France

PARIS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday expressed concerns over damage to Syrian and Turkish heritage sites, and vowed support for the two earthquake-devastated countries.

Following an initial survey of damage to heritage carried out alongside national authorities, UNESCO said: "In Syria, UNESCO is particularly concerned about the situation in the Ancient city of Aleppo, which is on the List of World Heritage in Danger."

07 Feb 2023; MEMO: French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, has sparked outrage with a new cartoon mocking Turkiye after the country was hit on Monday by two deadly earthquakes, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The cartoon, posted on Twitter under the heading "cartoon of the day", shows buildings near collapse and lying in rubble, a flipped-over car, and piles of debris in the quakes' aftermath.

"Earthquake in Turkiye," is written above the cartoon, and the words "No need to even send tanks" at the bottom.

PARIS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A mother and her seven children aged between 2 and 14 died in a house fire early on Monday in France's northern department of Aisne, the local prefecture confirmed in a press release.

Just after midnight, the blaze ripped through a two-story house in the city of Charly-sur-Marne.

A firefighter could rescue a severely burnt man, who was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, the prefecture said, adding that his condition was not life-threatening.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular planned pension changes have prompted strikes and street demonstrations in recent weeks. Now, his government is facing a harsh political battle at parliament.

The National Assembly on Monday starts debating the contested bill, which would notably raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64. The parliamentary session comes a day before a third round of protests called by eight main workers’ unions. More demonstrations are planned for Saturday.

PARIS, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries and strengthen bilateral relationship in all areas, the Elysee said in a press release on Friday.

During a working dinner Thursday night, Macron said Netanyahu choosing France as his first visit outside the Middle East since his appointment as Israeli prime minister shows the "closeness" between the two countries and the two people.

PARIS (AP) — An estimated 1.27 million people took to the streets of French cities, towns and villages Tuesday, according to the Interior Ministry, in new massive protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age by two years.

31 Jan 2023; MEMO: The Mayor of the French city of Lyon, Gregory Doucet, yesterday cancelled a conference hosting French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri, to "ensure harmony" in the city.

The conference entitled "Thirty years after the signing of the Oslo Accords, a look at Palestine" was due to take place at Lyon's City Hall tomorrow.

PARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister insisted Sunday that the government’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is “no longer negotiable,” further angering parliamentary opponents and unions who plan new mass protests and disruptive strikes this week.

Raising the pension age is one part of a broad bill that is the flagship measure of President Emmanuel Macron’s second term. The bill is meeting widespread popular resistance — more than 1 million people marched against it earlier this month — and misunderstanding about what it will mean for today’s French workers.

PARIS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A total of 321 heavy tanks have been promised to Ukraine by several countries, Ukraine's ambassador to France said on BFM television on Friday.

"As of today, numerous countries have officially confirmed their agreement to deliver 321 heavy tanks to Ukraine," Vadym Omelchenko, Ukraine's ambassador to France, said in an interview with French TV station BFM.

"Delivery terms vary for each case and we need this help as soon as possible," he added.

Omelchenko did not provide a breakdown of the number of tanks per country.

26 Jan 2023; MEMO: France has promised to speed up the handover of its colonial archives to Algeria, and to clean up the sites where it conducted nuclear tests in the Sahara Desert in the 1960s, the ministry of foreign affairs in Algiers has announced.