Page 7 - France

Flights disrupted as French air traffic controllers launch national strike

Many domestic and some international flights were cancelled in France Friday as air traffic controllers went on a national strike over pay and recruitment issues. French civil aviation authority DGAC warned that domestic traffic would be severely disrupted with many flights cancelled and other experiencing long delays. Travellers have been advised to postpone their trip if possible. Air France said it has cancelled 55% of its short- and medium-haul flights and 10% of its long-haul flights. The company could not rule out further delays and last-minute cancellations, it said in a statement. Other companies operating in France, including Ryanair, Easyjet and Volotea, have also cancelled flights. France's main union of air traffic controllers, the SNCTA, called the one-day strike to demand higher pay amid soaring inflation and demanding more staff to be hired in the coming years.

3,700 hectares of land burnt as wildfires continue in France's Gironde

Wildfires continue in France's southwestern department of Gironde, with more than 3,700 hectare of land burnt since Monday, the Prefecture of Gironde announced in a statement

France's railway giant SNCF to pay additional 1.7 bn euros for electricity

French national railway company SNCF has said that the electricity bill for passenger trains will rise by nearly 1.7 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in 2023 due to the rise of electricity price

'Want number of Indian students in France to climb to 20,000 by 2025'

France wants the number of Indian students in the country to rise to 20,000 by 2025, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Wednesday. Colonna is currently on a three-day visit to India. "We want the number of Indian students to rise up to 20,000 by 2025. I know it's an ambitious target, but I also know that between India and France, sky is the limit," she said during an interaction with students at the Lady Shri Ram College here. The French minister stressed that gender balance was a necessity in the field of education. "Much has changed when it comes to gender balance but we are still not there yet," she said. As part of her official visit from September 13-15, Colonna will travel to Mumbai for engagements with industry leaders and site visits on Thursday. She will also hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on September 14 "on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest".

India, France agree to expand cooperation on Indo-Pacific body

India and France on Wednesday agreed to set up an Indo-Pacific trilateral framework to roll out development projects, decided to expand strategic cooperation and vowed to work closely to deal with pressing global challenges such as food crisis triggered by the Ukraine war. After wide-ranging talks with her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna described Russian attacks on Ukraine as waging a "devastating war of aggression" on the territory of a sovereign state and that France is determined to work with India addressing the "terrible consequences" of the war. Referring to the Indo-Pacific, she said many challenges have emerged because of China and both France and India share the same concerns "because we know the role that the Chinese are playing and we want to make sure there is no imbalance" in the region. India and France also decided to expand cooperation in the Indo-Pacific under separate trilaterals with Australia and the United Arab ...

French air traffic controllers to stage strike for higher wages on Sept 16

Air traffic in France will be severely disrupted this Friday due to a strike over wages, the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) has warned

Jean-Luc Godard, French director of New Wave films, dies at 91

Godard's work, which influenced Hollywood directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman, included essays, documentaries and films about movie-making itself

France to continue energy tariff shield for households in 2023: FM Le Maire

France's energy tariff shield will remain the same for all households in 2023, Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced

French sports minister criticizes PSG coach Galtier for ironic comments

PSG coach Christophe Galtier's ironic comments about the club's use of planes instead of trains have drawn sharp criticism from France's sports minister. The French league champions have defended their use of chartered flights rather than more ecological trains after an executive for France's high-speed rail network called out the club for flying its players on a short-haul to Nantes last weekend. In his news conference ahead of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League opener against Juventus on Tuesday, newly-appointed Galtier was asked whether he spoke with his players about the transport options. I thought I would get that question. To be very honest with you, this morning we spoke with the company that organizes our trips, and we're trying to see if we can travel by sand yacht, Galtier replied, sarcastically. Sitting next to Galtier, PSG striker Kylian Mbapp burst into laughter when he heard the question from the reporter. Mbapp declined to comment when asked about the use of ...

France, Germany to help each other through energy crisis during winter

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France and Germany will help each other through the energy crisis and get by the upcoming winter

Rolling power cuts 'possible' for companies this winter: French PM

However, she noted that a mechanism of right to consume would allow companies to exchange their cuts

France ready for Gazprom's 'pretext' to switch off gas, says minister

Russia's Gazprom announced that from Thursday it would fully suspend gas deliveries to Engie, a French utility, citing a dispute over payments

France saw second hottest summer this year since 1900, hotter than 2003

According to the weather service, France has been struggling with more and stronger heatwaves for the last few decades

France plans pipeline from Spain to central Europe for new energy sources

France is looking into building a pipeline from the Iberian peninsula to the south of the country in a bid to open up new energy sources in the absence of natural gas from Russia

Gazprom tightens gas squeeze on France's Engie amid dispute over contracts

Engie says Gazprom to further reduce supplies from Tuesday; Moscow using gas as a 'weapon of war', says France

Germany, France reject EU visa ban on Russians in a joint position paper

It warns against comprehensive restrictions on issuing visas and stresses the importance of not alienating future generations of Russians

French PM calls on companies to prepare energy plan amid energy crisis

Pannier-Runacher said that France was ahead of its goals, and that the gas reserves would be 100 per cent filled by Nov. 1

SC rejects PIL seeking fresh probe into Rafale deal between India, France

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a fresh probe into the deal between India and France for the procurement of 36 Rafale jets. A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat considered lawyer M L Sharma's submission that a direction for issuing a letters rogatory to collect fresh evidence relating to the deal be issued. He also referred to some media reports alleging that one billion Euros was paid by Dassault Aviation to a middleman to get the deal in its favour. The bench refused to consider the fresh PIL. Sharma then decided to withdraw the PIL. On December 14, 2018, the apex court had dismissed a batch of PILs challenging the deal between India and France for the procurement of 36 Rafale jets, saying there was no occasion to "really doubt the decision making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.

France prepares subsidised electric-car leasing plan at $100 per month

The leasing measure stands to benefit European carmakers rolling out new electric models including Renault SA, Volkswagen AG and Peugeot and Citroen-maker Stellantis NV

French PM Borne announces 1.5 billion euros for ecological transition

French PM Elisabeth Borne has announced a green fund of 1.5 billion euros ($1.5 billion) for local authorities to accelerate the ecological transition in the country