https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed French hauliers have announced several planned blockades on Saturday - with more to come next week - to protest at spiralling fuel prices in the wake of the war in the Middle East and to call for government aid. https://www.thelocal.com/20260327/french-truckers-plan-blockades-to-protest-fuel-prices Fri, 27 Mar 2026 09:34:04 +0100 french-truckers-plan-blockades-to-protest-fuel-prices French President Emmanuel Macron appealed on Saturday for cooler heads to prevail ahead of a rally for a far-right activist whose killing, blamed on the hard left, has put the country on edge. https://www.thelocal.com/20260221/macron-urges-calm-ahead-of-rally-for-slain-far-right-activist Sat, 21 Feb 2026 09:38:07 +0100 macron-urges-calm-ahead-of-rally-for-slain-far-right-activist About 200,000 people joined a demonstration against the Iranian government in Munich on Saturday, police said, as world leaders gathered nearby for a security conference. https://www.thelocal.com/20260214/200000-join-iran-demonstration-in-munich Sat, 14 Feb 2026 16:55:55 +0100 200000-join-iran-demonstration-in-munich Thousands of farmers driving tractors and waving flags descended on Tuesday on the European parliament in Strasbourg in protest at a major trade deal signed with South America, ahead of a vote on whether to refer it to the courts. https://www.thelocal.com/20260120/thousands-of-farmers-arrive-in-strasbourg-to-protest-eu-deal Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:12:24 +0100 thousands-of-farmers-arrive-in-strasbourg-to-protest-eu-deal More than 350 tractors parked near the French parliament building on Tuesday after driving down the Champs-Elysées avenue, as farmers protested a litany of woes including the EU's Mercosur trade deal. https://www.thelocal.com/20260113/tractors-in-paris-to-protest-eus-mercosur-trade-deal Tue, 13 Jan 2026 08:39:52 +0100 tractors-in-paris-to-protest-eus-mercosur-trade-deal President Emmanuel Macron says France will vote against the European Union's trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur, after farmers rolled into Paris on tractors in a show of anger against the pact. https://www.thelocal.com/20260109/macron-says-france-to-vote-against-eu-mercosur-deal Fri, 09 Jan 2026 10:21:53 +0100 macron-says-france-to-vote-against-eu-mercosur-deal A farming union has lodged an official complaint after police drew their guns on a farmer taking part in a tractor protest in south-west France. https://www.thelocal.com/20251229/french-police-draw-guns-on-protesting-farmers Mon, 29 Dec 2025 11:28:35 +0100 french-police-draw-guns-on-protesting-farmers Farmers in south-west France say they intend to spend Christmas on the barricades, although across the country many of the roadblocks have been lifted for the festive period. https://www.thelocal.com/20251222/well-be-here-until-christmas-say-blockading-french-farmers Mon, 22 Dec 2025 09:30:02 +0100 well-be-here-until-christmas-say-blockading-french-farmers As roadblocks continue, John Lichfield argues that the Lumpy Skin Disease dispute is more than just another French farmer protest - it is a tragedy for small farmers, and another worrying step into anti-science politics. https://www.thelocal.com/20251216/opinion-french-cattle-cull-protesters-risk-becoming-the-new-anti-vaxxers Tue, 16 Dec 2025 10:10:38 +0100 opinion-french-cattle-cull-protesters-risk-becoming-the-new-anti-vaxxers The French government is on Friday meeting farming unions in an attempt to halt road blockades before the start of the Christmas getaway. https://www.thelocal.com/20251216/will-french-farm-protests-disrupt-christmas-travel Tue, 16 Dec 2025 11:04:05 +0100 will-french-farm-protests-disrupt-christmas-travel France is already seeing widespread protests and road blockades from farmers - so far, the largest union has not got involved. But that could change if an EU treaty is signed this week. https://www.thelocal.com/20251217/frances-largest-farming-union-threatens-more-protests-over-eu-treaty Wed, 17 Dec 2025 11:27:03 +0100 frances-largest-farming-union-threatens-more-protests-over-eu-treaty French farmers have stepped up their protests - including roadblocks and spraying government buildings with manure - over cattle culls. Here's a look at the increasingly bitter dispute over measures to contain Lumpy Skin Disease. https://www.thelocal.com/20251215/explained-why-french-farmers-are-protesting-cattle-culls Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:06:42 +0100 explained-why-french-farmers-are-protesting-cattle-culls A French farming union has called for 'blockades across France' in an increasingly bitter dispute with the government over the culling of infected cattle. https://www.thelocal.com/20251212/french-farming-union-calls-for-blockades-across-france-in-standoff-over-culls Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:33:29 +0100 french-farming-union-calls-for-blockades-across-france-in-standoff-over-culls Hundreds of Spanish fascists marched through Madrid on Friday, a day after the country marked the 50th anniversary of divisive right-wing former dictator Francisco Franco's death. https://www.thelocal.com/20251122/spanish-fascists-march-in-madrid-after-franco-death-anniversary Sat, 22 Nov 2025 09:40:46 +0100 spanish-fascists-march-in-madrid-after-franco-death-anniversary Huge numbers turned out at pro-Palestinian rallies in Europe on Saturday, calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the release of activists on board a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the territory. https://www.thelocal.com/20251005/in-pictures-hundreds-of-thousands-turn-out-at-pro-palestinian-marches-in-europe Sun, 05 Oct 2025 12:24:44 +0200 in-pictures-hundreds-of-thousands-turn-out-at-pro-palestinian-marches-in-europe The dramatic image of sheets of flame engulfing the front of a Paris restaurant during tense nationwide protests on Wednesday has been widely shared - but it seemed the blaze was actually started accidentally by police. https://www.thelocal.com/20250911/restaurant-fire-during-paris-demo-was-started-accidentally-by-police Thu, 11 Sep 2025 17:41:40 +0200 restaurant-fire-during-paris-demo-was-started-accidentally-by-police The 'block everything' movement was a one-day series of protests in France on September 10th that includes demos, strikes and blockades - some of them violent. https://www.thelocal.com/20250910/in-pictures-demos-blockades-and-street-battles-on-frances-block-everything-day Wed, 10 Sep 2025 17:45:54 +0200 in-pictures-demos-blockades-and-street-battles-on-frances-block-everything-day A briefing note from France's intelligence and policing services has warned that the September 'Bloquons Tout' movement could be accompanied by acts of sabotage across the country, in addition to mass blockades and stay-home actions. https://www.thelocal.com/20250903/french-security-services-warn-of-acts-of-sabotage-in-september Wed, 03 Sep 2025 11:01:13 +0200 french-security-services-warn-of-acts-of-sabotage-in-september A mysterious online collective is calling for a 'total blockade' of France on September 10th - here's what we know about the group, how much support they have and how much disruption they're likely to bring. https://www.thelocal.com/20250818/what-do-we-know-about-the-call-to-blockade-france-on-september-10th Mon, 18 Aug 2025 18:44:04 +0200 what-do-we-know-about-the-call-to-blockade-france-on-september-10th A mysterious online collective has issued a call for a 'total and unlimited' blockade of France from September, in protest at the budget plans of prime minister François Bayrou. https://www.thelocal.com/20250723/protest-group-calls-for-total-blockade-of-france-in-september Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:23:58 +0200 protest-group-calls-for-total-blockade-of-france-in-september