Prosecutors leading an investigation into far-right Front National party leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's involvement in a suspected 'fake jobs' scandal at the European Parliament have asked the institution to lift her parliamentary immunity from questioning and prosecution.
In a blog post, Facebook said it was taking action against 30,000 fake accounts in France, deleting them in some, but not all, cases as it comes under increasing pressure from European governments to remove fake news, extremist propaganda or other content considered illegal under existing regulations.
Fighting between fans at the Europa League quarter final tie in France between Lyon and Turkish side Besiktas was marred by ugly scenes of violence between fans both before the game and during it, causing a delay in the match as crowds fled onto the pitch to escape the mayhem in the stands.
In an interview with a weekly news magazine, socialist French president François Hollande attacked radical-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, currently on the rise in opinion surveys, for campaigning on 'generalisations and lies', while also lending thinly-veiled support for maverick centrist Emmanuel Macron.
A fire at the entrance to the presidential election campaign offices of the far-right party's leader and candidate Marine Le Pen close to the Elysée Palace caused minor damage in what police said was a suspected arson attack.
French presidential election frontrunner Emmanuel Macron has said a go-alone recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would undermine 'France's ability to play a role in regional stability and in this conflict'.
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.
At least ten people were reported injured among the camp's more than 1,000 residents when the blaze, which broke out following fighting between Afghans and Kurds, levelled its closely packed wooden huts.
The nuclear power plant at Fessenheim in north-east France, close to the border with Germany, which entered service almost 40 years ago and which environmental campaigners claim is dangerous, will close by 2020 when an EPR reactor being built in Flamanville is expected to come online.
