that came really clearly from these focus groups is that National Rally are on track to win because they are sort of the only show in town,” Mattinson told me, referring to Le Pen’s party. The Mattinson-Ainsley research, which they shared with POLITICO Magazine, is striking for anyone dealing with the far right’s appeal to working-class communities, or hoping to revive a coalition…

A wildfire near Bordeaux, France, has burned 3,100 hectares (7,660 acres) of forest

In France, while Paris enjoys respite from the record-breaking heat last month, the riviera and the southwest of France are being swept by fast-moving wildfires. Thousands of residents have been evacuated in a seaside holiday area.

PARIS — Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left France Unbowed party has come under renewed scrutiny over accusations of antisemitism after LGBT+ activist and feminist DJ Barbara Butch was forced to cut short a concert in Grenoble over the weekend. Butch, who is Jewish, plans to file a complaint against Mélenchon’s party for incitement to hatred and violence, her lawyer Audrey Msellati told Franceinfo radio Thursday. The French DJ had shot to worldwide fame after appearing in a controversial performance at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony in 2024 inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” featuring drag queens and a quasi-naked blue performer. On Saturday, Butch was forced to interrupt a show in the southeastern town of Grenoble amid heckling and reports that objects had been thrown at the stage. “I was extremely scared, so much so. And the shock was such that I couldn’t move for days,” Butch said on Thursday. “And now there are new calls to boycott that have been made by the France Unbowed [locally].” Critics, including former prime minister and presidential hopeful Gabriel Attal, have accused the far left of targeting Butch because she is Jewish. France Unbowed and Mélenchon, who has been gaining ground against centrist candidates in recent polls ahead of next year’s presidential election, have previously faced accusations of antisemitism. Ahead of Butch’s show in Grenoble, local branches of France Unbowed and pro-Palestinian activists called for a boycott and protest, accusing her of supporting Israel. In a leaflet, they said she had “censored Palestinian voices” by signing a petition backing controversial French draft legislation against antisemitism in 2024. The bill was later dropped. France Unbowed has been on the defensive over the incident. Mathilde Panot, the leader of its parliamentary group, said Wednesday that the leaflet targeting Butch was “bad.”

Central bank pauses despite renewed surge in oil prices

First as a Marine and then as a journalist, I spent years tied to Afghanistan. I returned one last time to speak to a former enemy in search of answers, and perhaps closure.

Monique Barbut, who said she intended to quit the government on Tuesday, July 21, after an agricultural law she contested was adopted, ended up staying on in her role on Wednesday. The twist added a colorful note to the political crisis.

A fierce wildfire near Bordeaux in south-west France has led to the evacuation of a further 7,000 people on Thursday, bringing the total number of tourists and residents moved to 12,000, local authorities said.

France's environment minister, Monique Barbut, will remain in her post, given the "urgency" to act on climate change, after submitting her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron over a bill to reintroduce bee-harming pesticides, her team said Wednesday.

Monique Barbut submitted her resignation in protest over the reintroduction of pesticides that scientists say harm human health as well as bee populations. But President Emmanuel Macron reportedly refused to accept it.

Monique Barbut submitted her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, but he did not accept it, her office said.

Environment Minister ⁠Monique Barbut has stepped ​down in protest after French lawmakers approved ​controversial legislation allowing the temporary reintroduction of two pesticides accused of harming bees.

France's environment minister Monique Barbut said Wednesday that she would “submit her resignation" to France President Emmanuel Macron following the French parliament's final adoption of a controversial measure on bee-harming pesticides to which she was opposed.

As movements to regulate children's use of social media are spreading across countries, France's National Assembly has passed a bill banning children under 15 from using social media. If the law comes into effect as scheduled in September this year, it is expected to be the first in Europe.

France’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making France the first European country to bar children from apps such as TikTok. President Emmanuel Macron has championed the ban as a flagship reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September. “France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers,” Macron said in a video posted on social media, hailing “a major step forward”. He...

France’s National Assembly has approved an emergency agriculture bill after a tense overnight debate, clearing the way for the possible temporary return of two pesticides banned in the country but still authorised elsewhere in the European Union.

French lawmakers on Tuesday narrowly approved President Emmanuel Macron’s candidate to serve as Défenseur des droits (human rights ombdusman), despite vehement opposition from groups arguing that Senator François-Noël Buffet’s views run counter to the mission of defending the rights of the most vulnerable.

