Page 2 - France

In touch with India: France on UN draft resolution on Ukraine conflict

Ahead of the voting on the UN's draft resolution on Ukraine, the French diplomatic sources on Tuesday said they were in contact with political leaders in New Delhi but were not very hopeful that India will not abstain. The UN General Assembly will vote this week on the draft resolution underscoring the urgency to find lasting peace in Ukraine, a year after Moscow invaded its neighbour. On a question, if India would again abstain from voting in UNGA on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, they said India is not very likely to join one side or another but they are "working on it". "It's always a question of balance...We do have contact with the political leaders of India. At this stage, we still don't know what will be the position of the government. Most likely it will be abstention but we are still working on it. We have a very candid discussion with them. There is no secret agenda or whatever. So then it's their decision," a French diplomatic source said. India has mostly abstained on ...

French President Macron champions pension plan as key to French economy

French President Emmanuel Macron advocated Tuesday for his contested plan to increase the pension eligibility age as part of the pro-business policies he has promoted since he took office in 2017, saying people need to work a little longer to make the system financially sustainable. Macron visited the Rungis International Market in the southern suburbs of Paris for his first public discussion with French workers since lawmakers started debating the government's pension-reform legislation earlier this month, prompting series of strikes and protests. The bill, which the Senate expects to start considering on March 2, would push back the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and require people to have worked for at least 43 years to be entitled to a full pension, amid other measures. People know that yes, on average, you have to work a little longer, all of them, because otherwise we won't be able to finance our pensions properly, Macron said. All French retirees receive a state pensio

France prepares for 5th day of nationwide protests against pension reform

France is bracing for a fifth day of nationwide strikes and protests on Thursday against a pension reform that is the flagship policy of President Emmanuel Macron's second term. This latest round is expected to be less disruptive that on previous occasions, with the Paris Metro working normally and most schools unaffected. A railway worker walkout will severely disrupt high speed TGV trains and regional services, however. Almost a third of flights are expected to be cancelled at Paris' second busiest airport, Orly, and traffic will be interrupted at regional airports as well. The proposed pension reforms have unleashed the most turbulent debate in years in the National Assembly, with uncertainty looming over the final outcome. Tensions at parliament are fed by the unpopularity of the reform aimed at raising the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and requiring people to have worked for at least 43 years to be entitled to a full pension, amid other measures. The powerful union th

PM to interact with French President Macron via video conferencing today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with French President Emmanuel Macron via video conferencing on Tuesday. "Today PM Modi will interact with French President Emmanuel Macron via VC at 4:30 pm," an official said. India and France enjoy deep friendly ties, with the leaders of the two countries also sharing a warm personal equation.

Over 750,000 protest in France against Macron's pension reform plans

Turnout at the previous nationwide demonstration on January 31 was estimated by the Ministry at 1.2 million and by the CGT at 2.8 million

Ukraine hails French gift of air-defense radar as 'cherry on the cake'

Ukraine's defense minister said Wednesday that Ukrainian lives will be saved by a sophisticated air-defense radar that France is supplying and which is powerful enough to spot incoming missiles and exploding drones in the skies over all of Ukraine's capital and its surrounding region. The minister, Oleksii Reznikov, was so enthusiastic about what he called Ukraine's new electronic eyes that he quickly coined a nickname for the Ground Master 200 radar the Grand Master." Speaking through an interpreter at a handover ceremony for the radar with his French counterpart, Reznikov described the French-made GM200 as a "very effective improvement for Ukraine's network of about 300 different types of air-defense radars. Thales, the manufacturer, says the radar detects and tracks rockets, artillery and mortar shells, missiles, aircraft, drones and other threats. Because of your support, Ukrainian lives will be saved, the minister said at the ceremony in Limours, where Thales makes the ...

France doesn't rule out sending warplanes to Ukraine amid war with Russia

President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France doesn't exclude sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step might be taken. France has sent Ukraine air-defense systems, rocket launcher units, cannons and other military equipment and has pledged to send armored surveillance and combat vehicles, but has stopped short of sending battle tanks or heavier weaponry. Asked at a news conference in The Hague on Monday if France is considering sending warplanes, Macron said nothing is excluded as long as certain conditions are met. Among those conditions: that providing such equipment would not lead to an escalation of tensions or be used to touch Russian soil, and that it wouldn't weaken the capacities of the French army," Macron said. He also said Ukraine would have to formally request the planes. He noted that he will meet visiting Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in Paris on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials have been stepping

Hockey World Cup Crossover Hlts: Korea upset Argentina, Germany beat France

Hockey World Cup 2023, Crossover Highlights: While the first game was an easy affair with Germany going past France 5-1. A surprise was in store in the second game as Korea beat Argentina in Shoot-out

Macron calls on France, Germany to become pioneers of Europe refoundation

Macron on Sunday pointed out that the first task of the two countries, as pioneers, should be building together a new energy model beyond their differences

We want to partner in building base for defence industries in India: France

French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain has said his country wants to be a partner in the process of building a national industrial base for defence industries in India. Talking to reporters on Saturday on board French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle which took part in the Indo-French naval exercise 'Varuna' off the Goa coast, Lenain said the two countries can co-produce lot of equipment for the defence and space sectors. France is committed to making available the best technologies to Indian forces without restrictions, he said. Lenain said France has really understood the vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India). We understand that also because we are a highly independent country and we have been through that process also. We want to be a partner in the process to build a national industrial base for defence industries in India, he said. When India is looking to diversify its suppliers, France is a great option, the envoy said. Lenain said his country is committed to

