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 President Emmanuel Macron says France will vote against the European Union's trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur, after farmers rolled into Paris on tractors in a show of anger against the pact. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260109/macron-says-france-to-vote-against-eu-mercosur-deal Fri, 09 Jan 2026 10:21:53 +0100 macron-says-france-to-vote-against-eu-mercosur-deal Former EU commissioner Thierry Breton has been barred from the USA over his work on regulating American tech giants - here's a look at the life and career of the straight-talking Frenchman. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231020/profile-the-frenchman-taking-on-us-tech-giants Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:09:42 +0200 profile-the-frenchman-taking-on-us-tech-giants The EU said Wednesday it wants to boost energy links between France and Spain as part of a bloc-wide push to secure power supplies, months after a massive outage hit the Iberian Peninsula. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251210/eu-seeks-better-spain-france-energy-links-after-blackout Wed, 10 Dec 2025 14:25:53 +0100 eu-seeks-better-spain-france-energy-links-after-blackout 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 Emmanuel Macron's persistent warnings about Europe's need to take charge of its own destiny have proved prescient with the election of Donald Trump to the White House - so can Macron make this the great mission of his last two years and avoid the fate of the 'lame duck' president? https://www.thelocal.fr/20241113/opinion-trumps-win-may-be-bad-news-for-everyone-apart-from-macron Wed, 13 Nov 2024 10:39:10 +0100 opinion-trumps-win-may-be-bad-news-for-everyone-apart-from-macron France's finance minister on Thursday said his government is doing everything it can to block the adoption of a trade pact between the European Union and four South American countries. https://www.thelocal.fr/20241114/france-says-it-is-seeking-to-block-eu-mercosur-pact-by-all-means Thu, 14 Nov 2024 12:08:20 +0100 france-says-it-is-seeking-to-block-eu-mercosur-pact-by-all-means The EU's proposed new system of passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System will apply to all of the Bloc's external borders - so why are most of the warning lights coming from the France-UK border? And is it really Brexit related? https://www.thelocal.fr/20240508/ees-why-is-the-uk-france-border-such-a-problem-for-the-eus-new-biometric-passport-checks Wed, 08 May 2024 14:03:45 +0200 ees-why-is-the-uk-france-border-such-a-problem-for-the-eus-new-biometric-passport-checks As European travellers prepare for the introduction of enhanced passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System (EES), many readers have asked us what this means for the '90-day rule' for non-EU citizens. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240501/reader-question-how-do-the-eus-new-ees-passport-checks-affect-the-90-day-rule Wed, 01 May 2024 09:18:17 +0200 reader-question-how-do-the-eus-new-ees-passport-checks-affect-the-90-day-rule The EU's Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport checks will usher in big changes for travellers - here we answer readers' questions on the position for dual nationals. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240422/reader-question-what-do-europes-ees-passport-checks-mean-for-dual-nationals Mon, 22 Apr 2024 19:10:50 +0200 reader-question-what-do-europes-ees-passport-checks-mean-for-dual-nationals The EU and the UK could enter into a 'youth mobility' scheme allowing young people to move countries to work, study and live. Here's what we know about the proposal. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240418/how-would-a-youth-mobility-scheme-between-the-uk-and-eu-really-work Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:09:31 +0200 how-would-a-youth-mobility-scheme-between-the-uk-and-eu-really-work New EU legislation has led to changes for internet users in Europe - including the way search results appear on Google. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240307/why-google-searches-in-europe-no-longer-show-maps Thu, 07 Mar 2024 12:01:42 +0100 why-google-searches-in-europe-no-longer-show-maps French farmers have won big concessions from both France and the EU, writes John Lichfield, but these address none of the long-term problems and the hard choices that farmers, governments and consumers must make. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240201/analysis-french-farmers-have-won-this-battle-but-are-losing-the-war Thu, 01 Feb 2024 11:36:18 +0100 analysis-french-farmers-have-won-this-battle-but-are-losing-the-war The European Commission is due on Thursday to begin "strategic" talks with farmers' federations, agri-business firms, NGOs and experts on ways to assuage the ire on farms in several countries. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240123/eu-to-begin-talks-with-farming-leaders-after-wave-of-farmers-protests-around-europe Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:55:33 +0100 eu-to-begin-talks-with-farming-leaders-after-wave-of-farmers-protests-around-europe In Britain he might be best remembered as the subject of the tabloid headline 'Up yours Delors', but across Europe tributes have been pouring in after the death of the French politician widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the creation of the EU. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231228/creator-of-our-europe-tributes-flood-in-to-french-former-eu-boss-jacques-delors Thu, 28 Dec 2023 10:58:24 +0100 creator-of-our-europe-tributes-flood-in-to-french-former-eu-boss-jacques-delors French cheese-makers have been granted an exemption after a furious reaction to new EU rules on packaging which it was feared would outlaw the traditional wooden boxes of Camembert cheese. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231201/french-cheese-makers-win-eu-battle-over-camembert-boxes Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:52:14 +0100 french-cheese-makers-win-eu-battle-over-camembert-boxes Countries in the EU have been granting citizenship to foreigners in record numbers, new figures show. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230302/record-year-for-eu-countries-granting-citizenship-to-foreigners Thu, 02 Mar 2023 12:58:05 +0100 record-year-for-eu-countries-granting-citizenship-to-foreigners The EU has postponed the start date of its €7 ETIAS visa waiver for tourists - due to come into effect later this year - until 2024. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230228/etias-eu-postpones-launch-of-e7-visa-for-tourists Tue, 28 Feb 2023 10:08:27 +0100 etias-eu-postpones-launch-of-e7-visa-for-tourists The European Commission announced on Wednesday an in-depth investigation into whether France breached EU rules on state support by subsidising the freight division of national rail operator SNCF. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230118/eu-probes-french-subsidies-for-rail-operator-sncf Wed, 18 Jan 2023 15:52:00 +0100 eu-probes-french-subsidies-for-rail-operator-sncf France has joined a growing list of countries to announce compulsory Covid tests for travellers from China - but are we likely to see a return to tighter controls on travel from other countries? https://www.thelocal.fr/20230102/is-france-likely-to-reinstate-covid-travel-restrictions Mon, 02 Jan 2023 11:09:46 +0100 is-france-likely-to-reinstate-covid-travel-restrictions The European Commission has approved France's ground-breaking ban on domestic short-haul flights, a key part of the country's climate goals. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210412/france-to-ban-short-domestic-flights-in-a-bid-to-reduce-climate-emissions Mon, 12 Apr 2021 19:54:08 +0200 france-to-ban-short-domestic-flights-in-a-bid-to-reduce-climate-emissions