PARIS — French Minister of Ecological Transition Monique Barbut plans to step down in protest after lawmakers approved controversial farming legislation that exposed major divisions among President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist supporters. A member of the minister’s team, granted anonymity to discuss a decision that has not been shared publicly, said that Barbut told Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and her own office she would resign after the bill’s expected passage by the French Senate later Tuesday. The government’s original draft legislation was intended to address French farmers’ frequent complaints about tightening margins and increasingly difficult production conditions. Two of its provisions — one that temporarily authorizes the use of a currently banned pesticide for nut producers and another that doubles water storage allowances for farmers over the next decade — have turned the legislation into a political lightning rod. Barbut was against the pesticide and water storage proposals, both of which were added late in the legislative process to ensure the bill’s passage in the conservative-majority Senate. She made her opposition clear over the weekend in an interview published by Sunday newspaper La Tribune Dimanche. “This government bill, which was intended to address an emergency situation facing our farmers, has — since the Senate’s amendments — significantly altered the policy governing the allocation of water resources in our country,” she said. Annie Genevard, France’s conservative agriculture minister, directly opposed her colleague at the Ministry of Ecological Transition, warning that “allowing this bill to fail — whether out of ideology, self-interest or fear — would push farmers to the brink of despair,” in an interview with another Sunday publication, Le Journal du Dimanche. Balancing farming and the environment The debate over the legislation has highlighted the tensions between calls to protect the environment and efforts to keep French agriculture economically viable. It has also exposed serious rifts among Macron’s centrists, most notably between Lecornu and Gabriel Attal, the head of Macron’s centrist Renaissance party and a candidate in next year’s presidential election in France. Attal and Lecornu both supported reintroducing the pesticide in question, acetamiprid, under exceptional circumstances, but in a parliamentary debate Monday night the centrist lawmaker nonetheless expressed frustration that the government allowed the provision to be introduced at such a late stage. Acetamiprid is a chemical that belongs to a group of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, which are used to kill crop-damaging insects. In 2018, the European Union banned three neonicotinoids, but not acetamiprid, which has come under scrutiny over its effects on the nervous systems of both bees and humans. Acetamiprid is considered less toxic to bees and breaks down faster in soil than the trio banned by Brussels. France independently chose to ban acetamiprid in 2020. Farmers’ unions have been trying to lobby for its reintroduction ever since, arguing that having certain chemicals banned in France but allowed elsewhere in the European single market creates unfair market conditions. Last year, French lawmakers passed a bill reauthorizing the use of acetamiprid despite a petition against it netting more than 2 million signatures. The bill was later struck down by France’s constitutional court, which ruled that the exceptions allowing the use of the pesticide were too broad. “In 2026, it is deeply concerning that some lawmakers continue to disregard the overwhelming scientific evidence on the dangers of neonicotinoids and their impact on water resources,” said in a statement Julien Rivoire, an agriculture campaigner for Greenpeace’s French branch. Meanwhile, France’s biggest farmers union, the FNSEA, hailed the vote as “a major milestone and a first victory for French farmers” in a post on X. While less hotly debated, the water supply provision was also controversial. Water storage has become an increasingly fraught issue in France as climate change-induced heat waves and droughts threaten supplies across Europe. The construction of water reservoirs for farmers led to violent clashes between protesters and police during a 2023 demonstration attended by thousands, including prominent French Green politicians, who felt that the agriculture industry was hoarding water and refusing to adopt less water-intensive farming techniques.

The border between consumer technology and cultural heritage narrows once again. Samsung Electronics announced the addition of 34 new pieces from the Louvre collection to its digital platform Samsung Art Store. With this expansion, the catalog of the iconic Parisian museum available on the screens of the South Korean brand reaches 51 masterpieces. The digital repository now includes unavoidable classics of art history. Users can display in high resolution Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, and Paolo Veronese's The Wedding at Cana. The curated selection covers the Renaissance, Neoclassical, and Romantic periods, also adding paintings by great European masters such as Caravaggio, Jacques-Louis David, Dominique Papety, and Nicolas Poussin. A category in itself Guillaume Rault, Vice President of Consumer Electronics at Samsung France, highlighted the value of this integration: “The Louvre represents the best of French artistic and cultural heritage. We are proud to bring these masterpieces beyond the museum walls and into the homes of millions of people worldwide through our screens.” The move reinforces Samsung's leadership in a segment where visual aesthetics set the rules. Samsung invented the trend of the television as a work of art with its Frame series. Today, the subscription to Art Store exceeds five thousand curated pieces of ga…

The wildfires that ravaged more than 2,000 hectares of the Fontainebleau Forest have destroyed habitats and have put its diversity of plant and animal life under threat.

