https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed France will ban electric scooters from pavements in September, the transport minister said, in a backlash against a surge of the commuter gizmos invading pedestrian areas. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190504/france-to-ban-e-scooters-from-pavements-in-september Sat, 04 May 2019 17:21:00 +0200 france-to-ban-e-scooters-from-pavements-in-september French authorities will stop Muslims from praying in a street north of Paris, the country's interior minister said on Sunday, after a series of protests by lawmakers and locals over what they view as an unacceptable use of public space. https://www.thelocal.fr/20171119/france-to-prevent-muslim-street-prayers-in-paris-suburb Sun, 19 Nov 2017 18:16:43 +0100 france-to-prevent-muslim-street-prayers-in-paris-suburb France's lower house of parliament gave its overwhelming backing Tuesday to a ban on producing oil and gas on French territory by 2040. https://www.thelocal.fr/20171011/french-lawmakers-back-plans-to-ban-oil-and-gas-production Wed, 11 Oct 2017 11:05:24 +0200 french-lawmakers-back-plans-to-ban-oil-and-gas-production Just under two thirds of French people (64 percent) are against the burqini being worn on beaches, a survey published on Thursday revealed. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160825/majority-in-france-against-burqinis-on-beaches Thu, 25 Aug 2016 12:10:24 +0200 majority-in-france-against-burqinis-on-beaches France's highest administrative court will on Thursday examine a request to scrap a ban on the Islamic burqini swimsuit which has sparked a furore in the country. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160825/frances-burqini-burkini-ban-top-administrative-court Thu, 25 Aug 2016 10:53:12 +0200 frances-burqini-burkini-ban-top-administrative-court The head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) will meet Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Wednesday to discuss the burqini bans at the centre of a bitter row over Muslim integration. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160824/french-muslim-body-to-discuss-burqini-ban-with-government Wed, 24 Aug 2016 17:10:19 +0200 french-muslim-body-to-discuss-burqini-ban-with-government A French administrative tribunal on Monday upheld a burqini ban decided by a Riviera resort which was one of a growing number of towns to outlaw the body-concealing Islamic swimsuit. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160823/tribunal-confirms-burqini-burkini-nice-villeneuve-ban-as-necessary Tue, 23 Aug 2016 10:43:26 +0200 tribunal-confirms-burqini-burkini-nice-villeneuve-ban-as-necessary A businessman says he has been picking up the tabs for the women caught wearing burqinis on French beaches, and tells The Local he'll keep "fighting to the death" for freedom. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160822/meet-the-man-paying-for-french-women-to-wear-burqinis Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:24:41 +0200 meet-the-man-paying-for-french-women-to-wear-burqinis The news that six French mayors had banned the burqini in their cities provoked strong reaction from around the world. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160818/mockery-and-debate-how-the-world-reacted-to-frances-burqini-bans Thu, 18 Aug 2016 17:46:15 +0200 mockery-and-debate-how-the-world-reacted-to-frances-burqini-bans From Friday, all cigarette manufacturers in France will be obligated to create 'neutral' packaging for cigarettes as a controversial bill finally comes into force. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160518/plain-packaging-for-french-cigarettes Wed, 18 May 2016 16:10:44 +0200 plain-packaging-for-french-cigarettes UEFA have lifted a partial stadium closure imposed against Paris Saint Germain which would have applied when the French champions host Barcelona in the Champions League this month. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140906/uefa-lifts-psg-sanction-for-barca-game Sat, 06 Sep 2014 12:26:05 +0200 uefa-lifts-psg-sanction-for-barca-game French comic and polemicist Dieudonne is under official investigation after releasing a video mocking the beheading of US journalist James Foley by Islamic extremists. Prosecutors are probing whether the video condones terrorism. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140905/james-foley-behead-joke-france-dieudonne Fri, 05 Sep 2014 18:05:00 +0200 james-foley-behead-joke-france-dieudonne France's love affair with its most famous beverage will be subject to a few more rules now that a government decree has allowed employers to begin banning wine from the workplace. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140703/bosses-can-now-ban-wine-in-french-offices Thu, 03 Jul 2014 18:51:00 +0200 bosses-can-now-ban-wine-in-french-offices France has suspended imports of live pigs from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan to try to prevent the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea virus entering the country, the French agriculture ministry announced on Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140503/france-slaps-pig-import-ban-on-usa Sat, 03 May 2014 12:45:00 +0200 france-slaps-pig-import-ban-on-usa With French lawmakers vowing once again to ban the growing of GM corn by the country’s farmers, The Local heard from representatives on both sides of the argument. One says the health risks are too significant, the other says farmers have to earn a living. What do you think? https://www.thelocal.fr/20140219/gm-corn-monsanto-france-ban-europe Wed, 19 Feb 2014 14:29:00 +0100 gm-corn-monsanto-france-ban-europe French prison authorities may be ready to throw in the towel in their fight against mobile phones being sneaked in behind bars. The country’s top jailer has proposed allowing phones in prison saying it would help calm prisoners down. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140213/frances-top-prison-warden-wants-prisoners-to-have-mobiles Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:32:00 +0100 frances-top-prison-warden-wants-prisoners-to-have-mobiles France's state-owned rail company SNCF faces the prospect of being barred from bidding for a €4.4 billion project in the US because of its role in transporting Jews to concentration camps during World War Two. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140205/sncf-faces-ban-in-us-over-holocaust-ties Wed, 05 Feb 2014 13:19:00 +0100 sncf-faces-ban-in-us-over-holocaust-ties French comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala on Monday answered Britain's decision to ban him from entry by giving Queen Elizabeth II his trademark quenelle salute, which he says is an anti-establishment gesture, but critics say is anti-Semitic. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140204/dieudonn-gives-queen-the-quenelle-after-uk-ban Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:07:00 +0100 dieudonn-gives-queen-the-quenelle-after-uk-ban Controversial French comic Dieudonné is now not just an enemy of the state in France. On Monday the UK also made him a persona non-grata when the government confirmed it had banned him from entering the country. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140203/britain-bans-french-comic-dieudonn Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:29:00 +0100 britain-bans-french-comic-dieudonn French comedian and polemecist Dieudonné has been given the green light from Paris authorities to perform his new show on Monday night, after a string of cities banned a previous production that was labelled 'anti-Semitic'. Authorities have warned they'll be watching closely. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140113/dieudonn-police-promise-surveillance-of-new-show Mon, 13 Jan 2014 18:18:00 +0100 dieudonn-police-promise-surveillance-of-new-show