FRANCE

Oil refinery workers and bin collectors in France have gone on a strike, with another day of protests planned for Thursday just before King Charles's visit.

A French journalist and a US aid worker who had been kidnapped by jihadists in the Sahel have been released, an AFP journalist saw Monday.

President Emanuel Macron faces a critical moment on Monday when the National Assembly is due to vote on no-confidence motions.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will agree closer defence and security ties with French President Emmanuel Macron when they meet on Friday, committing to greater collaboration in supporting Ukraine and in the Indo-Pacific region.

Oil steadied on Thursday after a two-day decline as strike-disrupted fuel supply in France, a drop in U.S.

Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan said on Tuesday that it was being investigated by European Union and Swiss antitrust authorities.

Labour unions will seek to bring France to a standstill on Tuesday, as they step up their fight against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to make the French work two years more, to 64, before they can retire with a pension.

The new legislation comes days before a summit Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron, where enhancing cooperation to "stop the boats" is expected to feature high on the agenda.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has reached a deal with the country's main supermarket chains to help shoppers cope with food price inflation, he said on Monday.

France faces massive strikes over pension reform.

King Charles III will make his state first state visits as UK monarch when he travels to France and Germany later this month, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.

Paris Fashion Week launched Monday with touches of scandal and grief, as Balenciaga tries to move past recent controversies while Vivienne Westwood and Paco Rabanne hold their first shows since their founders' deaths.

French food group Danone said on Wednesday it expected better margins this year after soaring raw materials and energy costs weighed down its full-year 2022 operating margin.

The Paris regional transit authority said Monday that it was seeking to hire thousands of employees to beef up services in time for the coming Rugby World Cup this year and the summer Olympics in 2024.

European leaders jostled for the opportunity to host the Ukrainian leader during his trip.

Ukraine has threatened to boycott the event if Russian athletes are allowed to compete.

The French and German economy ministers, Bruno Le Maire and Robert Habeck, kick off high-stakes talks with US officials Tuesday to underscore European concerns over President Joe Biden's ambitious climate action plan.

Fresh strikes hit trains, schools and refineries in France on Tuesday over an unpopular pension reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, with nationwide protests planned for later in the day.

France will present this week a digital-certification mechanism to oblige pornography websites to effectively control the age of viewers on their sites from September, French digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.

At a nuclear waste site in Normandy, robotic arms guided by technicians behind a protective shield manoeuvre a pipe that will turn radioactive chemicals into glass as France seeks to make safe the byproducts of its growing reliance on atomic power.

Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire will head to Washington next week to press concerns about U.S.