France

The number of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England has soared over the last five years from almost none to 42,000 this year.

Britain agreed to pay France another 72.2 million euros ($74.5 million) to prevent migrant boat crossings under a new deal signed on Monday that underlines improving ties between the neighbours.

A rescue ship carrying 230 migrants docked at the French port of Toulon on Friday amid a blazing row between France and Italy over which country is responsible for them.

Commuters in London and Paris scrambled for alternatives Thursday -- or simply stayed home -- as public transport workers went on strike for higher pay, the latest industrial action seeking relief from soaring prices in Europe.

Political differences remain, with Sunak a conservative Eurosceptic free-marketeer, while Macron is fervently pro-EU and a believer in strong state intervention.

France criticised Italy's refusal to let a charity ship carrying over 200 migrants dock in its ports, with a government spokesman on Wednesday calling the attitude of the new rightist government in Rome "unacceptable".

French fans are worried that their star forward may be unfit to travel to Qatar.

Many French lawmakers called on Friday for tough sanctions against a far-right National Rally MP who shouted "go back to Africa!" as a Black legislator from the far left asked a question about immigration.

Migrant rescue group SOS Mediterranee said Thursday that it had called on the governments of France, Greece and Spain to help find a port for 234 people rescued while trying to reach Europe, after Italy and Malta failed to respond.

In a surprising finding, scientists in France have been able to discover a very dangerous type of ant for the first time in the country.

French protesters on Monday defied a massive police presence to try to stop an agriculture water storage project, as the government vowed to prevent any encampment and denounced "eco-terrorism".

Signs are growing that the crucial partnership between Germany and France is stumbling, experts say, just as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring energy costs place extreme stress on the EU.

France's government acknowledged Wednesday that it had to "do better" on illegal immigration after it emerged that an Algerian woman charged with the murder of a 12-year-old girl had been ordered to leave the country.

This "dramatic" accident has sparked debate over stricter regulations on France's hunting traditions.

France faced disruptions on Tuesday after unions called a nationwide transport strike.

Their prime suspect seems to be suffering from psychiatric problems and has been living on the streets, unemployed.

The French government on Wednesday ordered some staff at an Exxon Mobil depot back to work and warned a TotalEnergies' depot could be next, risking a wider conflict with trade unions as it battles to secure petrol supplies following weeks-long strikes.

France has released strategic fuel reserves for sugar producers after they warned that a lack of diesel impacting the harvesting of sugar beet could lead to factory stoppages, producer group SNFS said on Monday.

France has repeatedly been in critics' sights over its lower level of military support to Ukraine compared with allies.

The French Football Federation is sponsored by the fast food giant.

France and Germany pledged on Friday to act together to protect households and companies from soaring energy prices, while also using fiscal policy to fight record high inflation.

French prosecutors said on Thursday they had opened a preliminary investigation into a respiratory device recall by Philips, as the Dutch firm's legal problems over the device spread from the United States to Europe.

French lawmakers visit Taiwan after China's war drill threats

French sports and education groups expressed outrage Tuesday at the closure of around 30 swimming pools, after their operator said surging heating costs made them no longer viable.

France on Tuesday accused Moscow of using energy supplies as "a weapon of war" as Russian gas giant Gazprom reduced deliveries to one of its main utilities and prepared to halt flows along the major pipeline to Germany from Wednesday.

Russian paratrooper flees to France denouncing army 'chaos'

Spain wants to become the new gateway for gas through an ambitious trans-Pyrenees pipeline and is hoping supply-starved Germany will pressure a reluctant France.

French-Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz will be back in court in Switzerland on Monday to appeal against a corruption sentence linked to mining rights in Guinea.

Consumer morale in the euro zone's two biggest economies diverged starkly in August as French consumers benefited from fresh government measures while concerns over rising energy bills hit their German counterparts, surveys showed on Friday.

Brutal storms with winds gusting up to 224 kilometres per hour (140 miles per hour) left five people dead on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica early Thursday.