Keyword: French MPs

Bill on 'corporal punishment' is considered symbolic as it does not sanction parents if they smack their children and is aimed at educating parents.

One MP from ruling LREM, Jean-Michel Clément, rebelled and announced he was quitting the president's party after voting against the reform.

Syrian deputy foreign minister Ayman Soussan was invited by a group of French MPs to a meeting on the crisis in Syria, held at a Russian cultural centre in Paris, shortly after he was banned from attending a similar event in Brussels. 

French government seeks to criminalise sites that pose as neutral sources of information but in fact promote anti-abortion propaganda.

Vote does not affect France's diplomatic stance but is part of growing effort from Europe to find new ways to push for peace in Middle East.

The legislation prohibits members of the French or European parliaments from holding local executive offices such as mayorships from 2017.