France’s controversial “Ripost” law, aimed at strengthening the state’s response to urban unrest and public disorder, is set to face a decisive test on Monday when a joint parliamentary committee will study versions adopted by the National Assembly and the Senate.

Algeria and Germany agreed to deepen energy ties during President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's recent visit to Berlin. But Algiers is still grappling with tensions at home, over Western Sahara and instability in the Sahel.

A plaque in Paris honoring a couple and their daughter who saved a 13-year-old child during the World War II roundup was vandalized ahead of the ceremony, French authorities said.

Le Monde's critics present our selection of exhibitions on painting, contemporary art and photography across France.

As heatwaves multiply, public debate often amounts to little more than empty gestures. Recent government decisions to cut green funds and return energy-inefficient homes to the rental market reveal the denial prevailing among much of the political class, writes Le Monde columnist Stéphane Foucart.

The German Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, warned in an interview with the Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag that there is currently a risk of attacks in Germany, according to security agencies. Dobrindt stated: "The reports we receive and the picture given by intelligence services have led me to revise the classification from an abstract threat situation to a high threat situation. This means that there is always a risk of attacks in Germany." The minister pointed out that there are identifiable plans that not only target German infrastructure and German citizens but also other people and institutions within the country. On August 13, the Council of Ministers will debate a reform aimed at allowing secret services to intervene directly against certain threats, surpassing the current limitation of only collecting and assessing information. Dobrindt explained: "My goal is for our intelligence services to become true secret services to be competitive and genuine partners of friendly services abroad." This could imply that, under certain circumstances, agents of secret services would be authorized to enter and search a residence if police officers are not immediately available. This reform would mainly affect the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which can only operate...

After more than three months of hearings in a case involving a murder, two attempted murders and several violent assaults, 22 defendants involved in the criminal activities linked to a Masonic lodge in the Paris region heard the verdicts of a special court of the French capital on Friday.

France has been battling a series of devastating wildfires following record-breaking heatwaves, with the government saying the country has not experienced so many fire outbreaks since World War II. One of the largest blazes has scorched thousands of hectares in the historic Fontainebleau forest, south of Paris. In response, the Fondation du Patrimoine has launched a fundraising campaign to help restore the damaged woodland by replanting the forest. Elitsa Gadeva reports.

On Friday, July 17, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Russian Federation embassy over Russia's malicious cyber activity on French territory.

The former Israeli ambassador to France, in an op-ed for Le Monde, calls for the release of the Palestinian politician, who has been held in Israel since 2002. He argues that Barghouti has consistently championed the project of a sovereign Palestine living in peace alongside Israel.

Between acts of sabotage and drone flyovers, the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) attributed a large-scale cyberespionage campaign to Russian domestic intelligence. In response, the chargé d'affaires at the Russian embassy in Paris was summoned by the foreign minister on Friday, July 17.

Germany, stripped of Russian pipeline gas, received Algeria's president with military honours and talked about LNG.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the Noervenich air base near Cologne on Friday for the 26th Franco-German ministerial council.

