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French interference in Africa is ‘over’ says Macron during tour

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Macron said France harboured no desire to return to past policies of interfering in Africa ahead of an environment summit in Gabon, the first leg of his trip.

France's controversial pension reform bill arrives in Senate

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Government is banking on support from Senators belonging to the conservative Les Republicains (LR) party, who favour raising the minimum legal retirement age from 62 to 64, and having citizens work longer to obtain a full pension.

French football legend Just Fontaine dies aged 89

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Tributes will be paid to Just Fontaine at French games scheduled across the coming days as the sport mourns the passing of another legend following the death of Pele in December.

French court dismisses Uganda lawsuit against TotalEnergies

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Six French and Ugandan activist groups had accused the company of failing to protect people and the environment from the Tilenga oil development and the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline.

Noël Le Graët quits as head of French football after harassment claims

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Report accused French Football Federation boss Le Graët, whose mandate ran to 2024 and who denies wrongdoing, of 'inappropriate behaviour’ towards women.

Macron announces reduction of French military presence in Africa

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French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Paris before a visit to several African countries, has said the numbers of French troops stationed in Africa are to be reduced, while cooperation with its allies on military training and supplies of equipment will be increased.

Macron to visit Beijing in April to discuss 'peace plan' for Ukraine

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French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on Saturday after China called for urgent peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, said he would visit Beijing in early April to further the initiative, but cautioned that a settlement would depend upon the condition that 'the Russian aggression was halted, troops withdrawn and territorial sovereignty of Ukraine and its people was respected'. 

Cimate crisis threatens Grasse, French perfume's raw materials capital

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Extreme weather patterns such as droughts, heatwaves, and excessive rainfall are threatening the future of fragrant crop production in Grasse, close to the French Riviera, where a microclimate that allows fields of may rose, tuberose, lavender and jasmine to blossom, and where the latter sells for a higher price than gold.

Oldest and plushest Paris public loos reopen after lengthy restoration

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The Lavatory de la Madeleine, which first opened in 1905 close to the Madeleine church in central Paris, and which contains individual cubicles with mirrors and sinks, Art Nouveau stained glass, mosaics, and ceramics, has reopened to the public, with access costing two euros per sitting, after almost eight years of restoration. 

France on drought alert after driest period on record

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The French government is considering introducing restrictions on water consumption as of March after the country recorded 32 continuous days, beginning on January 21st, without rainfall exceeding an average 1 millimetre, the driest period on mainland France since records began in 1959.