Europe

France vows to bar Facebook digital currency Libra in Europe

International — Link

French economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire has said France will seek to prevent Facebook's digital currency Libra from rolling out in Europe, arguing that it represents 'risks of abuse of dominant position, risks to sovereignty and risks for consumers and for companies'.

France braced for week-long heatwave starting Monday

France — Link

A heatwave unusually intense for June is due to hit France next week, when temperatures across most of the country are forecast to reach up to 40° Celsius for several days, and when emergency services are to be placed on high alert.

EU must learn from Brexit and reform, says President Macron

France — Link

The French president has set out wide-ranging plans to overhaul the EU in response to UK’s vote to leave.

How a French radio station kept hidden files on listeners

France — Investigation

For nearly 20 years the privately-owned French radio station Europe 1 kept files and stored information on more than half a million listeners, sometimes with their details accompanied by insulting comments. This was detailed in a 2017 report by the French data watchdog the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) which has remained confidential but which has been seen by Mediapart. As a result of the report the radio station was given an official warning but the matter was never referred to the prosecution authorities, nor did Europe 1 have to pay a fine. Lou Syrah reports.

Macron hails German coalition vote as 'good news for Europe'

International — Link

French president congratulated Chancellor Angela Merkel and acting SPD leader Olaf Scholz after Social Democrats voted for new coalition.

The threat from Islamic State's 'fifth column' in Europe

France — Investigation

Jihadi veterans have been seeking to cause disarray among European intelligence agencies with hoax attacks that distract from real ones and attempts to infiltrate public agencies and companies. As a result security official are having huge difficulties in trying to measure the true scale of the terrorist threat that faces us. In the last of this lengthy series of investigations on Islamic State's intelligence operations, Matthieu Suc reports on the dangers still posed by jihadist agents operating within Europe despite Islamic State's major reverses in Iraq and Syria.

France hosts meeting to agree renewed push on migrant crisis

France — Link

Hosting the leaders of Germany, Italy, Spain, Chad, Niger and Libya in Paris, President Macron said it was time for greater coordination.

Migrants held 'secretly and illegally' in prefab huts in France

France

Migrant rights groups are taking legal action after discovering that migrants  are being secretly detained overnight in prefabricated huts in the French town of Menton on the border with Italy. The groups say the the French authorities' treatment of the refugees, many of whom are from Sudan and Eritrea and who include some children, is illegal. Carine Fouteau reports.

Marine Le Pen praises Brexit and Trump as heralding new 'order'

International — Link

The far-right Front National party leader, who is standing as candidate in this spring's presidential elections in France, met in Germany with far-right leaders from across Europe, claiming that Brexit would “set the dominos falling" across the continent.

French PM warns about risk of Europe 'falling apart'

International — Link

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, attending an aceonomic forum in Berlin on Thursday, said a far-right victory was possible in France's presidential elections next year and that 'Europe is in danger of falling apart', and called for strong leadership from France and Germany.

Le Pen vows to hold referendum on EU if elected

France — Link

The far-right National Front party leader, Marine Le Pen, made pledge to give French people the chance to vote on EU membership.

Brussels attack is strike against all of Europe, says Hollande

France — Link

After emergency cabinet meeting in Paris the French president said: 'France will implacably continue the fight against terrorism.'

How Europe has allowed terrorists child's-play access to a devastating arsenal

International — Investigation

The terrorist attacks in Paris last year were back in the headlines this weekend after the arrest in Belgium of Salah Abdeslam, wanted for his part in the November 13th shooting and bombing massacres in the French capital. Those attacks, like the shootings carried out at Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Paris kosher store in January 2015 demonstrate the ease with which terrorists can acquire reactivated weapons, notably from Eastern Europe. In partnership with eight other European media organisations grouped in a collective project, European Investigative Collaborations, Mediapart exposes here how the European Union has turned a blind eye to the trafficking of improperly deactivated military weapons, as illustrated by the history of one such weapon used to murderous effect in Paris. Fabrice Arfi, Karl Laske and Matthieu Suc report.

Migrant crisis: France's prime minister warns over refugee numbers

France — Link

Manuel Valls said stricter controls were not imposed on the EU's external borders, then people would say 'enough of Europe'.

Numbers of French owner-occupied homes now overtakes those in UK

International — Link

Last year 64.8 percent of UK homes were owner-occupied compared to 65.1 percent in France, a first-ever reversal of ranks since 1995.