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's economy minister has warned of a 'new oil shock' if the conflict in Iran and the Middle East continues, although he added that France was less exposed than its neighbours. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260325/french-economy-minister-warns-of-new-oil-shock-due-to-iran-war Wed, 25 Mar 2026 08:59:15 +0100 french-economy-minister-warns-of-new-oil-shock-due-to-iran-war We are in dire straits, writes John Lichfield. Donald Trump wants allies like France, and even rivals like China, to pull his chestnuts out of the boiling oil in the Straits of Hormuz. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260318/opinion-macron-is-having-a-good-war-but-there-is-no-good-end-to-the-iran-disaster Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:40:29 +0100 opinion-macron-is-having-a-good-war-but-there-is-no-good-end-to-the-iran-disaster President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that France's next nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be called France Libre (Free France), as the country looks to reinforce its status as a major maritime power. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260319/free-france-macron-reveals-name-of-europes-largest-warship Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:07:29 +0100 free-france-macron-reveals-name-of-europes-largest-warship France will not take part in operations to open the Hormuz Strait, but is ready to help escort ships 'once the situation becomes calmer', said President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260317/france-will-not-take-part-in-operation-to-open-hormuz-strait-says-macron Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:34:03 +0100 france-will-not-take-part-in-operation-to-open-hormuz-strait-says-macron French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced 500 spot checks at fuel stations across France - with fines already being issued - over fears of excessive price hikes in the wake of the war in Iran and the Gulf. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260309/500-price-checks-at-french-petrol-stations-over-claims-of-excessive-hikes Mon, 09 Mar 2026 09:31:25 +0100 500-price-checks-at-french-petrol-stations-over-claims-of-excessive-hikes As the US launches strikes against Iran, Emmanuel Macron's reaction has been very different to his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who refused to join the British and American invasion of Iraq in 2003 - John Lichfield examines why. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260304/opinion-why-macron-will-not-do-a-chirac-over-this-gulf-war Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:23:15 +0100 opinion-why-macron-will-not-do-a-chirac-over-this-gulf-war A first charter flight carrying French nationals stranded in the Middle East since the start of the war with Iran landed at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris early on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260304/first-charter-jet-brings-french-nationals-home-from-middle-east Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:55:01 +0100 first-charter-jet-brings-french-nationals-home-from-middle-east President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France will increase the number of its nuclear warheads and cooperate with eight countries to help protect the continent as key NATO ally Washington turns away. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260302/macron-says-france-to-increase-nuclear-warheads-in-plan-to-protect-europe Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:30:45 +0100 macron-says-france-to-increase-nuclear-warheads-in-plan-to-protect-europe Some 60 French-owned or -flagged commercial vessels are currently blocked in the Gulf, because of threats in the Strait of Hormuz related to the Iran war, a French shipping executive told AFP. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260302/some-60-french-owned-or-flagged-commercial-ships-blocked-in-gulf Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:23:33 +0100 some-60-french-owned-or-flagged-commercial-ships-blocked-in-gulf Sharing umbrellas is never easy. France has offered to 'extend' its nuclear umbrella to other European countries without actually 'sharing' it. How can that work, asks John Lichfield. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260218/opinion-macrons-offer-to-extend-the-french-nuclear-umbrella-to-europe-is-fraught-with-problems Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:21:30 +0100 opinion-macrons-offer-to-extend-the-french-nuclear-umbrella-to-europe-is-fraught-with-problems France's navy, with the help of allies, on Thursday boarded a tanker alleged to be from Russia's sanction-busting "shadow fleet" in the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260122/french-navy-boards-tanker-from-russia-in-mediterranean-says-macron Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:07:43 +0100 french-navy-boards-tanker-from-russia-in-mediterranean-says-macron European leaders sending their troops to Greenland has - writes political columnist John Lichfield - called Donald Trump's bluff when it comes to military conflict. Instead the continent faces the prospect of a long and brutal trade war. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260120/opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war Tue, 20 Jan 2026 11:46:19 +0100 opinion-this-is-a-1938-moment-for-europe-but-the-war-will-be-a-trade-war President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that France would soon send more "land, air, and sea" forces to join a European military exercise in Greenland, after Washington threatened to seize the autonomous Danish territory. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260115/france-to-send-extra-land-air-and-sea-forces-to-greenland-in-coming-days-says-macron Thu, 15 Jan 2026 13:22:05 +0100 france-to-send-extra-land-air-and-sea-forces-to-greenland-in-coming-days-says-macron France says that the origin of drones intercepted over two military sites - including a nuclear submarine port - in the past week remains unknown. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251211/origin-of-drones-intercepted-over-french-military-sites-remains-unknown Thu, 11 Dec 2025 10:49:15 +0100 origin-of-drones-intercepted-over-french-military-sites-remains-unknown France and Britain are unlikely to include European allies in their nuclear deterrence, analysts said after future German leader Friedrich Merz called for European defence "independence" and a possible "nuclear sharing". https://www.thelocal.fr/20250227/a-french-uk-nuclear-umbrella-for-europe-not-likely-say-analysts Thu, 27 Feb 2025 17:57:25 +0100 a-french-uk-nuclear-umbrella-for-europe-not-likely-say-analysts The French defence ministry on Wednesday announced plans to significantly boost the country's four-year-old cyber warfare force, citing the "growing number and gravity" of hacking attacks on the country. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210909/france-recruits-1800-extra-staff-to-cyber-warfare-unit Thu, 09 Sep 2021 10:23:19 +0200 france-recruits-1800-extra-staff-to-cyber-warfare-unit France will increase spending on its new Space Force programme by several hundreds of millions of euros as it prepares for potential "unfriendly manoeuvres" among world powers, Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200724/france-increases-defence-spending-as-it-prepares-for-unfriendly-manouvres-in-space Fri, 24 Jul 2020 12:44:16 +0200 france-increases-defence-spending-as-it-prepares-for-unfriendly-manouvres-in-space French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday announced the creation of a new national military space force command that will eventually be part of his country's air force. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190714/macron-announces-new-space-force-on-eve-of-bastille-day Sun, 14 Jul 2019 09:03:13 +0200 macron-announces-new-space-force-on-eve-of-bastille-day Australia formally signed a €30 billion (Aus$50 billion) "strategic partnership" with France to build 12 state of the art submarines Monday, a signal of Canberra's willingness to project power across the Pacific. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190211/australia-bets-on-france-for-audacious-30-billion-submarine-deal Mon, 11 Feb 2019 11:07:24 +0100 australia-bets-on-france-for-audacious-30-billion-submarine-deal France's President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday announced common plans on a plethora of EU reforms ahead of a crunch end-June summit that could determine the future of the bloc. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180620/germany-france-eurozone-reform-ideas Wed, 20 Jun 2018 11:01:15 +0200 germany-france-eurozone-reform-ideas