Meeting in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis anounced the conclusion of a deal, reportedly worth 5 bilion euros, for the sale by France to Greece of three frigates, and an option on a fourth, in what Macron called 'an audacious first step towards European strategic autonomy'.
French pharmaceutical group Sanofi has announced it is halting work on developing a Covid-19 vaccine using mRNA messenger technology because of the abundance of supplies of similar vaccines from other firms, and will instead develope mRNA vaccines against other pathogens, including the flu.
Several French police officers, including a commissioner, two commanders and a brigadier, face being disciplined over a “series of failures” in the case of a woman who had filed a complaint for violence against her husband who is accused of later shooting her in the street and then setting her on fire with petrol.
Lance corporal Maxime Blasco, 34, was fatally wounded on Friday by a hidden sniper during clashes between French troops and 'around ten' jihadists in Mali, close to the Burkina Faso border, a French armed forces ministry spokesman said, which brings to 52 the number of French military personnel who have died in the region since France launched its anti-jihadist operations in 2013.
The French president's office said on Friday that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Emmanuel Macron to express his hopes of resuming cooperation between their two countries on defence and climate change, following a bitter diplomatic dispute over Australia's decision to cancel a 56-billion-euro order for French submarines.
Draft budget legislation submitted to the French parliament on Wednesday included an increase in spending on defence, education and justice, while economy and finance minister Bruno Le Maire said the public deficit, now at 8.4 per cent of gross domestic product, will be brought back below 3% of economic output by 2027.
After talks with US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking in Washington about the row with France over the AUKUS pact and aborted French submarines sale, called on France to 'prenez un grip about this and donnez-moi un break'.
French rail operator SNCF has abandoned a project to triple, in time for the 2024 Olympic Games, the capacity of the Paris Gare du Nord station, an international and domestic hub that is already the busiest in Europe, after the costs of the renovation are projected to be way over initial budgeting.
US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron reportedly spoke by phone for half an hour on Wednesday about the tensions prompted by Australia's decision join a military pact with the US and UK leading to the cancellation of its intended purchase of 12 French submarines, after which Paris announced the return to Washington of its recalled ambassador.
As French government anger mounts over Australia's announcement this month that it has abandoned an agreement to buy 12 submarines from France in favour of a defence and weapons pact with the US and UK, French European affairs minister said Paris is ready to block ongoing EU talks for a trade deal with Australia, which he called 'a country in which we no longer trust'.
