#France

#France

Its text recognises that enforcement of previous laws "criminalising the use of, practice of, access to, and information about abortion" constituted "an infringement of the protection of women's health, of sexual and reproductive autonomy", as well as "of women's rights". The pre-1975 laws led to "numerous deaths" and caused "physical and moral suffering", it adds.

Beginning last week at a farm in Ariege close to the Spanish border, farmer protests are spreading rapidly across France - particularly targeting roads. The dispute is over the culling of cattle in areas where the highly contagious Lumpy Skin Disease has been detected - the government insists this is necessary to prevent the spread of the disease, the farmers say that the culls are disproportionate and devastating to small breeders.

French health officials are working to trace all the contacts of two men who contracted Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a potentially deadly disease that typically only occurs in the Middle East. These cases of the disease are the country's first in 12 years, according to the French health ministry. The men, both of whom are in their 70s, are in a stable condition.

If you're due to send or receive money at the end of December, you may have to wait for the funds to arrive due a combination of European Central Bank rules and the day that Christmas falls on this year. Every weekend, as well as on certain public holidays, the payment transfer systems operated by the European Central Bank are closed. These public holidays include Christmas - bank transfers will not go through on December 25th or December 26th.

It will be a great duel,

As part of that influence, Kevin Roberts -- president of the powerful Heritage Foundation and a key influence on Trump's policy decisions -- earlier this year visited Paris to speak to what he called "leaders of the French right", whom he declined to name. Roberts said during the trip in May that, while the foundation did not officially represent the US government, it could still knit together a network of ideologically aligned groups.

It's still trailing far behind countries like the Netherlands or Croatia, but France has leapt six places in the European rankings for levels of English language proficiency, the latest ranking shows. Each year, Education First publishes a report on global English-language skills. For their 2025 edition, France showed significant year-on-year improvement. The country jumped to 38th place internationally, up from 49th place in 2024.

Castro, a 41-year-old yoga teacher, disappeared on June 26 at the Paraguachon border crossing, which separates Venezuela from Colombia, where he lives. He had gone to renew his expired Colombian residency visa, his family said in August. In mid-September, Castro's mother said she had not received any news from him other than a voice message at the end of July in which he "called for help".

IKEA is well known for its monster-sized warehouses in major cities, but bosses have a plan to open new format stores in smaller towns in 2026, as it seeks to expand its footprint in France. The Swedish furniture brand is planning to open a new generation of smaller stores in medium-sized towns and cities across France, "where [they are not] yet present (...) in existing spaces and buildings that [they could] rent rather than build."

A French homeowner has unearthed a staggering 700,000 ($800,000) fortune in gold bars and coins while excavating for a new swimming pool in his garden, local officials have confirmed. The unnamed individual stumbled upon the valuable hoard at his property in Neuville-sur-Saone, a town near Lyon, back in May. He promptly reported the discovery to the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs.

Two French policemen have been charged for allegedly raping a young woman while she was in custody, with one of the suspects apparently filming the act on his phone. The officers were initially suspended after the woman accused them of assaulting her earlier this week while she was in custody at a court in Bobigny, a town in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.

If your vehicle is missing, the first step is to check if it has been towed. Here's how to do so online in France. If you find that your car is missing, before filing a police report, you might want to check to see if it has been towed. Helpfully, the French government has a dedicated online service via the Service-Public website that allows you to do just that.

Four Bulgarians went on trial in France Wednesday accused of desecrating a Jewish memorial with red handprints last year, which prosecutors think may have been foreign interference linked to Russia. The vandalism was staged during heightened tensions in France over the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas that broke out in October 2023. The trial is the first of its kind in France, one of a series of similar cases suspected of having been orchestrated by a foreign power

Now, Variety has reported that White has not only zoned in on France, but selected the exact locations he wants to shoot in. The publication reports that HBO has been scouting hotels in Paris, with five-star properties including Le Lutetia and Ritz Paris lined up as possible settings. Likely contenders for locations in the south of France include Monaco, known as the richest place in the French Riviera, as well as Nice and Cannes.

French criminal law currently defines rape as any kind of sexual penetration committed using violence, coercion, threat or surprise. It does not specifically mention consent. But after the change the criminal code will define rape or sexual assault as any non-consensual act. It states consent must be informed, specific, prior and revocable and cannot be inferred solely from the silence or lack of reaction of the victim.

"ça me fait ni chaud ni froid" (I'm neither hot nor cold - or more precisely 'I don't care').