élections

‘To exit Europe, is to exit history,’ France's Hollande warns

France — Link

Attacking a growing tide of Euroscepticism in France, Hollande said that the EU had brought peace and economic stability to the continent.

Hollande admits 'no chance' of re-election without job creation

France — Link

French president tells workers that if jobless totals stay same 'I have either no reason to be a candidate or no chance of being re-elected'.

French tycoon Dassault investigated for vote-rigging

France — Link

The former mayor is being probed over vote buying, complicity in illegal election campaign financing and exceeding campaign spending limits.

Hollande hit by National Front vote in municipal elections

France — Link

The far-right FN wins its first mayoral seat since 1995 and appears well placed to gain other towns as ruling socialists hit by record low turnout.

National Front aims for breakthrough in France’s local elections

France — Link

Far-right FN may benefit from weak economy under François Hollande’s socialist government and centre-right opposition mired in scandals.

European Right's 'disastrous' choice of Jean-Claude Juncker as Euro election head

International — Analysis

The former Luxembourg prime minister has just been voted by Europe's mainstream right-wing parties to be their lead candidate ahead of May's European elections. Under new EU rules now in place this means the veteran politician could well become the president of the European Commission later this year. But for many observers Jean-Claude Juncker is indelibly linked to a dated vision of Europe that belongs to the last century. And as Dan Israel and Ludovic Lamant report, he is also closely identified with the financial secrecy of his native country.

Christiane Taubira on French identity crisis: 'France is in distress'

France — Link

Justice minister says there is a 'kind of rage' in France and that it needs to regain its 'sense of history and its capacity to live together'.

Now Paris mayoral candidate joins in cross-Channel spat

International — Link

Anne Hidalgo, deputy mayor and tipped to win upcoming mayoral elections, slams London tourism claims and its 'boastful' mayor Boris Johnson.

French Far Right hopes for major gains in European elections

France — Link

Opinion polls and local election victory chart rise of the National Front, whose progress in France mirrors that of nationalist parties elsewhere.

A communist French city flirts with the far right

France — Link

The southern town of Brignoles is in the spotlight as far-right Front national looks to achieve by-election victory on Sunday.

Far-right Front National poised for key role in French local elections

France

The elimination of the Left in the first round of voting in a recent local by-election in which the Front National came top has sparked fevered speculation about how Marine Le Pen's far-right party is likely to perform in next year's crucial municipal elections. A recently-published and detailed analysis of voting trends suggests the FN could have a major role to play in some areas. But, as Mathieu Magnaudeix reports, the study says the outcome will probably depend on how well the economy performs between now and next spring.

France's Hollande congratulates Merkel on election win

International — Link

French president invites German chancellor to talks in Paris as both leaders pledge desire to continue 'their close cooperation' over Europe.

French minister attacks German wage policy

International — Link

Social economy minister Benoit Hamon accuses Germany of seeking an unfair advantage over the rest of Europe by keeping pay artificially low.

Election corruption claims: how the 'Dassault System' worked

France — Investigation

The billionaire French industrialist Serge Dassault, who was caught on tape saying he paid money to 'buy' an election, is to appear before examining magistrates next month as a witness in an investigation into the attempted murder of the two men who made that recording. Meanwhile a participant in the alleged electoral corruption that Dassault is said to have created speaks exclusively to Mediapart about how the 'system' worked. In doing so he makes a plea for the judicial authorities to help him – claiming his life is now in danger. Pascale Pascariello reports.

French billionaire Serge Dassault secretly recorded saying he paid money to 'buy' election win

France — Investigation

The leading French industrialist and media owner Serge Dassault has been secretly recorded on video admitting that he paid out a huge sum of money to help 'buy' a local election in a town where he was once mayor. Billionaire Dassault, one of the wealthiest men in France and a French senator, makes the assertion in a recording obtained by Mediapart and parts of which are published here. 'I gave the money,' he is heard saying to two men who asked him about the cash – 1.7 million euros in all - while they clandestinely recorded him. Mediapart has also established that three months after the video was made the two men concerned were shot and wounded, one of them seriously. Contacted by Mediapart about the tape Serge Dassault said he had no comment. Fabrice Arfi, Michaël Hajdenberg and Pascale Pascariello report.