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France’s Glucksmann gears up for possible elections next year
Est. 3minFrench MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, who leads the French Socialists in the European Parliament, said his Place Publique party would start preparing for possible new legislative elections, which could be held as early as July next year, at a rally near Bordeaux over the weekend.

Trial of Le Pen and far-right allies over EU embezzlement enters its first day
Est. 4minThe trial of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 26 other senior members of the National Front, accused of using fake jobs to embezzle EU funds from the European Parliament, began in a packed courtroom on Monday, with a sea of cameras waiting for the far-right leader outside.

Outgoing ministers warn of far-right ideas infiltrating new Barnier government
Est. 3minOutgoing agriculture minister Marc Fesneau and the outgoing delegate-minister for European affairs Jean-Noël Barrot have both expressed their concern over right-wing ideas infiltrating the new government that is currently being put together by newly appointed Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

Le Pen’s far-right party to judge Barnier on performance
Est. 3minFrench far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) has vowed not to oppose President Emmanuel Macron's pick for prime minister, said party figurehead Marine Le Pen and party leader Jordan Bardella over the weekend, adding that Michel Barnier would instead be judged on his performance.

Man behind revival of French centre-left wants to move away from Macron, Mélenchon
Est. 3minIt is time to turn the page on President Emmanuel Macron and LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Raphael Glucksmann, the French Socialist leader in the European Parliament, said in an interview with Le Point.

Macron under pressure to appoint a prime minister
Est. 4minLeaders of the leftist France insoumise (LFI) party have threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Emmanuel Macron for what they describe as an “institutional coup against democracy” in the appointment of the next prime minister.

Macron retains control of the National Assembly
Est. 3minAfter coming second in the early legislative elections of 30 June and 7 July, the Macon-backed coalition managed to keep the presidency of the National Assembly, thanks to the support of right-wing MPs.

French elections: Candidates pull out of race to prevent far-right majority
Est. 3minTwo days after the far-right Rassemblement National secured a historic lead in the first round of the French legislative elections, 218 candidates, mainly from the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire and Macron's Ensemble, announced they were pulling out of the race in a bid to prevent the far right from securing an absolute majority in Sunday's final round.

German CDU ‘understands’ French conservatives’ refusal to apply cordon sanitaire
Est. 3minGermany's conservative CDU party understands the decision by the French conservative party Les Républicains - both members of the EPP - not to call for a cordon sanitaire if opponents from the far right or the left-wing coalition Nouveau Front Populaire face off in the second round of the French legislative elections, the CDU's foreign policy spokesperson told Euractiv.

Outcome of French legislative elections is unpredictable, one week before vote
Est. 3minOpinion polls published a week before France's snap legislative election on 30 June put candidates backed by the far-right Rassemblement National and its allies in the lead, but with the vote taking place two rounds, the outcome remains highly unpredictable.

Sarkozy slams Macron’s call for snap elections, warns of ‘chaos’
Est. 2minFrance's centre-right former president Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out against current President Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve the National Assembly following his crushing defeat to Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National in the European elections.

Newly elected Reconquête! MEPs go against party founder Zemmour
Est. 2minIn a surprising turn of events, four of the five newly-elected MEPs from the French far-right party Reconquête! (ECR), including former lead candidate Marion Maréchal, openly criticised party founder Eric Zemmour on Wednesday.

Macron announces fighter jets delivery to Ukraine, mulls sending military instructors
Est. 4minFrance will deliver Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train pilots over the next six months, according to President Emmanuel Macron, who made announcements on Thursday.

Franco-German tank producer KNDS confirms to open plant in Ukraine
Est. 3minFranco-German armoured vehicle manufacturer KNDS is to open its first factory on Ukrainian soil, France confirmed, with details to be worked out between Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy when they meet at the Normandy landings commemorations on Thursday.

French government dodges no-confidence votes as support wanes ahead of EU election
Est. 3minThe French government survived two no-confidence votes in response to its announcement of further budget cuts on Monday, a development that threatens to erode further the already dwindling popularity of President Emmanuel Macron's camp ahead of Sunday's European elections.

France’s Le Maire says he ‘saved the French economy’ amid credit rating downgrade
Est. 3minFrench Economy and Energy Minister Bruno Le Maire claimed to have “saved the French economy” after the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine after Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings downgraded the country’s credit rating on Saturday.

Macron gives Ukraine green light to attack Russian-based military sites
Est. 6minFrance’s Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Kyiv should be able to attack specific Russian-based military sites used to launch missiles onto Ukrainian territory, or else “we are sending weapons to Ukraine but telling them they can’t use it”, while Germany is more cautious and Italy maintains its opposition on the matter.

French left slams government plan to cut unemployment benefits further
Est. 3minFrench left-wing candidates in the EU elections have criticised Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s plan to cut unemployment benefits, which he revealed in an interview on Sunday, just two weeks before the European elections.

France’s PM denounces in TV debate far-right’s ‘moral contract’ with Moscow
Est. 2minFrance’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and far-right Rassemblement National (RN) lead candidate Jordan Bardella engaged in an unprecedented TV debate on Thursday, hoping to sway voters just days before the European elections.

Paris boosts AI companies, says Europe must learn to innovate before regulating
Est. 3minFrench President Emmanuel Macron and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire have announced several initiatives to bolster artificial intelligence in France and Europe, saying the bloc “must learn to innovate before regulating”.

French RN breaks with German AfD
Est. 5minRassemblement National’s (RN) President Jordan Bardella announced on Tuesday that the party will end the alliance with his German counterpart Alternative for Germany (AfD), a fellow member of the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group.

Poll: Macron’s list hits all-time low ahead of EU elections
Est. 2minThe list backed by French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance (Renew) gets 15.5% of the vote – its lowest level since the start of the European election campaign – and now ranks behind the socialist party, according to the latest Elabe poll published on Saturday.

France’s socialist rising star reveals EU elections manifesto
Est. 4minThe French Socialist Party is going into the EU elections with a manifesto based on the war in Ukraine, a green transition, social justice and institutional reform, the party’s EU election list leader Raphaël Glucksmann, who has recently been rising in the polls, unveiled at a press conference Wednesday.

France attracts €15 billion in foreign investment during the ‘Choose France’ forum
Est. 3minFrance attracted a record €15 billion in foreign investment during the government's flagship "Choose France" event, which brought together some 180 CEOs from around the world and some 60 French business leaders at Versailles Palace on Monday.