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 A French presidential hopeful was roundly ridiculed on Monday after estimating the cost of the nation's favourite pastry - the pain au chocolat was between 10 to 15 centimes. https://www.thelocal.fr/20161024/taking-the-pastry-presidential Mon, 24 Oct 2016 14:46:36 +0200 taking-the-pastry-presidential A scandal-hit French politician has launched a complaint after a parking machine in the town where is mayor issued around 500 tickets that called him a "thieving b**tard". Police are investigating. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150604/parking-machine-calls-french-mayor-a-btard Thu, 04 Jun 2015 18:27:57 +0200 parking-machine-calls-french-mayor-a-btard Despite being forced to quit as leader of France’s main opposition party after being charged over a finance scandal, Jean François Copé has landed a job at a prestigious French university, giving a course in political governance. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150211/coe-ump-shamed-ex-ump-party-chief-turns-political-lecturer Wed, 11 Feb 2015 10:41:00 +0100 coe-ump-shamed-ex-ump-party-chief-turns-political-lecturer Jean-François Copé, who quit as the leader of France’s opposition party on Tuesday over a funding scandal surrounding Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2012 election campaign, has told the French public he was innocent of any wrongdoing and blamed his employees for the affair. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140528/cop-bygmalion-ump-french-politics Wed, 28 May 2014 11:41:00 +0200 cop-bygmalion-ump-french-politics The scandal-ridden French opposition party, the UMP, was plunged into crisis on Tuesday when party leader Jean-François Copé quit after more shocking revelations emerged over a funding scandal for Nicolas Sarkozy's failed 2012 election campaign. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140527/ump-cope-sarkozy-french-opposition-plunged-into-crisis Tue, 27 May 2014 12:38:00 +0200 ump-cope-sarkozy-french-opposition-plunged-into-crisis Former French Prime Minister François Fillon risked sparking off more infighting in France’s opposition UMP party this week by announcing that he will be a candidate in the 2017 presidential election “whatever happens”. https://www.thelocal.fr/20130510/fillons-2017-election-pledge-risks-new-ump-war Fri, 10 May 2013 15:35:00 +0200 fillons-2017-election-pledge-risks-new-ump-war France's right-wing opposition UMP on Sunday took a step towards healing the damaging rift that has divided the party when the two rival leaders appeared to agree on a fresh leadership vote next September. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121217/cope-and-fillon-edge-towards-new-election Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:00:59 +0100 cope-and-fillon-edge-towards-new-election Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy called Monday for a fresh vote to resolve the bitter leadership battle that has left France's main right-wing opposition party, the UMP, on the verge of collapse, party officials said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121127/sarkozy-seeks-end-to-impasse-with-new-ump-vote Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:06:00 +0100 sarkozy-seeks-end-to-impasse-with-new-ump-vote France's main opposition party, the UMP, appeared Friday to have pulled back from the brink of disintegration over a bitterly contested leadership election. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121123/cope-and-fillon-drop-swords-in-election-dispute Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0100 cope-and-fillon-drop-swords-in-election-dispute France's ex-prime minister Francois Fillon's supporters on Wednesday demanded a recount after a venomous leadership battle for the conservative main opposition UMP party, saying he was the rightful winner. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121121/fillon-i-demand-a-recount Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:59:21 +0100 fillon-i-demand-a-recount Jean-François Copé defeated former prime minister Francois Fillon by a handful of votes on Monday to take the helm of France's right-wing UMP party after an election that saw both sides trade accusations of fraud and left the opposition in disarray. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121120/cope-snatches-control-of-ump-in-photo-finish Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:15:00 +0100 cope-snatches-control-of-ump-in-photo-finish The battle to succeed Nicolas Sarkozy at the helm of France's right-wing opposition UMP party turned into a shambles Monday, with both candidates claiming victory and trading accusations of electoral fraud. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121119/ump-leader-election-descends-into-farce Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:58:01 +0100 ump-leader-election-descends-into-farce The battle to succeed former president Nicolas Sarkozy at the helm of France's main opposition party, the UMP, was left undecided early Monday after both candidates claimed victory amid allegations of ballot rigging. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121119/stalemate-in-ump-leader-battle Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:18:00 +0100 stalemate-in-ump-leader-battle Jean-François Copé, candidate to be leader of the UMP, has received criticism from his own party as well as the opposition over an anecdote about a boy who had his pain au chocolat stolen from him because it was Ramadan. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121008/ump-criticise-copes-pain-au-chocolat-polemic Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:16:00 +0200 ump-criticise-copes-pain-au-chocolat-polemic