A large archive around the 2027 French presidential election: official sources, political news, institutional videos and reference content — all in one place.
A French-owned container ship has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route that has been largely restricted since the start of the Middle East conflict.
The Paris Administrative Court on Friday suspended a police ban on a major Muslim gathering near the capital less than two hours before it was due to begin, allowing the event to go ahead.
A complaint filed in France seeks a war crimes investigation into an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment building that killed seven civilians, including the parents of a French-Lebanese artist, hours before a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect in November 2024.
French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have agreed to boost defence cooperation and work together to address the economic and energy crises triggered by the war in Iran.
French lawmakers rejected the government’s constitutional reform for New Caledonia on Thursday, casting doubt over the plan’s future and prompting Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to call fresh talks with local political leaders.
Two men have died attempting to cross from northern France to southern England by boat, French authorities said on Thursday – the first known migrant deaths in the Channel this year. France and the UK remain divided over how to intercept people making the dangerous crossing without risking lives.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that using military force to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be “unrealistic”, as more than 40 countries held talks on restoring access to the vital shipping route, compromised by the war in the Middle East.
French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed remarks by US President Donald Trump about his wife Brigitte, after Trump mocked her and said she “treats him extremely badly” in a video posted online.
As the war in the Middle East drives up prices of petrol and gas, France wants to use additional tax revenue generated to fund the country’s move away from fossil fuels – but some analysts say any extra returns are offset by rising costs and inflation.
French President Emmanuel Macron travels to South Korea on Thursday for a state visit focused on trade, technology and security – following talks in Tokyo where he and Japan’s prime minister agreed to push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, disrupted by the war in the Middle East.
French authorities charged Wednesday a young man and three minors in connection with an attempted attack against a Bank of America branch in Paris, as investigators explored suspicions a pro-Iran group was involved.
After France raised the cost of its Cigéo nuclear waste storage project to €33.3 billion, an increase of more than €8 billion, authorities are preparing to open a public inquiry into the plan – which has long faced opposition from anti-nuclear groups.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have called for de-escalation in the Middle East and the protection of key energy routes, as tensions continue to ripple across the region.
France has pushed back against criticism from the United States and Israel over military flights and arms ties, with Washington accusing Paris of blocking US planes and Israel saying it would stop buying defence equipment from France.
Organic farming is at the centre of a growing row in France, after health authorities said produce grown to organic standards may be just as contaminated by cadmium – a toxic heavy metal linked to cancer and bone disease – as conventional agriculture. The finding has prompted pushback from the sector and raised questions for consumers.
France’s Senate has voted to ban social media for children under 15, but legal disagreements with the government could complicate plans to bring the measure into force by September.
French plans to support state-owned energy giant EDF in building six new nuclear reactors will face scrutiny from the EU, Brussels has said. The European Commission will assess whether the proposed backing for the electricity provider complies with EU state aid rules.
France’s leading magazine publisher, Prisma Media, has announced plans to cut nearly 40 percent of its workforce by the end of this year in order 'to restructure'.
Quebec-born star Céline Dion took over the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday evening with the broadcast of a special message to announce her comeback to the stage following a six-year break. The mega star said she would perfom ten concerts exclusively in France to celebrate her 58th birthday in September.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Japan on Tuesday for a visit that was initially aimed at strengthening partnerships in nuclear energy and space innovation, but is now set to be dominated by the war in the Middle East. He will conclude his trip later in the week in South Korea.
The Greens were key partners for the Socialists and the left in France’s 2026 local elections, but the results were a far cry from the “green wave" of the 2020 elections. What has happened to the French Green party, and what is the state of political ecology today?
A French court has handed down a one-year prison sentence and issued an arrest warrant for the Chinese captain of a tanker suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called 'shadow fleet', in a case that highlights Europe’s growing efforts to enforce sanctions at sea.
A complex criminal trial has opened in Paris, where 22 people are set to appear in court over allegations of murder, attempted murder and other serious offences linked to a Masonic lodge accused of operating as a covert mafia network.
Paris's newly elected mayor, Emmanuel Grégoire, says tackling sexual abuse in the city's after-school programmes is his "absolute priority", promising changes in management and rapid decisions.
A French administrative court has ruled that the state was at fault for failing to properly investigate the death of an African rifleman killed in the 1944 Thiaroye massacre in Senegal, when the French army opened fire on its colonial troops who were demanding their pay.
