Tag: France

• 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.

• Monday, May 8th 2017 - 05:25 UTC

  Landslide wins for Macron, 66% to 34%; France's elected president managed to create a wave of optimism

  

  Emmanuel Macron, the independent candidate who has been elected as France's next president following his Sunday runoff 66% to 34% victory over Marine Le Pen, has triggered a political earthquake in his country's politics, and his performance will be closely monitored by other EU members, particularly Germany and Italy, facing similarly challenging elections.

• Thursday, May 4th 2017 - 06:56 UTC

  French presidential candidates' debate: plenty of insults and no substance

  

  Independent Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen traded barbs and insults Wednesday night in their first and final head-to-head debate ahead of Sunday’s presidential runoff.

• Wednesday, May 3rd 2017 - 05:46 UTC

  High abstention in the range of 25% threatens French presidential runoff

  

  Fears that a high abstention rate could help far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in France's presidential runoff strengthened on Tuesday when two-thirds of far-left supporters said they intend to abstain or cast a blank ballot. An internal survey of supporters of defeated far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon showed only 35% would back pro-EU centrist Emmanuel Macron, Le Pen's rival and the frontrunner.

• Tuesday, April 25th 2017 - 07:19 UTC

  Marine Le Pen steps down as party leader to reach out to voters of defeated candidates

  

  Far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has announced that she is stepping aside as leader of her National Front (FN) party. The move comes just a day after she reached the second round of the French election, where she will face centrist Emmanuel Macron. Ms Le Pen told French TV she needed to be above partisan considerations.

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 07:53 UTC

  Macron is favorite over Le Pen to win the French presidential runoff in May

  

  The independent pro Europe Emmanuel Macron will face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off for the French presidency on 7 May, near-final results show. With 96% of votes counted from Sunday's first round, Mr. Macron has 23.9% with Ms Le Pen on 21.4%.