France's Macron to hike military funds amid Russia-Ukraine war, new threats

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday proposed to boost defence spending by more than a third through 2030 and to transform" France's nuclear-armed military, to better face evolving threats and take into account the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine. Macron announced a proposal for 413 billion euros (nearly USD 450 billion) in military spending for the period of 2024-2030, to ensure our freedom, our security, our prosperity, our place in the world. That compares with spending of about 295 billion euros in a similar military plan for 2019-2025. The money would notably go to modernising France's nuclear arsenal, boosting intelligence spending by 60 per cent, doubling the number of military reservists, reinforcing cyberdefence and developing more remote-controlled weapons. Nuclear deterrence is an element that makes France different from other countries in Europe. We see anew, in analyzing the war in Ukraine, its vital importance," he said in a speech to military personnel at an

French President Macron floats new military spending plan amid Ukraine war

The plan is expected to include higher military spending in line with NATO expectations that members spend 2% of GDP on defense

Strikes, protests test French govt's plan to raise retirement age to 64

In a country with an aging population and growing life expectancy where everyone receives a state pension, Macron's government says the reform is the only way to keep the system solvent

21st edition of naval exercise 'Varuna' between India and France begins

Initiated in 1993, the exercise was christened 'Varuna' in 2001 and has become "a hallmark of IndiaFrance strategic bilateral relationship"

6 stabbed in Paris train station, attacker shot by police: Authorities

A knife attacker wounded six people in an unprovoked attack in Paris' busy Gare du Nord train station Wednesday morning before being shot by police, the French interior minister said

France to unveil pension norms that upset workers, unions call for protest

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is to unveil on Tuesday a highly sensitive pension overhaul aimed at pushing up the retirement age that has already prompted vigorous criticism and calls for protests from leftist opponents and worker unions. The minimum retirement age to be entitled to a full pension is expected to be gradually increased from 62 to 64 or 65, in line with a longstanding pledge by President Emmanuel Macron. Details are to be released by Borne at a news conference. The government argues that French people live longer than they used to and therefore need to work longer to make the pension system financially sustainable. All French workers receive a state pension. Centre-left and hard-left worker unions unanimously expressed their disapproval of the proposed changes after talks with Borne last week. Some are in favour of an increase in payroll contributions paid by employers instead. The country's eight main worker unions are gathering on Tuesday to set the date o

Hockey World Cup 2023: Teams, schedule, venues and everything one must know

The Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 is only days away and thus it dawns upon us that one must know what exactly is the event going to be like. We find out

France captain Hugo Lloris ends int'l career, to focus on Tottenham club

World Cup winner Hugo Lloris retired from playing for France after a record 145 appearances. Lloris won the 2018 World Cup and was captain of the squad that lost to Argentina in the final in Qatar last month. The 36-year-old goalkeeper told L'Equipe newspaper he will focus on his Tottenham club career in the English Premier League. I want to continue to perform, to live this sport as I have always done, and maybe this decision will give me more physical freshness with my club," Lloris said. In the next four or five months, with Tottenham, I want to live strong things, to finish in the top 4 of the Premier League, to do something strong in the Champions League, in the FA Cup too." France coach Didier Deschamps paid tribute to a great servant of the French team" and a remarkable human being" who decided to retire at the top of his game." He was captain when I became coach in 2012, I kept the armband for him and I have never regretted it," Deschamps said in a statement relayed by th

Paris court dismisses Caribbean pesticide use case against French govt

Nearly 20 years after Caribbean islanders sued to hold the French government criminally responsible for the banana industry's extended use of a banned pesticide in Martinique and Guadeloupe, a panel of judges has dismissed their case, ruling that it's too hard to determine who's to blame for acts committed so long ago. The judges in Paris described the use of chlordecone from 1973-1993 as a scandalous environmental attack whose human, economic and social consequences affect and will affect for many years the daily life of the inhabitants of the two French Caribbean islands. But they also asserted that even in the 1990s, scientists had not established links between chlordecone and illnesses in people. How dare they write such a historical and scientific untruth, Christophe Lguevaques, an attorney involved in the case, said in a statement issued on Thursday. Chlordecone, also known as kepone, was patented in the 1950s by scientists working for Allied Chemical, a US company based in N

Ukrainian mining boss gets bail, declares wish to "fight Russians"

A Ukrainian billionaire and former legislator suspected of embezzling tens of millions of dollars was ordered freed from French custody on USD 1 million bail on Thursday, after he called the Ukrainian case against him politically driven and declared he wants to fight Russians who invaded his country. Mining magnate Kostiantyn Zhevago, 48, was arrested in the ski resort of Courchevel in the French Alps last week based on an international warrant issued by Ukraine. It's really a political thing. I have always fought corrupt people in Ukraine, Zhevago told a court hearing on Thursday in the Alpine city of Chambery. His wife and daughter were also present. Ukrainian authorities submitted 244 pages of documents supporting their request for Zhevago's extradition, and the court adjourned until January 19 to study them. In the meantime, his team of lawyers said the court agreed to his release on 1 million euro (USD 1.05 million) bail and ordered him to report to local French police once a