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 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 Disability rights groups and leaders from the Paris region have signed a pact promising to make the Paris Metro accessible for people with disabilities - here's what they're actually agreeing to and how long this could take. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240910/explained-what-is-paris-plan-to-make-metro-fully-accessible-for-people-with-disabilities Tue, 10 Sep 2024 19:15:52 +0200 explained-what-is-paris-plan-to-make-metro-fully-accessible-for-people-with-disabilities For the first time in Olympic history there will be gender parity on the field at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris https://www.thelocal.fr/20240625/women-athletes-finally-reach-competitive-parity-at-paris-olympics Tue, 25 Jun 2024 14:53:08 +0200 women-athletes-finally-reach-competitive-parity-at-paris-olympics Emotional crowds filled Paris' Place Vendôme on International Women's Day - there to witness history as the French president officially sealed the right to abortion into the country's constitution. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240308/a-moment-of-unity-crowds-witness-right-to-abortion-being-added-to-french-constitition Fri, 08 Mar 2024 16:22:55 +0100 a-moment-of-unity-crowds-witness-right-to-abortion-being-added-to-french-constitition Solitary confinement cells commonly used as punishment in French prisons should be "abolished", a rights group said on Tuesday, flagging "serious and numerous infractions to prisoners' dignity and fundamental rights". https://www.thelocal.fr/20240206/french-prison-rights-group-urges-end-to-solitary-cells Tue, 06 Feb 2024 11:07:39 +0100 french-prison-rights-group-urges-end-to-solitary-cells France said on Monday that it would set up a fund through its embassies to promote the rights of LGBTQ people, as it met like-minded nations at the United Nations. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230919/france-sets-up-embassy-fund-to-defend-lgbtq-rights Tue, 19 Sep 2023 10:31:18 +0200 france-sets-up-embassy-fund-to-defend-lgbtq-rights The French government has created a new website that lists the hotels, cafés, shops, restaurants and other public establishments that are accessible to people with disabilities. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230829/france-creates-new-guide-of-disability-accessible-hotels-shops-and-restaurants Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:28:29 +0200 france-creates-new-guide-of-disability-accessible-hotels-shops-and-restaurants French schools in low-income neighbourhoods will stay open later in the evening to give pupils a place to do homework, sport or cultural activities, in what president Emmanuel Macron said is an attempt to tackle inequality. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230627/french-schools-to-stay-open-later-in-low-income-areas Tue, 27 Jun 2023 13:02:19 +0200 french-schools-to-stay-open-later-in-low-income-areas Deep in the vast La Sante prison in Paris, law student Morgane is discussing the classic novel "The Outsider" by Albert Camus with one of the prisoners. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230330/why-books-could-help-empty-frances-prisons Thu, 30 Mar 2023 10:44:41 +0200 why-books-could-help-empty-frances-prisons Five decades ago, a lawyer convinced a French court to acquit a teenage girl who illegally terminated her pregnancy after being raped, a landmark case that would pave the way for the right to abortion in France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20221010/extraordinary-moment-the-1970s-abortion-case-that-changed-french-law Mon, 10 Oct 2022 11:27:24 +0200 extraordinary-moment-the-1970s-abortion-case-that-changed-french-law France's higher education ministry has launched a €14 million campaign around sexual consent, teaching students to seek explicit consent for any sexual encounter under the slogan 'sans oui, c'est interdit' (without a yes, it's forbidden). https://www.thelocal.fr/20221010/french-launches-e7m-only-yes-means-yes-campaign-on-sexual-consent Mon, 10 Oct 2022 13:43:37 +0200 french-launches-e7m-only-yes-means-yes-campaign-on-sexual-consent The French government will create an ambassador's post to promote LGBTQ rights across the world, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20220804/france-to-create-lgbtq-ambassador-to-promote-rights-around-the-world Thu, 04 Aug 2022 18:51:24 +0200 france-to-create-lgbtq-ambassador-to-promote-rights-around-the-world France violated an international rights treaty when it banned a woman from wearing a headscarf while she studied at a school, a UN committee has ruled. https://www.thelocal.fr/20220804/un-committee-slams-france-over-school-rule-on-muslim-headscarf Thu, 04 Aug 2022 10:55:50 +0200 un-committee-slams-france-over-school-rule-on-muslim-headscarf France still has a long way to go to achieve gender parity in the workplace, according to a new government report, which revealed major differences between men and women on everything from salaries to leadership positions. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210310/gender-inequality-remains-high-in-french-businesses-new-report Wed, 10 Mar 2021 14:19:43 +0100 gender-inequality-remains-high-in-french-businesses-new-report Paris city authorities have been fined for employing too many women in senior positions, a decision mocked as 'absurd' by mayor Anne Hidalgo on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201215/paris-fined-90k-for-having-too-many-women-in-charge Tue, 15 Dec 2020 17:48:52 +0100 paris-fined-90k-for-having-too-many-women-in-charge The French government on Wednesday published a wide-ranging new plan to fight LGBT discrimination in France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201014/frances-40-point-plan-to-tackle-lgbt-discrimination Wed, 14 Oct 2020 15:49:52 +0200 frances-40-point-plan-to-tackle-lgbt-discrimination There was anger in France this week after the government dropped its plan to set a minimum age of sexual consent after a public outcry over two cases of sex involving 11-year-old girls. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180516/france-ditches-plan-to-set-age-of-sexual-consent-at-15 Wed, 16 May 2018 11:39:16 +0200 france-ditches-plan-to-set-age-of-sexual-consent-at-15 Sexism, we are told, is still rife in French offices, so here are the most common sexist French expressions not to tolerate in the office. https://www.thelocal.fr/20171016/the-sexist-office-comments-french-women-are-fed-up-with Mon, 16 Oct 2017 13:13:16 +0200 the-sexist-office-comments-french-women-are-fed-up-with Women across France have been encouraged to leave work at 4.34pm on November 7th in a bid to highlight the salary gap between male and female staff. https://www.thelocal.fr/20161103/french-women-urged-to-leave-work-early-over-pay-gap Thu, 03 Nov 2016 10:12:28 +0100 french-women-urged-to-leave-work-early-over-pay-gap A TV advert aimed at promoting the role of women at a French TV channel has been pulled after feminist groups and government ministers blasted it as sexist. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151007/sexist-french-tv-ad-pulled Wed, 07 Oct 2015 14:11:20 +0200 sexist-french-tv-ad-pulled