The French government has pledged targeted support for industries hit by surging fuel prices linked to tensions in the Middle East, while warning that broad, across-the-board financial relief is no longer sustainable. This comes as truck and bus drivers drivers staged a "go slow" protest in Paris.
France's Mistral AI is stepping up investment in the computing power and infrastructure required for the company build on its success, in a drive to roll-out data centres on European soil.
Emmanuel Grégoire begins his first day in office as mayor of Paris on Monday, a week after beating rival Rachida Dati in the second round of local elections. The 48-year-old Socialist now steps into the limelight after years in the shadow of his political mentors. So who is he and what are his plans for the French capital?
France's foreign minister said Sunday it would be "extremely serious" if Israel had deliberately targeted three journalists killed the previous day in a strike on south Lebanon.
Huge crowds of protesters rallied across the world, but mainly in the United States on Saturday against President Donald Trump, venting their fury over what they see as his authoritarian style of governing, his hardline immigration policies and the war with Iran.
Lebanon has been drawn into the war in the Middle East, with attacks leading to massive population displacement. In the face of repeated crises, the Lebanese diaspora – which is larger than the country's population – has played a crucial role by mobilising to help its compatriots, as seen in Puteaux, near Paris.
French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris early Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case told French press agency AFP.
Air France leaves Paris-Orly airport on Saturday and refocus operations on Paris-Charles de Gaulle, north-east of the capital, which will continue services to Nice, Toulouse and Marseille.
Thirty years after seven French monks were kidnapped and killed in the Atlas mountains at the height of Algeria's civil war, a lawyer for the victims' relatives tells RFI an official investigation has yet to uncover the full truth.
Police in Portugal have arrested a French former police officer suspected of killing his partner and his former partner after kidnapping them and their children. The 42-year-old is also a fathers' rights activist, who had been involved in a bitter custody battle with his former partner.
French officials have denied claims by the office of South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa's that France has excluded South Africa from the list of invitees to June's G7 leaders' summit in Paris under pressure from Washington, saying Kenya has been invited instead.
A look at France's local elections, and what happened to the 2020 "green wave". The small French ski resort fighting to keep its slopes open despite diminishing snowfall. And the 1946 radio programme that was accused of causing a nuclear scare.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised Lionel Jospin as a reformer during a memorial service on Thursday at Les Invalides in Paris for the former prime minister, who died on Sunday aged 88.
Environmental campaigning NGO Greenpeace France announced plans on Thursday to cut 32 jobs, to compensate for a fall in donations since 2022.
Foreign ministers from the G7 group are meeting near Paris from Thursday, with European nations and allies seeking to narrow differences with the United States on the war in the Middle East.
France head coach Didier Deschamps has urged his players to embrace the challenge of facing Brazil on Thursday night in a friendly match as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup.
Cadmium exposure is rising in France, with nearly half of adults exceeding safe levels because of contamination in everyday foods such as bread, pasta, potatoes and vegetables, health authorities have warned – calling for urgent action to cut the risks linked to the cancer-causing metal.
France’s top dating apps have signed a government charter to help tackle homophobic ambushes, after one case was recorded every four days in 2024, the ministry in charge of fighting discrimination said on Wednesday. The agreement sets out measures to improve reporting, data sharing and user safety.
France is heading for a sharp rise in inflation this spring as soaring oil prices linked to the conflict in Iran erode household purchasing power, with growth expected to slow in early 2026, the national statistics agency said.
A French judge will investigate claims brought by an NGO that the former head of the European Union border agency, Frontex, was complicit in crimes against humanity, a judicial source has said.
France's foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Tuesday urged Israel not to send in forces to take control of a zone in south Lebanon, saying such a move would have "major humanitarian consequences".
Local elections across France’s overseas territories have delivered a series of striking results, reshaping political balances from the Pacific to the Caribbean. From a breakthrough for the left in Reunion Island to a symbolic defeat for a regional heavyweight in Guadeloupe, voters have sent a clear – and sometimes surprising – message.
Former French prime minister Lionel Jospin, a Socialist reformer who introduced the 35-hour working week and civil partnerships for same-sex couples, has died aged 88.
Left-wing parties have held onto Paris, Marseille and Lyon, according to provisional results announced on Sunday evening. The far right failed to take the big cities it had hoped, but made significant inroads in smaller ones.
