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French parliament debates pension reform as new strike looms

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At the start of the parliamentary debate, labour minister Olivier Dussopt struggled to make himself heard above loud booing and shouting.

Mother and seven children die after house fire in France

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The fire at Charly-sur-Marne east of Paris  was reportedly sparked by a malfunctioning clothes dryer.

French PM offers to ease pension overhaul to win conservatives' backing

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Since President Emmanuel Macron's party lost its absolute majority last year, the government under prime minister Élisabeth Borne needs votes from the conservative Les Républicains to pass the unpopular reform in parliament.

France knocks down seaside building symbolic of coastal erosion

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When the four-storey building was built behind the beach in the southwestern Gironde town of Soulac-sur-Mer in 1967, it stood 200 metres from the shoreline, but had to be evacuated in 2014 after the sea crept to within 20 metres.

French TV channel probes into external meddling with content

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A dozen suspicious pieces of content have been identified at BFMTV; at least one piece of content is about Morocco, with other suspicious content covering subjects ranging from Russian oligarchs to Sudan to Qatar critics.

France seizes Iran assault rifles, missiles heading to Yemen

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French naval forces have seized thousands of assault rifles, machine guns and anti-tank missiles earlier this month in the Gulf of Oman coming from Iran heading to Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

French protests intensify against pension age rise

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The number of marchers was expected to surpass the 1.12 million recorded 12 days ago as Macron government  pushes ahead with its pension age reforms; opinion polls suggest two-thirds of voters are opposed to the changes.

Macron does not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine

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'Nothing is excluded in principle,' said French President Emmmanuel Macron after talks on Monday with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte when asked about the possibility of sending jets to Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

AP agency sorry for claim 'the French' is a 'dehumanising' phrase

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US press agency Associated Press (AP) has apologised for its tweeted stylebook diktat that the phrase 'the French', like all generic labels for groups of people who share a single common trait, was 'dehumanizing' and implied 'a monolith rather than diverse individuals', prompting the French embassy in Washington to joke it should possibly change its name to 'the Embassy of Frenchness'.   

France to comply with Burkina Faso demand for military withdrawal

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France is to complete a total military withdrawal from Burkina Faso after the ruling junta of the West African country demanded on Monday that the around 400 French soldiers stationed there leave within a month, amid speculation that the Burkinabè regime will now turn to the Kremlin-backed Wagner mercenary group for support in its war with jihadist insurgents.