Tag: France

• Thursday, July 20th 2017 - 09:14 UTC

  France's Macron overtakes UK in the league table of global “soft power”

  

  The election of Emmanuel Macron as president has helped propel France to the top of a league table of global “soft power”, while Britain’s score has decreased partly as a result of Brexit. But despite losing points for government stability, enterprise and favorability measured in worldwide polls, the UK hung on to second slot, thanks to the US tumbling from first to third following the election of Donald Trump.

• Monday, July 17th 2017 - 04:12 UTC

  France seeking to disrupt and degrade UK's financial sector, claims City of London

  

  France is actively seeking to exploit Brexit to disrupt and degrade Britain’s lucrative financial sector, a senior City representative has warned. Former foreign office minister Jeremy Browne, who acts as the City of London’s envoy on Brexit, said the French see the British as “adversaries” in the forthcoming withdrawal negotiations.

• Friday, July 14th 2017 - 07:34 UTC

  Trump in Paris for Bastille Day parade hints to changes on climate accord

  

  French President Emmanuel Macron said he “respected” Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord but that France would remain committed. The US president visiting France then hinted that his administration could shift its opinion.

• Monday, May 29th 2017 - 08:28 UTC

  Merkel calls on Europe “to fight for its own destiny”, forget US and UK

  

  Europe can no longer “completely depend” on the US and UK following the election of President Trump and Brexit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. Mrs. Merkel said she wanted friendly relations with both countries as well as Russia but Europe now had to “fight for its own destiny”.

• Monday, May 22nd 2017 - 09:04 UTC

  French financial prosecutors investigating submarines' sale to Brazil

  

  French financial prosecutors have launched an investigation into a 6.7 billion euro (US$7.5 billion) 2008 contract between naval supplier DCNS and Brazil that included the sale of five submarines, it was reported on Sunday in Paris.

• Tuesday, May 16th 2017 - 07:52 UTC

  Generational shift in France: Macron names a Conservative, 46, prime minister

  

  In his first major decision, newly inaugurated French President Emmanuel Macron has named conservative lawmaker Edouard Philippe as prime minister. Philippe has been the mayor of Le Havre, a port city in the Normandy region of northern France, since 2010 and became a member of parliament for the region two years later.

• Tuesday, May 16th 2017 - 07:13 UTC

  Macron and Merkel's “joint conviction” of the need to “deepen the European Union”

  

  France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, has called for a “historic reconstruction” of Europe, saying it is “the only reaction” to fight populism. Speaking in Berlin on the first full day of his presidency, he was joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said the pair had a “joint conviction” that they needed to “deepen the European Union”.

• Monday, May 15th 2017 - 06:07 UTC

  President Macron vows a French renaissance, and travels to meet Merkel in Berlin

  

  Emmanuel Macron is beginning his first day as French president with two main tasks, picking a prime minster, a crucial appointment since he needs to make a good showing in next month's parliamentary elections to push through his planned economic reforms. The second is to travel to Germany to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel.

• Tuesday, May 9th 2017 - 06:49 UTC

  Next challenge for Macron: the 'abstention' party will have strong representation in the next legislative

  

  Emmanuel Macron has been elected president of France with 65.5% of the vote, beating the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, according to official estimates. But the abstention rate - at 25%- is the highest since 1969. After a campaign packed with shocks, dirty tricks and invective,

• Monday, May 8th 2017 - 05:45 UTC

  Strong reaction from the Euro; sigh of relief from investors

  

  The Euro has risen after pro-EU Emmanuel Macron won France's presidential vote by a large margin. The single currency strengthened 0.2% against the dollar as investors were reassured over the future stability of the European project. Macron has proposed cutting corporation tax and changes to the labour market.