The young French explorer Raymond Maufrais, who disappeared in January 1950 during a daring solo expedition in the Guianese jungle and whose body has never been found, has been officially declared dead by a judicial court, closing the book on one of the French overseas territory's most enduring mysteries.
Air France has asked Michelin-starred chef Mory Sacko to create dishes to be served to its first and business class passengers on flights from Abidjan, followed by Dakar and Nairobi. Of Malian and Senegalese origin, Sacko becomes the first "Air France signature chef" on flights departing from Africa.
French voters go to the polls on Sunday to elect mayors in Paris, Marseille and more than 1,500 other constituencies, in a test of the far right’s strength and the resilience of mainstream parties ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Since the beginning of this year, testing for 20 PFAS – or "forever chemicals" – has become mandatory in France under a European directive. But detecting and removing micro-pollutants from water is a challenge, and consumers could end up footing the bill.
French prosecutors say they have alerted US authorities to a suspicion that tech billionaire Elon Musk encouraged sexualised deepfakes on social media platform X to "artificially" increase his company's value.
France rugby coach Fabien Galthié has responded defiantly to complaints that his squad underperformed during the 2026 Six Nations tournament, in which Les Bleus claimed the crown.
A new report by investigative group Disclose reveals that police in France are using smartphones equipped with facial recognition technology to access sensitive records during routine identity checks, in what critics say is a breach of French law.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Friday during a visit to Israel that Iran must make major concessions as part of any long-term political solution after the Middle East war. He also repeated a call for Israel and Lebanon to hold direct talks over ground operations targeting Hezbollah.
A French jihadist was sentenced to life in jail on Friday for involvement in Islamic State group atrocities against Iraq's Yazidi minority, the first case in France to tackle the issue.
French now ranks ahead of Arabic as the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, according to a report published this week ahead of Friday's international day of the French language.
TotalEnergies' new plastics recycling plant has come under fire from environmental activists, who claim the chemicals it uses will create more greenhouse gases than conventional recycling methods.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot is due in Israel on Friday to discuss the conflict in the Middle East and ways to de-escalate the fighting that has engulfed the region since Israeli and American forces struck targets in Iran on 28 February.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for de-escalation of the three-week conflict in the Middle East, as France and five other countries said they were ready to help ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
French billionaire Vincent Bolloré is set to face trial on corruption and embezzlement charges related to election campaigns in Togo and Guinea in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the French financial prosecutor's spokesperson has said.
The Paris Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected a government request to halt part of online retailer Shein’s operations in France for three months, upholding an earlier ruling that deemed the move disproportionate. The French government has been seeking to suspend the Chinese site since a watchdog flagged listings for illicit products, including weapons, banned medications and childlike sex dolls.
Voters cast their ballots on Sunday in the second round of elections that will decide who runs France's biggest cities. Beyond selecting local mayors and councillors, the polls could give clues which way French voters are leaning – and what deals parties are prepared to do – ahead of a presidential election next year.
President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that France's next aircraft carrier will be named France Libre, as the country seeks to reinforce its standing as a major maritime power.
President Emmanuel Macron warned on Wednesday that political extremists presented a danger to France as candidates continued their campaigning ahead of Sunday's second round of polling in mayoral elections.
Nine CRS officers were sentenced on Tuesday to suspended prison terms ranging from six to 24 months for beating "yellow vest" protesters in a fast-food restaurant in Paris in 2018.
French President Emmanuel Macron has ruled out any immediate French military involvement in securing the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that Paris will not take part in operations while active bombardments continue in the Middle East.
France's municipal elections will reshape leadership in all of its 34,875 communes. While the final results won't be known until 22 March after the second round, we do already know that half the municipal councillors will be women, following recent changes to the law – but only a quarter of councils will be led by women.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is back in court for an appeal trial on charges he sought Libyan financing for his 2007 election, in a case that last year saw him become France's first modern-day head of state to go to prison. The hearings will run until 3 June.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has placed the new generation French-Italian-made SAMP/T air defence system at the centre of his latest appeal for protection against Russian missiles, providing a European alternative to the US Patriot missiles currently used in the field.
France's para athletes are set to return home on Monday night to a gala celebration of their exploits at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games where they won 12 medals including four golds.
The film One battle after another won the top prize Sunday at the Academy Awards, where the French language film Two people exchanging saliva shared the award for best live-action short.
A court in Azerbaijan has convicted a French citizen for spying and sentenced him to ten years in prison. The case came during a period of heightened diplomatic tension between France and Azerbaijan, which has now eased. France says it is working for his release.
