France

16 Apr 2019; AFP: Billionaires and local governments pledged nearly 500 million euros (565 million dollars) on Tuesday to help restore Notre-Dame cathedral, with foundations and crowd-sourcing sites also launching fund-raising drives.

President Emmanuel Macron has vowed the emblematic monument will be rebuilt after its spire and roof collapsed Monday night in a blaze thought to be linked to extensive renovation work.

PARIS (AP) — A massive fire engulfed the upper reaches of Paris’ soaring Notre Dame Cathedral as it was undergoing renovations Monday, threatening one of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western world as tourists and Parisians looked on aghast from the streets below.

PARIS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries agreed on many issues , but the difference on issues related to the conflict in the Middle East and ties with Iran remains, French top diplomat Jean-Yves Le Drian said Saturday.

"There is a very long, positive and comprehensive press release. Nevertheless, it shows some differences of opinion...," Le Drian told reporters at the end of a two-day meeting in Dinard in western France.

DINARD, France (AP) — Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven advanced economies were wrapping up a two-day meeting in the French seaside resort of Dinard on Saturday where they hope to seal joint commitments on a range of global challenges and lay the groundwork for August’s G-7 summit in Biarritz.

PARIS (AP) — Foreign and interior ministers from the Group of Seven are gathering in France this week to try to find ambitious solutions to world security challenges. Putting a dampener on that are two glaring American absences: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

PARIS, March 30. /TASS/. The twentieth wave of Yellow Vest manifestations in France this Saturday has gathered 33,700 people, a report by the French Interior Ministry informs.

The report claims that out of this figure, around 4,000 people protested on the streets of Paris. Last Saturday, nearly 40,500 people took part in the protest, out of them 5,000 protested in Paris, the ministry added.

PARIS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged countries around the world to make concerted efforts in four aspects and jointly shape the future of mankind in the face of severe global challenges.

Xi made the remarks at the closing ceremony of a global governance forum co-hosted by China and France in Paris. Besides Xi and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, the event was also attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

PARIS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau on Tuesday announced she quit office to head President Emmanuel Macron's party list for the European elections in May.

"I send my resignation to the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic... It will take effect after the cabinet meeting tomorrow when I will take part for the last time," Loiseau said while she started the European campaign.

"A number of populist forces are going up in Europe and we are going to fight them," she warned.

PARIS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- China and France have pledged to jointly safeguard multilateralism and improve global governance, according to a joint statement issued Tuesday during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the European country.

The two countries believe that in the current situation, upholding multilateralism is the best way to advance international cooperation in tackling growing common risks and challenges as well as in safeguarding world peace and prosperity, the joint statement said.

Paris, Mar 26; AFP:  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed the growing convergence between Beijing and the European Union on global issues from climate change to trade, urging the two sides to overcome their "suspicions".

At a meeting in Paris between Xi, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, the leaders declared their desire to work together.