BERLIN — French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Friday to reach deals on an ambitious slate of topics before year’s end, but the duo cast their urgency as a matter of economic survival rather than a bid to safeguard the Franco-German relationship from a Marine Le Pen presidency. Speaking at the end of two days of Franco-German meetings, the leaders of the EU’s two biggest economies said they were expediting work on agreements to confront the glut of subsidized Chinese exports flooding the single market; finalize the bloc’s next seven-year budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework; and build a U. S.-style capital markets union between member countries. Both leaders suggested that without drastic action, Europe’s sputtering economy could nosedive, especially in the face of American and Chinese competition. “The implementation plan has to move as quickly as possible and as vigorously as possible,” Macron said. “This is crucial for us — it is vital — just as it is for Europe.” Merz underscored that urgency. “Work between Germany and France is essential at a time when Russia threatens our security, when the People’s Republic of China poses a challenge to our economy and when the transatlantic partnership is no longer taken for granted,” the German leader said. The prospect of France’s next president coming from the far-right National Rally has cast a shadow over Franco-German relations for months. EU countries last year began racing to get a deal done on the MFF by the end of 2026 over fears that Le Pen, a Euroskeptic who has vowed to drastically slash Paris’ contributions to the EU budget, could win France’s 2027 presidential elections. Surveys currently place Le Pen as the front-runner. When asked about the possibility of a far-right successor undoing the agreements struck Thursday and Friday, Macron said “be wary of polls,” citing his experience as a dark-horse candidate who was not expected to win the race for the Elysée at the outset of his first presidential campaign. “Trust the French people. Don’t always predict the worst for them,” he said. Merz said Germany “will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our cooperation with our French neighbors remains as close, deep, and trusting as possible.” He added: “This is true regardless of how voters in France decide.” Keeping the Franco-German engine humming with a far-right French president could prove difficult, however. Le Pen and her party have historically been critical of Franco-German partnerships, though current leader Jordan Bardella had been trying to build bridges with Berlin when he was a potential National Rally presidential candidate. Le Pen had been expected to be barred from the election due to her conviction for misusing European Parliament funds, but a Paris appeals court earlier this month created an unexpected path for her to run. Big promises, little time Berlin and Paris frequently portray themselves as the motor that drives the EU, but the two governments have often struggled to reach compromises, including recently on matters of trade, defense and joint debt. When it comes to the EU budget and China policy, Germany and France have traditionally represented opposing camps within the bloc — so bridging those historic divides in a matter of months will be tough. Macron said that France and Germany would examine together the European Commission’s proposal for new so-called own resources, taxes levied by the bloc that directly put cash in EU coffers and thereby make the bloc less dependent on member countries’ contributions. The summit also highlighted Germany’s recent shift toward the French positions on tackling unfair trade practices from China. Given its reliance on exports, its close economic ties with Beijing and fear of retaliation, Germany has traditionally been more cautious on launching probes and imposing duties on Chinese exports as regularly suggested by France. In their joint declaration, Paris and Berlin asked the European Commission to launch more trade probes into Chinese practices and to strengthen the bloc’s trade defense arsenal. Macron also said a joint plan on the matter would be developed by the end of the year.

First the storms, now the fires. President Emmanuel Macron has described the blazes in the Fontainebleau Forest as some of the worst since the end of World War II. The president visited the scene to show his support for the 950 firefighters still working to extinguish the flare-ups. Meanwhile, the investigation is moving quickly: two workers and their company manager appeared before a judge today to face charges.

Berlin and Paris are seeking to deepen security cooperation as ministers meet in western Germany. Meanwhile, a court is set to deliver its verdict on an alleged supporter of the far-right NSU terror group. DW has more.

The abundance of films about World War II helps explain how the gradual abandonment of democratic and republican values led to disaster, writes historian Henry Rousso in this op-ed for Le Monde.

The French president traveled to the historic forest on Thursday, which was partially devastated by flames. He used the occasion to commend the efforts of those who responded to the fire and to defend his government's record on civil security.

French President Emmenuel Macron visited Fontainebleau on the outskirts of Paris, after devastating wildfires that scorched at least 10% of the 20-thousand-hectare forest. Macron warned it would ‌take several weeks for the fire to be completely ⁠extinguished but pledged to replant the historic domain. Meanwhile, several arrests have been made, including one of a volunteer firefighter placed under formal investigation.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday vowed to replant Fontainebleau forest after devastating wildfires blazed through at least 10% of the 20,000 hectare demain and forced hundreds of residents to flee. The historic forest, just south of Paris, draws hikers, climbers and nature lovers from all over the world every year.

France’s National Assembly on Thursday approved legislation that puts a Caribbean island’s border into law — nearly four centuries after French and Dutch governments agreed to divide it. Lawmakers adopted a bill authorizing ratification of the 2023 agreement “on the delimitation of the border between France (Saint-Martin) and the Netherlands (Sint Maarten).” The treaty gives legal certainty to one of Europe’s most unusual frontiers: an open border between EU territory on the French side and Sint Maarten, a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which also comprises the Netherlands, Aruba and Curaçao, but lies outside the EU. Residents move freely between the two every day despite living under different customs, immigration and tax regimes. The border dates back to 1648, when France and the Netherlands agreed to divide the Caribbean island of Saint Martin but never precisely delineated its border. Instead, a de facto frontier emerged over the centuries, creating recurring disputes over permits, law enforcement and environmental management around the lagoon. It ultimately took Hurricane Irma in 2017, which devastated more than 95 percent of the island’s buildings, to push Paris and The Hague to finally settle the question. “France can be proud of having settled one of its oldest territorial disputes,” lawmaker Bertrand Bouyx, who steered the legislation through parliament, wrote in a report accompanying the bill. The Kingdom of the Netherlands must still ratify the agreement before entering into force.