A French court on Monday began a landmark trial examining the Islamic State (IS) group’s campaign against the Yazidi religious minority in northern Iraq. It is the first time France has prosecuted a suspect for genocide linked to the attacks on the community in Iraq and Syria.
France has said it will not send naval vessels to the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump called on countries reliant on oil from the Gulf to help secure the shipping lane that has been blocked since the start of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. France has insisted it will not join the war on Iran, maintaining a strictly defensive approach.
Uncertainty reigns in France’s largest cities after Sunday’s first round of local elections, starting with Paris, where the Socialist candidate was leading, but whose victory in the second round could be upset by the hard left candidate’s remaining in the race. The far right appeared strong in several southern cities, including Marseille, where the party’s candidate is neck and neck with the incumbent left wing mayor.
Polling booths have closed after the first round of France's municipal elections, considered a litmus test for the presidential elections next year. Provisional results showed the Socialist candidate was leading in Paris, while the far right looked strong in several southern cities, but pollsters said turnout was low.
A 22-year-old engineering student and his 20-year-old brother have been arrested in France over a "deadly and antisemitic" plot, anti-terror prosecutors said on Sunday.
France coach Fabien Galthié hailed four-try hero Louis Bielle-Biarrey after the team's last-gasp 48-46 victory over England earned them back-to-back Six Nations rugby titles.
Polling booths have opened across France for municipal elections – widely seen as a barometer of France's political mood ahead of the high-stakes 2027 presidential race.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said Lebanon was ready to engage in "direct talks" with Israel and offered to host negotiations in Paris. This came on the heels of a visit to Beirut by UN chief Antonio Guterres, who also urged for a diplomatic solution the crisis.
President Emmanuel Macron expressed gratitude to the Iraqi prime minister for taking measures to protect French forces, after a drone strike killed a French soldier and injured six others in Iraq's Kurdistan region earlier this week.
Relations between France and the Central African Republic (CAR) have been restored, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Bangui on Friday.
As Parisians prepare to vote in Sunday’s municipal election, outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo's decade-long push to cut vehicle use and expand cycling is under scrutiny as candidates debate whether to build on or roll back policies that have reshaped the French capital’s streets.
President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel as a violation of international law, while France deploys military forces to protect its interests in the region and defend its allies hit by Iranian reprisals – a balancing act that could prove to be difficult to maintain.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has begun a two-day visit to the Central African Republic, the first time France has sent its top diplomat to the country in more than seven years. It signals a thaw in relations between Paris and Bangui after a period of tension.
Brest, the once sleepy port city at the far western tip of France, is facing a rise in drug trafficking – and as a result, shootings, stray bullets and open street dealing have become a part of life in the city of 140,000 people, and are reshaping the political debate ahead of France's local elections.
France face England on Saturday night with a chance to clinch a record eighth Six Nations title, after last week’s defeat to Scotland ended their hopes of a Grand Slam.
A French soldier has been killed and several wounded in an attack in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan, President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed, describing the attack as "unacceptable". It is France's first military death in the Middle East war.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday as part of a European tour to drum up vital support from allies in the war effort against Russia, amid concerns over the conflict in the Middle East.
France's balancing act in the Middle East war. Convincing women to run in France's local elections. And the French village where Iran's first supreme leader spent his last months in exile.
A French aid worker for the United Nations children’s agency Unicef and two other people were killed in a drone strike on a residential building in the eastern city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
France’s top climate advisory body on Thursday called on the government to set out a precise roadmap for phasing out coal, oil and gas, warning that the country's "ambitious" climate targets will need clearer political backing and stronger implementation.
The Socialist Party took control of Paris in 2001, after 130 years of right-wing dominance, but now the controversial 12-year legacy of Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo has fuelled bids for a change of direction. We look at the six main contenders in the upcoming municipal elections and the issues they're campaigning on.
Fuel giant TotalEnergies on Thursday announced a ‘cap’ on petrol and diesel prices at its service stations in mainland France for the next three weeks.
Nearly 20,000 French nationals have been repatriated from the Middle East since the war erupted on 28 February, government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said.
France, which holds the G7 presidency, said Wednesday that major economies were ready to act to stabilise oil markets as the US-Israeli war with Iran enters its second week and disrupts supply.
Karl Tabouret claimed France's third gold medal of the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milano Cortina in northern Italy on Wednesday when he claimed the men's 10km cross-country race.