French Politiques for an Anglophone Audience
On Sunday, June 9, the Parti socialiste (PS) of France lost two seats in the by-elections for the first and eighth constituencies of the National Assembly, both representing French citizens abroad. The Constitutional Council invalidated the earlier elections for the two seats, first held in May of 2012. The original winners of the seats, Corinne […]
Front national (FN) leader and member of the European Parliament Marine Le Pen may face charges over inciting racial hatred after a special vote in the EP. In a December 2010 speech, Le Pen compared Muslims praying in French streets to France’s Nazi occupiers. French prosecutors had hoped to charge Le Pen with inciting religious […]
President of the UMP Ends Functions as Lawyer (April 22) Jean François Copé – president of the UMP – announced he will cease his lawyer activities to be able to fully focus on his political group and his country. Copé left his job with the international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel in 2010, but had until […]
On Saturday, May 25, a male French citizen described as “North African” in appearance stabbed a 23-year-old soldier in the neck with a pocketknife and fled. The incident took place in “La Defense” – a crowded part of Paris known for its office buildings and large mall – where soldiers were patrolling the area as […]
Former secretary-general and founder of the French branch of Reporters Without Borders, Robert Ménard confirmed on Thursday that he had obtained the support of the extreme-right political party, the Front National (FN). His statement, which was made on Radio France Bleu Hérault, admitted to receiving support from the part of right-wing Marine Le Pen, but […]
Setting a limit on the income of the CEOs of public companies was one of the most symbolic and awaited of the propositions François Hollande made during his presidential campaign. The intention was to set the maximum income at 450,000 euros per year, as was published in a government decree July 26, 2012. This initiative […]
Europol announced on May 22 that it had arrested 18 people in France and the UK for allegedly running a human trafficking ring smuggling South Asian immigrants into Britain. 11 suspects were arrested in Britain, and seven more were arrested in France. All but one were Sri Lankan nationals. The other suspect is reportedly a […]
On Friday May 24, 2013, French Special Forces aided Nigerien troops in an operation that raided an army base in northern Niger. The collaborative effort ended a hostage situation following an attack on the army base by extremists on Thursday. Two Nigerien cadets were taken hostage within the base. The aggressors had barricaded themselves in […]
On Wednesday, May 22nd, Brussels hosted a summit for the leaders of the European Union (EU) states. France, alongside the UK and Germany, lobbied for the four-hour session to include an in-depth discussion of tax loopholes and evasion within the Eurozone, alongside the scheduled talks on European energy policy ad infrastructure. These talks were prompted […]
A bill proposed by the Front de gauche (FDG) eliminating the word “race” from French legislation was adopted by the National Assembly last Thursday. The term is to be deleted from the Code Pénal, the Code de procedure pénale, and from the law on the freedom of press. André Chassaigne, Communist deputy and President of […]