MPs in the Assemblée Nationale overwhelmingly passed the 'Ripost Law,' a catch-all bill which introduces strict measures on a range of issues, including fireworks, rave parties and the use of nitrous oxide.

The main suspect in the death of an 11-year-old girl whose body was found in the Gers region has been charged with the rape and murder of a child. The case has sparked nationwide protests and renewed scrutiny of the French justice system after it emerged that the suspect had previously been accused of raping another child.

France's National Assembly has given its definitive backing to legislation granting terminally ill adults the right to end their lives with medical assistance, bringing to a close a protracted and often fraught political battle.

The French Parliament definitively approved a bill this Wednesday that guarantees the right to assisted dying for adults with incurable diseases, thus concluding years of debate over a measure that has divided the country and was introduced in April 2024 by President Emmanuel Macron. The new text—approved in a fourth vote in the National Assembly with 291 votes in favor and 241 against—allows patients to administer the medication that will end their lives, except when they are not physically capable of doing so, in which case a doctor or nurse may take charge of it. Among the strict criteria outlined in the regulation are: being a French citizen or residing permanently and legally in the country; suffering from a serious and incurable disease that is life-threatening; and being in a terminal or advanced stage and experiencing physical suffering that cannot be alleviated by any treatment or palliative care. French parliament passes assisted dying bill for some terminally ill adults https://t.co/qlOSg0PQxe — euronews (@euronews) July 15, 2026 The patient must also express their desire to end their life with "full knowledge" and in a "free" and "informed" manner; therefore, assisted dying excludes individuals who are in a coma or suffering from dementia. The law also establishes a specific protocol for the entire process, which ranges from submitting...

France on Wednesday moved closer to joining the ranks of countries that guarantee the right to assisted dying, a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron. Macron had promised an assisted dying law when he was re-elected for a second term in 2022, in a change seen as one of the most important social reforms since France allowed same-sex marriage in 2012. If the country's highest constitutional authority approves the legislation, France will join the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada in legalising assisted dying.

The lower house of France's parliament adopted bill for assisted dying. But the the government bypassed the right-wing dominated Senate and the law will instead go to the highest constitutional court for final approval.

For Spotlight, François Picard is pleased to welcome Anne Reynaud, Board Member of the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity. France's long awaited assisted dying legislation marks a profound shift in the country's approach to end of life care, but as Reynaud makes clear, the parliamentary vote is less the end of a debate than the beginning of a new ethical and legal era. Speaking from both personal experience and her professional role, Reynaud argues that the law represents meaningful progress while remaining more restrictive than the recommendations of France's Citizens' Convention.

Gérald Darmanin, under pressure to resign, ordered prosecutors to review all pending child sex abuse allegations before the summer holidays. He said prosecutors highlighted 970 as high priority, with the child still a minor and the suspect having previously been accused.

PARIS.– The French Parliament approved a bill this Wednesday aimed at establishing the right to "assistance in dying," which allows certain patients, under strict conditions, to access assisted death or euthanasia. This reform, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, underwent years of processing before being definitively approved by the lower house with 291 votes in favor and 241 against. With its adoption, France joins the limited list of countries that authorize assisted death, ranging from Belgium and the Netherlands to Spain, Switzerland, Canada, and Uruguay. In the case of France, this right is reserved for adults suffering from an incurable disease, provided they can express the need in a "free and informed" manner and are experiencing physical suffering. This pain must be resistant to treatment or, in the patient's opinion, unbearable in cases where they have chosen not to continue medical procedures or to discontinue them. A physician will be responsible for verifying that the patient meets the requirements before a committee evaluates the criteria. Ultimately, the doctor makes the decision, and the patient may withdraw their consent at any time. The patient will administer the lethal substance themselves, except in the case of those who are physically unable to do so. The law "will be approved because it is balanced," stated Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, a center-right deputy and former Minister of Health. But...

