France

05 Feb 2019; DW: A fire in an eight-story building in a wealthy Paris neighborhood killed at least eight people and injured 28 others early Tuesday morning.

Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz later told reporters that a woman had been taken into custody, albeit cautioning that "the investigation has just begun." He said it was still too early to determine the cause of the fire, but that authorities suspected it to be a criminal act. 

PARIS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- For the 12th straight weekend of protests, thousands of "Yellow Vest" protesters marched in Paris and other French cities on Saturday in relatively calm rallies, but some sporadic incidents led to 30 arrests in the French capital.

As previous demonstrations, discontent people chanted the national anthem and anti-President Emmanuel Macron's leadership slogans. Some of them had put plasters and others wore eye patches to pay tribute to those wounded in the months-long protests.

PARIS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- France regretted United States move to leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, asking Russia to use the six-month window to keep talks on nuclear arms pact and come into compliance with the agreement, the country's Foreign Ministry said in a press release issued late on Friday.

"France regrets to arrive at a situation in which the United States had to notify its withdrawal from the INF Treaty," the ministry said, reiterating Paris "commitment to arms control instruments, which help to ensure strategic stability."

PARIS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said here on Wednesday that France is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China in international affairs and to work together to safeguard multilateralism.

Macron made the remarks in talks with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Elysee Palace.

Macron asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

22 Jan 2019; DW: A follow-up pact to the Elysee Treaty marks the latest gesture of friendship between France and Germany. The new bilateral pact pledges deeper cooperation between the two nations and paves the way for EU reforms.

PARIS (AP) — The ArianeGroup wants to send a scientific mission to the moon before 2025.

Nearly 50 years after Neil Armstrong walked on the Earth’s satellite, the Paris-based company said on Monday it has signed a one-year contract with the European Space agency to study the possibility of preparing a mission, with the aim of mining regolith.

PARIS (AP) — France’s data privacy watchdog fined Google 50 million euros ($57 million) on Monday, the first penalty for a U.S. tech giant under new European data privacy rules that took effect last year.

The National Data Protection Commission said it fined the U.S. internet giant for “lack of transparency, inadequate information and lack of valid consent” regarding ad personalization for users.

19 Jan 2019; DW: Grace Meng's lawyer says she has formally requested refuge from French authorities as she is afraid she may be kidnapped. Her husband, Meng Hongwei, went missing in September after traveling to his native China.

The wife of the former Interpol chief being held in China on corruption charges has applied for asylum in France, her spokesperson has said.

19 Jan 2019; AFP: France's "yellow vests" took to the streets on Saturday for a 10th straight weekend of anti-government protests, defying attempts by President Emmanuel Macron to channel their anger into a series of town hall debates.

A police source said the authorities expected the protests to be "at least as big as last week" when over 80,000 people demonstrated over inequality, the privileges enjoyed by senior public servants and the governing style of a president accused of arrogance.

16 Jan 2019; DW: French President Emmanuel Macron met with about 600 mayors across the Normandy region on Tuesday in his first session of a two-month national debate tour he promised in response to the country's "yellow vest" movement.

In his opening remarks to the gathering in the northern town of Grand Bourgtheroulde, Macron said he was there to hear the concerns of the French and promised that the questions raised by the citizens would be given consideration.