France

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.

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday that his government granted one billion euros (1.15 billion U.S. dollars) loan to Iraq to support reconstruction and stability efforts in the areas destroyed by the war against the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants.

"France has decided to allocate a loan of one billion euros to Iraq to contribute to the reconstruction and stabilization efforts in the country," Le Drian told a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim.

13 Jan 2019; AFP: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday spelled out the questions underpinning his "great national debate", a public consultation aiming to quell "yellow vest" anger after nearly two months of sometimes violent protests.

Macron made his appeal in a "letter to the French" released on Sunday, following the ninth consecutive Saturday of nationwide "yellow vest" rallies which saw an uptick in turnout.

PARIS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A woman who was reported missing was found lifeless, a day after a gas explosion blew up a building in the center of Paris, a state radio reported on Sunday.

French rescuers have found the victim's body buried under the rubble earlier on Sunday, France info said, citing a source from Paris prosecutor office.

The death of the 28-year-old woman, who lived in the exploded building, brought the death toll to four. Two firefighters and a Spanish tourist were confirmed dead on Saturday.