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 said on Friday it was "greatly concerned" about the International Olympic Committee's decision to introduce gender testing to determine eligibility for the female category, saying it was a "step backwards". https://www.thelocal.fr/20260327/france-calls-new-olympic-gender-testing-a-step-backwards Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:55:30 +0100 france-calls-new-olympic-gender-testing-a-step-backwards Hundreds of thousands of people marched in demos across France on Sunday marking International Women's Day, with Gisèle Pelicot leading the march in Paris. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260309/in-pictures-thousands-march-in-womens-day-demos-across-france Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:31:24 +0100 in-pictures-thousands-march-in-womens-day-demos-across-france A Jewish primary school was vandalised in eastern Paris at the weekend when its windows were broken and a CCTV camera torn off, French prosecutors said on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260202/jewish-primary-school-vandalised-in-paris Mon, 02 Feb 2026 09:17:52 +0100 jewish-primary-school-vandalised-in-paris Paris' Eiffel Tower features the names of 72 notable scientists - all men. But that is set to change with the addition of another 72 names, this time women who distinguished themselves in the field of science, mathematics or engineering. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260127/paris-unveils-names-of-72-female-scientists-to-feature-on-eiffel-tower Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:51:32 +0100 paris-unveils-names-of-72-female-scientists-to-feature-on-eiffel-tower Almost half of real estate agencies in France accept or enable racial discrimination in access to housing, according to a survey published on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260126/almost-half-of-french-real-estate-agents-enable-racism-study-shows Mon, 26 Jan 2026 09:08:37 +0100 almost-half-of-french-real-estate-agents-enable-racism-study-shows France has launched a probe after a video emerged of a man harassing and humiliating a young Jewish child at a Paris airport, demanding that he "free Palestine" and "dance," a judicial source said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251224/france-launches-probe-over-video-of-man-harassing-jewish-boy Wed, 24 Dec 2025 08:54:45 +0100 france-launches-probe-over-video-of-man-harassing-jewish-boy Feminists expressed outrage on Monday after footage circulated of France's first lady Brigitte Macron using a slur against activists who disrupted the show of an actor-comedian who had once been accused of rape. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251209/outraged-at-video-of-french-first-ladys-outburst-against-feminist-activists Tue, 09 Dec 2025 10:04:25 +0100 outraged-at-video-of-french-first-ladys-outburst-against-feminist-activists Discrimination based on religion has increased in France, a report by the country's rights ombudsman found on Thursday, with one in three Muslims surveyed saying they had suffered from it. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251204/one-in-three-french-muslims-say-suffer-discrimination-report-shows Thu, 04 Dec 2025 18:11:15 +0100 one-in-three-french-muslims-say-suffer-discrimination-report-shows The Nordic countries might be the best known for their gender-equal policies, but a new ranking on equality between men and women taking into account things like work, money and education places France second within the EU. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251202/france-second-most-gender-equal-country-in-eu-according-to-new-ranking Tue, 02 Dec 2025 13:33:24 +0100 france-second-most-gender-equal-country-in-eu-according-to-new-ranking One of France's most famous national monuments may be getting a revamp after calls to change the inscription on the front to acknowledge the fact that women exist. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250901/calls-to-change-sexist-inscription-on-french-national-monument Mon, 01 Sep 2025 14:55:19 +0200 calls-to-change-sexist-inscription-on-french-national-monument The chief of France's biggest scouts movement has said she is stepping down after less than two months following online attacks over her sexuality. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250806/french-scouts-chief-quits-after-online-attacks-over-sexuality Wed, 06 Aug 2025 17:51:00 +0200 french-scouts-chief-quits-after-online-attacks-over-sexuality Holiday camp organisers are to file a legal complaint against Spanish airline Vueling over a decision a day earlier to make French Jewish teenagers disembark from a Paris-bound flight, a lawyer said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250724/french-holiday-camp-accuses-vueling-of-discrimination-against-jewish-teens Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:29:19 +0200 french-holiday-camp-accuses-vueling-of-discrimination-against-jewish-teens France's long-running survey of attitudes towards matters of race, religion and ethnicity shows that the country is gradually becoming more tolerant, with French people less likely to hold racist opinions. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250618/french-are-becoming-more-tolerant-annual-racism-survey-shows Wed, 18 Jun 2025 13:05:41 +0200 french-are-becoming-more-tolerant-annual-racism-survey-shows The murder of a Tunisian man by his French neighbour in southern France, which is being investigated as a terrorist crime, has horrified the local community and raised alarm over rising racism in the country. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250604/why-this-hatred-french-town-reels-over-killing-of-tunisian-man Wed, 04 Jun 2025 16:26:24 +0200 why-this-hatred-french-town-reels-over-killing-of-tunisian-man France's interior minister on Thursday told police to "step up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community" after a gunman shot and killed two Israeli embassy employees in Washington. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250522/france-orders-enhanced-surveillance-at-jewish-linked-sites-after-washington-shooting Thu, 22 May 2025 14:30:13 +0200 france-orders-enhanced-surveillance-at-jewish-linked-sites-after-washington-shooting A French association behind a campaign to force officials in the resort city of Biarritz to rename the city's historic "La Negresse" district has received death threats and turned to police, the group said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250410/french-group-gets-death-threats-over-renaming-of-negresse-district Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:59:49 +0200 french-group-gets-death-threats-over-renaming-of-negresse-district On the outskirts of Paris, 44-year-old French Muslim weightlifter Sylvie Eberena concentrates hard and pushes 80 kilos of bar and weights clean over her hijab-covered head. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250404/athletes-frustrated-as-france-mulls-muslim-headscarf-ban-in-sport Fri, 04 Apr 2025 10:54:59 +0200 athletes-frustrated-as-france-mulls-muslim-headscarf-ban-in-sport A French court ruled on Thursday that the seaside city of Biarritz must rename its La Negresse historic district, possibly named after a black woman, following a case brought by activists who argued it was an outdated legacy of colonialism. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250206/court-orders-french-city-to-drop-la-negresse-place-name Thu, 06 Feb 2025 17:34:33 +0100 court-orders-french-city-to-drop-la-negresse-place-name The city of Nantes in western France has vowed to become France's first 'non-sexist' city by 2030 - and has just released its latest gender-sensitive budget. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250130/the-french-town-aiming-to-be-first-non-sexist-city-by-2030 Thu, 30 Jan 2025 16:10:58 +0100 the-french-town-aiming-to-be-first-non-sexist-city-by-2030 Norway's anti-discrimination tribunal found Air France's policy against seating men next to unaccompanied children to prevent any possibility of predatory behaviour to be discriminatory, a passenger said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250114/norway-finds-air-france-seating-policy-discriminatory Tue, 14 Jan 2025 16:26:33 +0100 norway-finds-air-france-seating-policy-discriminatory