The Local France

Leaders Sarkozy and Juppé stumble in race for Elysée

Fri, 18 Nov 2016 14:59:48 +0100

Right-wing candidates for the French presidential election face off in the first round of a US-style primary on Sunday with former president Nicolas Sarkozy and ex-prime minister Alain Juppe fighting to avoid being knocked out by an outsider.

French journalist 'taken hostage' in Colombia

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:56:00 +0200

A French journalist reported missing in Colombia after a gunbattle between government forces and leftist rebels has apparently been kidnapped, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Sunday.

Military intervention ruled out in Mali

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:16:00 +0200

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said on Monday that the situation in Mali was "rapidly deteriorating" but ruled out sending French soldiers to the former colony.

France grudgingly accepts Putin victory

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:27:00 +0100

France gave a cool reaction Monday to Vladimir Putin's return to the Russian presidency, but accepted that his controversial election victory was not in doubt.

France seeks answers on journalist death

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:18:00 +0100

Foreign minister Alain Juppé pressed Syrian authorities on Tuesday to shed light on the death of French television reporter Gilles Jacquier, who was killed as he covered the country's 10-month-old uprising.

Iran embargo decision by 'end of January'

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:02:00 +0100

A decision on a European embargo on Iranian oil could be taken at an EU foreign ministers' meeting on January 30th in Brussels, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said on Wednesday.

'Islam compatible with democracy' - Juppé

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:18:00 +0100

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé argued on Thursday that Islam and democracy are not incompatible, insisting that the Arab Spring, which has already toppled three dictators, should open the way to political pluralism.

Juppé: attack on peacekeepers was 'vile'

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:01:00 +0100

Foreign Minister Alain Juppé condemned Friday's bomb attack on a UN peacekeeping patrol in Lebanon in which five French troops were wounded, saying France would not be intimidated by such "vile acts".

Europe in 'existential crisis': French foreign minister

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:52:59 +0100

France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said on Wednesday that the financial crisis ravaging Europe's debt-ridden economies had called the European Union's very survival into question.

Two French nationals kidnapped in Mali

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:21:04 +0100

A gang kidnapped two French nationals at gunpoint from their hotel in the Malian desert on Thursday, local security sources said, the latest in a string of abductions of foreigners in the troubled region.

France considers 'humanitarian corridors' in Syria

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:15:00 +0100

France will discuss creating protected humanitarian corridors in Syria with its EU and Arab allies, Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said on Thursday, after meeting the exiled Syrian opposition leader.

Most French think Sarko will lose presidency

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:44:00 +0200

68 percent of French people think that Nicolas Sarkozy will lose in next year's presidential election, according to a new poll out on Monday in newspaper Libération.

Libya rebels get $15 billion boost

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:09:00 +0200

World leaders meeting in Paris unlocked $15 billion in funds on Thursday to help Libya's victorious rebels rebuild the war-torn country as fugitive strongman Muammar Qaddafi issued a new barrage of threats.

Libya rebels deny promising France oil

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:36:00 +0200

Libya's new rebel government dismissed claims on Thursday that it had promised France control of 35 percent of the country's oil production, rubbishing a purported letter from their government.

France strikes oil deal with new Libyan regime: report

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:39:00 +0200

France has secured a deal with Libya's rebel interim rulers to exploit a third of the country's oil reserves, the daily Liberation reported on Thursday, citing a letter to the emir of Qatar.

Qaddafi son defiant as world leaders meet

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:28:00 +0200

Fallen dictator Muammar Qaddafi's son Seif al-Islam vowed that loyalists would fight their rebel enemies to the death, as world leaders gathered in Paris on Thursday to plot Libya's post-Qaddafi future.

France seeks to free frozen Libyan assets

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:52:00 +0200

France is working with its allies at the United Nations to draw up a resolution to unfreeze Libyan assets blocked by Security Council sanctions, a diplomatic source told AFP on Wednesday.

Libyan rebel victory 'not complete': France

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:42:00 +0200

Victory over Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi's regime is "not complete", French officials warned on Tuesday, as Paris' joy over the rebel forces' entry into Tripoli gave way to renewed caution.