PARIS — French lawmakers voted on Wednesday to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill patients, bringing to an end a fraught, months-long process that sowed deep divisions within every political camp. Patients over the age of 18 suffering from a “serious and incurable” illness that is life-threatening and has reached an advanced, irreversible or terminal stage will be allowed to request assistance in dying, but only if their illness causes “unbearable” suffering and they are capable of making the decision “freely and with full knowledge of the facts.” France is set to join a growing list of European countries that have legalized various forms of assisted dying, including Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, in a debate that has divided political groups. Voting has gone broadly on personal conscience, religious beliefs and ethical considerations. Cases involving psychological suffering alone were excluded from the French bill. For patient requests that are deemed eligible, a lethal injection will either be self-administered by the patient or administered by a medical professional if the patient is unable to do so. Health professionals will be allowed to refuse to administer the injection if they are morally opposed to the procedure but will be required to refer the patient to someone else who can provide the service. In a statement released on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, a former conservative who is now allied with centrist President Emmanuel Macron, said he would refer the bill to France’s Constitutional Council for a legal review to ensure that “the law … can be enforced in full compliance with the principles guaranteed by our Constitution and, in particular, with human dignity.” He also voiced concerns about the possibility of adults under legal guardianship receiving assistance in dying and said he wanted to ensure the measure complied with the constitutional “principles of personal freedom and human dignity.” Critics argue that adults under legal guardianship — about 900,000 people in France whose personal or financial decisions are subject to legal supervision — should not be allowed to request assisted dying because they have already been deemed incapable of making certain decisions for themselves. Once the constitutional review is complete, the bill — which Macron promised as part of his 2022 reelection campaign — should be formally enacted by the president. Most votes in favor of legalization came from the left and center. And while opposition was concentrated on the right and far right, supporters and opponents of the bill could be found within every political group represented in parliament. The conservative-majority French Senate rejected the bill three times, though the final say ultimately rested with the more powerful lower house, the National Assembly. For the fourth time since the spring of 2025, the National Assembly voted in favor, putting an end to the process in parliament. Leading representatives of the Catholic, Muslim and Jewish faiths all voiced their opposition on several occasions.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron’s party is suing far-right National Rally presidential candidate Marine Le Pen for allegedly using its name in a campaign slogan. The party, Renaissance, said that Le Pen’s slogan — “For France, the Renaissance” — amounted to an “unauthorized appropriation of its political identity and trademarks.” Le Pen formally launched her presidential bid last week after a court cleared her to run despite being found guilty of embezzling funds from the European Parliament — a charge she continues to deny and has appealed to France’s highest court. The far-right leader, who was her party’s candidate in the last three presidential campaigns, unveiled a poster and a website featuring the new slogan. “Our ‘Renaissance’ identity, which has defined our political movement in France and Europe since 2019, cannot be misappropriated for the sole purpose of creating confusion among voters,” Macron’s party said in a statement. Renaissance’s current leader is former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who has also announced his candidacy in next year’s presidential election. The first round of France’s presidential election will take place on April 18, 2027, with Le Pen comfortably leading the race in the first round, according to recent polls. “Beyond the legal issue, this action undermines who we are,” Macron’s party said. “Renaissance champions a humanist, European and republican vision, grounded in the defense of the rule of law, democracy and respect for our shared principles.” Asked last week about the similarity between the two names, Le Pen denied any connection and told reporters that the slogan had been chosen because “the meaning of [her] campaign is to work for the renaissance” of France’s institutions.

