#france

#france

As part of that influence, Kevin Roberts -- president of the powerful Heritage Foundation and a key influence on Trump's policy decisions -- earlier this year visited Paris to speak to what he called "leaders of the French right", whom he declined to name. Roberts said during the trip in May that, while the foundation did not officially represent the US government, it could still knit together a network of ideologically aligned groups.

It's still trailing far behind countries like the Netherlands or Croatia, but France has leapt six places in the European rankings for levels of English language proficiency, the latest ranking shows. Each year, Education First publishes a report on global English-language skills. For their 2025 edition, France showed significant year-on-year improvement. The country jumped to 38th place internationally, up from 49th place in 2024.

France is currently in the grip of a cold snap which blanketed large parts of the country in snow on Thursday. The 'manteau blanc' (white coat) was caused by a polar vortex which has become stuck over the country leading to unusually cold temperatures and ice and snow in lowland areas. According to Météo France, this will continue into the weekend, with Saturday predicted to be the coldest day.

Castro, a 41-year-old yoga teacher, disappeared on June 26 at the Paraguachon border crossing, which separates Venezuela from Colombia, where he lives. He had gone to renew his expired Colombian residency visa, his family said in August. In mid-September, Castro's mother said she had not received any news from him other than a voice message at the end of July in which he "called for help".

IKEA is well known for its monster-sized warehouses in major cities, but bosses have a plan to open new format stores in smaller towns in 2026, as it seeks to expand its footprint in France. The Swedish furniture brand is planning to open a new generation of smaller stores in medium-sized towns and cities across France, "where [they are not] yet present (...) in existing spaces and buildings that [they could] rent rather than build."

A French homeowner has unearthed a staggering 700,000 ($800,000) fortune in gold bars and coins while excavating for a new swimming pool in his garden, local officials have confirmed. The unnamed individual stumbled upon the valuable hoard at his property in Neuville-sur-Saone, a town near Lyon, back in May. He promptly reported the discovery to the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs.

Two French policemen have been charged for allegedly raping a young woman while she was in custody, with one of the suspects apparently filming the act on his phone. The officers were initially suspended after the woman accused them of assaulting her earlier this week while she was in custody at a court in Bobigny, a town in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.

The French government has launched a consultation to gather the public's views on parenthood and policies related to parenthood, in an effort to understand declining fertility rates. The goal of the report is to "target the economic and socio-cultural causes that have led to a decline in the birth rate in France, but also to understand the related consequences," MP Constance de Pélichy told the French press. Anyone can take the survey (which is entirely in French).

If your vehicle is missing, the first step is to check if it has been towed. Here's how to do so online in France. If you find that your car is missing, before filing a police report, you might want to check to see if it has been towed. Helpfully, the French government has a dedicated online service via the Service-Public website that allows you to do just that.

Four Bulgarians went on trial in France Wednesday accused of desecrating a Jewish memorial with red handprints last year, which prosecutors think may have been foreign interference linked to Russia. The vandalism was staged during heightened tensions in France over the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas that broke out in October 2023. The trial is the first of its kind in France, one of a series of similar cases suspected of having been orchestrated by a foreign power

Now, Variety has reported that White has not only zoned in on France, but selected the exact locations he wants to shoot in. The publication reports that HBO has been scouting hotels in Paris, with five-star properties including Le Lutetia and Ritz Paris lined up as possible settings. Likely contenders for locations in the south of France include Monaco, known as the richest place in the French Riviera, as well as Nice and Cannes.

France's foreign policy is not made by resolutions in Parliament. This does not prevent us from respecting this vote.

French criminal law currently defines rape as any kind of sexual penetration committed using violence, coercion, threat or surprise. It does not specifically mention consent. But after the change the criminal code will define rape or sexual assault as any non-consensual act. It states consent must be informed, specific, prior and revocable and cannot be inferred solely from the silence or lack of reaction of the victim.

Never mind that it was probably carried out by a couple of chancers with a crowbar: for some of the pessimists, it's civilisation itself that's being prised open. Funny how the same people who decry France's alleged dysfunctionalism probably marvelled at the Paris Olympics of summer 2024 that brief, dazzling interlude when the city actually worked, the trains ran on time, and millions around the world fell a little bit in love with France again.

"ça me fait ni chaud ni froid" (I'm neither hot nor cold - or more precisely 'I don't care').

Most garden tasks are just about making the place look aesthetically pleasing - but there's one that is a legal obligation and could even be a matter of life or death. This is débroussaillement (pronounced day-broo-say-eh-mon) - the French term for clearing away brush, vegetation and dead leaves. The reason that this is important is related to wildfires - and in fact, homeowners in some parts of France, where wildfires are common, have a legal obligation to do this every year.

A cut to France's credit rating by S&P Global is "a wake-up call" for the country to pass a 2026 budget, Economy Minister Roland Lescure said Saturday. "This is an additional cloud to a weather report that is already quite grey" in terms of France's economic outlook, he told Franceinfo radio. France, with one of the largest debt piles among European Union countries, is in the midst of a political impasse over the budget, which has so far failed to pass through a divided parliament.

England have booked their place at the 2026 World Cup and so attention turns to how they might fare in North America next summer - and how some of their rivals are looking. Thomas Tuchel's contract runs to the end of the tournament and the feeling has been that England have gone all out to get to this point.

Morocco topped Group C before getting past South Korea and then the USA in the knockout rounds. France, meanwhile, only finished third in Group E but squeezed into the knockouts and have continued to squeeze their way through the tournament, beating Japan 1-0 and then Norway 2-1. It should be a tight game with the opportunity to check out some future stars, so read on for all the information on how to watch Morocco vs France online, on TV, and from anywhere today.

In France, there are several types of speed cameras, but arguably the most discreet type is the mobile 'radar' car ( les radars mobiles or voitures-radars). These are speed cameras installed in police and private vehicles, and they drive on French roads. Normally, these vehicles can be recognised if they are operated by gendarmes or police (and are therefore marked), but many are run by private companies that operate unmarked cars.