Almost 50 people have been returned to Afghanistan so far this year with support from Frontex, the EU’s border agency. Marketed as “voluntary returns,” the cases are being handled in Afghanistan by Irara, a little-known Belgium-based NGO headed by people from the UK’s private security industry. The revelations come amid European Commission efforts to indirectly normalise relations with the ultra-conservative Taliban regime, in the hope of facilitating deportations to a country devastated by decades of war and governed by a regime accused of systematic repression and human rights violations. Frontex’s executive director Hans Leitjens told EUobserver it cannot carry out forced returns to Afghanistan – but left that possibility open, depending on safety issues and what the EU and its member states demand. “That might be the case, I don’t know yet,” he said, earlier this month in Brussels. With the Taliban visiting Brussels in June, a lucrative cottage deportation industry that now includes Afghanistan has been quietly growing for months under the auspices of Frontex’s EU Reintegration Programme (EURP). Read more Taliban met with 15 EU states in Brussels to discuss Afghan deportations Frontex says the EURP provides essential financial and practical support to migrants returning to their home countries. And it does so by partnering with local organisations and NGOs, it says. Its biggest NGO partner is Irara, which was  the largest non-state recipient of Frontex funding last year. It received about €39m in 2025 after being awarded €19.5m in 2024. Co-founded in 2017 by Jeremy Aldridge and Jason Ollivent, Irara has seen its equity and assets explode as the EU and its member states step up deportations, following new EU rules on returns. Lynda Ollivent and Melanie Aldridge were later appointed directors, suggesting the organisation may function as a family-run husband-and-wife business that operates in 36 countries. Beyond the financial windfall, Jeremy Aldridge spent more than 13 years at Serco, the British multinational, where he helped expand its immigration services arm. Irara’s managing director, Danny Spencer, is a former UK prison governor who also worked for Mitie Care and Custody Ltd, a company that runs immigration detention and escort contracts. Even though it has been working in Afghanistan since at least 2021, Irara’s public-facing website makes no mention that it has partnered with Frontex in the country. It instead lists Nigeria, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Vietnam. “Irara is our partner in Afghanistan,” said Chris Borowski, Frontex spokesperson, when asked to confirm. Operating with a letter-box office near the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, the NGO’s total equity soared from just over €16,000 in 2021 to almost €8m in 2024. And its total assets went from €3.57m to €15.46m in a single year, presumably driven by money owed to it by Frontex and other government clients. This article continues, but the full version is available only to EUobserver.com subscribers. Visit account.euobserver.com/membership

Deaths in Germany spiked 32 per cent during a record heatwave in June compared to levels in the previous four years, official data showed Tuesday. Nationwide, about 23,900 people died between June 22 and June 28 – an increase of 7,100 compared with the two previous weeks, according to Germany’s statistics agency. “The fact that the health impact from heat is high and that death rates rise as a result is a well-known effect often observed in the summer months,” the agency said. Sweltering weather...

The rape and murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna exposed years of alleged police and judicial failures in France.

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Deezer Face aux attaques racistes contre l’équipe de France de football et Kylian Mbappé, les condamnations sont quasi unanimes. Pourquoi le Rassemblement national met-il en sourdine ses critiques contre le capitaine des Bleus ? Emmanuel Macron peut-il surfer sur la performance des Bleus ? Pourquoi ce sujet n’intéresse-t-il pas Jean-Luc Mélenchon ? Anthony Lattier en discute avec Pauline de Saint Remy et Elisa Bertholomey de POLITICO.

NOISY–SUR–ÉCOLE, France.– At least 500 firefighters and two Canadair aircraft are fighting flames this Monday in the iconic Fontainebleau Forest, on the outskirts of Paris, to extinguish a fire of “exceptional magnitude” which, according to the French government, could be intentional. The fire began on Sunday in the midst of a heatwave and, within a few hours, swept through approximately 800 hectares of the 23,000-hectare green lung located 60 kilometers southeast of the French capital. The forest consists of ferns and highly flammable conifers. Every year, it welcomes about 15 million visitors. “There were about a dozen fire ignition points within a 1,000-meter perimeter, which suggests it could be of intentional origin,” stated Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on Monday during a visit to the area. “We hope to be able to contain the fire during the day,” the minister added. However, he warned that “tackling the fire could take days or even weeks.” Approximately 900 people living near the forest had to be evacuated, Nuñez specified. No homes were damaged, and there have been no reported injuries. On Sunday, the smoke cloud became visible from 20 kilometers away after the fire broke out—an incident that local authorities quickly described as being of “exceptional magnitude.” Two Canadair aircraft collected water from the Seine to drop over the burning forest. This is the first time these [aircraft have been used]...

A major wildfire has spread through France's Fontainebleau forest south of Paris, prompting a large emergency response, disrupting road and rail traffic, and forcing authorities to deploy firefighting aircraft.

Alleged thieves in October 2025 robbery damaged a gem-encrusted crown worn in the 19th century by Empress Eugénie Two men suspected of making off with €88m (£75m) worth of crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris last October have reportedly told investigators that the alleged mastermind behind the heist was disappointed by the haul and thought “they could have taken more”. The French newspaper Le Monde cited transcripts of the alleged thieves’ questioning last month by two investigating judges in charge of the inquiry, offering detailed insights into the burglary that made global headlines and led the museum’s director to resign. Continue reading...

PARIS — Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s surprise return to the 2027 French presidential election is forcing one of her main opponents, Edouard Philippe, to adjust his attack plans. After launching his campaign in May by promising to sell voters on a “massively optimistic” conservative agenda, the former prime minister and his troops are now going after Le Pen as a fiscally irresponsible lefty. “Marine Le Pen has a platform that is largely left-wing,” said Nathalie Loiseau, a member of the European Parliament campaigning for Philippe. It’s not a new dig at Le Pen. Critics on the right have long accused her party, the National Rally, of economic incoherence, and Philippe himself slammed them as two-faced during a recent Paris rally. But now that Le Pen is the official candidate and not Jordan Bardella — her 30-year-old protégé who was seen as more palatable to conservative voters — Philippe and his team are betting their blows will land harder. Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction and the five-year ban on standing for public office she was handed last year had thrust Bardella into the role of the National Rally’s presumptive candidate. In that role, he tried to broaden the far right’s appeal by exploring more pro-business, fiscally conservative policies. But Le Pen’s first appeal concluded with a bombshell legal reprieve on Tuesday that allows her to run for president, meaning her vision of an interventionist welfare state will be the one that wins out in the party’s platform. The National Rally did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Philippe and his allies believe Le Pen will be a tougher candidate to beat than Bardella, but they appear confident in their ability to pick apart her policies. “Le Pen and Bardella both had their strengths and weaknesses,” said pro-Philippe parliamentarian Frédéric Valletoux. “Le Pen is more experienced and likely a tougher opponent, but her platform makes no sense in quite a few respects.” Comparatively, Bardella’s apparent ideological flexibility on matters of economic policy made him a threat to win over fiscally conservative voters from Philippe and other right-wing candidates. A case in point is the two far-right leaders’ dueling positions on the contentious issue of retirement reform. Le Pen officially supports lowering France’s minimum retirement age back to 62, reversing President Emmanuel Macron’s contentious 2023 reform, which set out a gradual increase to 64. Bardella, however, had opened the door to changing his party’s position over concerns about the state of France’s public finances, with debt projected to rise from 115.5 percent of economic output to 203 percent by 2050, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Now that Bardella is out of the race, Philippe’s party, Horizons, intends to hit Le Pen “on the inconsistency and absurdity of a highly statist platform that seeks to roll back pension reforms and make people believe they can work less,” said Valletoux. Philippe, on the other hand, has floated the possibility of raising the retirement age even higher than Macron’s reform envisaged. While that measure is unlikely to be popular with the general public, it could appeal to the type of voters Bardella had been trying to win over. “A right-wing voter who values free enterprise and a form of fiscal and budgetary prudence will be less inclined to vote for Marine Le Pen [than for Bardella]. Edouard Philippe may win them over,” said Gilles Boyer, Philippe’s co-campaign director. Marion Solletty and Giorgio Leali contributed to this report.

Authorities confirm worst toll in more than 20 years as new extreme temperatures force early closure of Eiffel Tower Nearly 100 people, the largest proportion of whom were young men, died by drowning in Germany last month, authorities have said, as extreme temperatures in western Europe that have been blamed for hundreds of excess deaths geared up again. In Germany’s worst death toll from drowning for more than two decades, 99 people died in June, according to official figures, after temperatures rose as high as 41.7C (107.1F) in some areas. Continue reading...

This Tuesday, a plot twist shook the presidential campaign in France: Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party, was convicted by the Court of Appeals in an embezzlement case. Up to that point, nothing had changed from the lower court's decision; however, the sentence was revised: instead of being ineligible for five years, the former presidential candidate was disqualified for only 15 months, of which more than 12 have already passed. The math worked out quickly, and Le Pen could potentially participate in the next presidential elections in April 2027. Hours later, on TF1, the Parisian politician announced: “There is no scenario in which I am not the candidate for the National Rally.” And the polls place her as the favorite. They indicate that, despite the judicial ruling and now that her intention to run has become public, Le Pen would command between 34% and 36% of the support, according to information gathered by the newspaper *Les Échos*. “Her conviction had no negative impact. On the contrary, the announcement of her candidacy has had a positive effect, and that is what has been relevant,” explained Bruno Jeanbart, vice president of OpinionWay, in statements to the French newspaper. In an interview with *La Tercera*, Gaspard Estrada, a political scientist at Sciences Po in Paris, explains how the political landscape stands after more than a year with Jordan Bardella as the far-right's presidential option, and nine months away from...