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 Eighty two years ago Parisians rose up against their German Nazi occupiers, finally liberating the French capital on August 25th, 1944 after a wild week of strikes, barricades and street fighting. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240814/7-wild-stories-from-the-liberation-of-paris Wed, 14 Aug 2024 10:17:39 +0200 7-wild-stories-from-the-liberation-of-paris In August 1944 ordinary Parisians rose up, led by resistance fighters supported by workers, women and even priests to throw off the Nazi yoke after four years. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190812/seventy-five-years-since-the-bloody-and-chaotic-weeks-that-lead-to-the-liberation-of-paris Mon, 12 Aug 2019 08:47:15 +0200 seventy-five-years-since-the-bloody-and-chaotic-weeks-that-lead-to-the-liberation-of-paris With France bidding to expand its list of UNESCO world heritage sites, an application for the stunning and mysterious Cathar castles of south-west France has stirred anger among locals, as Helen Massy-Beresford reports. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260722/why-unesco-bid-for-the-cathar-castles-is-causing-anger-in-south-west-france Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:26:24 +0200 why-unesco-bid-for-the-cathar-castles-is-causing-anger-in-south-west-france After more than 20 years of lobbying, the Normandy beaches where Allied forces landed on June 6th, 1944 are closer than ever to UNESCO recognition. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260720/normandys-d-day-beaches-could-become-frances-latest-unesco-world-heritage-site Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:16:00 +0200 normandys-d-day-beaches-could-become-frances-latest-unesco-world-heritage-site As most people know, July 14th commemorates the storming of the Bastille, the symbolic start of the French Revolution - but the story of how this date became the Fête nationale and a public holiday is a little more complicated. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250711/how-did-july-14th-become-frances-national-day Fri, 11 Jul 2025 14:36:57 +0200 how-did-july-14th-become-frances-national-day Eight decades after World War II, Switzerland on Monday repealed sentences that were handed out to 466 Swiss citizens who fought in the French Resistance. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260616/eight-decades-on-switzerland-clears-french-resistance-fighters Tue, 16 Jun 2026 08:51:26 +0200 eight-decades-on-switzerland-clears-french-resistance-fighters In France, anyone looking to graduate with a secondary school diploma must pass an hours-long philosophy exam, in addition to more prosaic subjects like maths and languages. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230612/building-citizens-why-philosophy-is-compulsory-in-french-schools Mon, 12 Jun 2023 15:16:28 +0200 building-citizens-why-philosophy-is-compulsory-in-french-schools From Nantes to La Rochelle, Le Havre to Bordeaux, debates over plaques, museums, street names and monuments reveal a broader national question: how should France face its past of slavery and colonialism? https://www.thelocal.fr/20260601/how-frances-former-slave-ports-are-confronting-their-past Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:09:27 +0200 how-frances-former-slave-ports-are-confronting-their-past France is Thursday expected to move towards repealing outdated legislation that defines people enslaved in its colonies as "moveable goods", in a symbolic move as the country grapples with its colonial legacy. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260528/france-moves-towards-symbolic-repealing-of-slavery-legislation Thu, 28 May 2026 10:05:13 +0200 france-moves-towards-symbolic-repealing-of-slavery-legislation British music star FKA twigs is to play Josephine Baker in a new biopic of the Roaring Twenties icon who became a hero of the French Resistance and the American civil rights movement. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260512/singer-fka-twigs-to-play-josephine-baker-in-biopic-of-anti-racist-legend Tue, 12 May 2026 15:04:23 +0200 singer-fka-twigs-to-play-josephine-baker-in-biopic-of-anti-racist-legend France's parliament on Thursday definitively adopted legislation to simplify the return of artworks looted during the colonial era to their countries of origin. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260508/french-parliament-votes-to-ease-returns-of-looted-art-to-ex-colonies Fri, 08 May 2026 14:56:05 +0200 french-parliament-votes-to-ease-returns-of-looted-art-to-ex-colonies American president Donald Trump has threatened to pull thousands of American troops out of Germany, with other European military bases potentially following suit. This is not an issue in France, however, which has no US military presence on its soil - here's why. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260507/explained-why-france-doesnt-have-any-us-military-bases Thu, 07 May 2026 15:48:52 +0200 explained-why-france-doesnt-have-any-us-military-bases In towns and villages across the country, the French will turn out on Friday, May 8th, to mark the end of World War II in Europe and honour those who died in the conflict. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230505/ve-day-what-happens-in-france-on-may-8th Fri, 05 May 2023 12:15:41 +0200 ve-day-what-happens-in-france-on-may-8th Deep below the surface of the Mediterranean off the French coast, the pincer of a remotely guided underwater robot delicately closes around a centuries-old jug lying near a 16th-century shipwreck. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260429/diving-robot-explores-mystery-of-frances-deepest-shipwreck Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:17:38 +0200 diving-robot-explores-mystery-of-frances-deepest-shipwreck The tiny statelet nestled in the Pyrenees mountains that mark the border between France and Spain will be getting a visit from its French 'co Prince' this week – but what else is there to know about Andorra? https://www.thelocal.fr/20240426/8-things-you-never-knew-about-andorra Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:11:53 +0200 8-things-you-never-knew-about-andorra It's the original and - we dare to say - will always remain the best, so here's a few things you might not know about the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260417/11-things-to-know-about-frances-arc-de-triomphe Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:29:50 +0200 11-things-to-know-about-frances-arc-de-triomphe French MPs have approved a bill regarding Alsace’s withdrawal from its Grand Est region - but why does Alsace want to leave, and where is it going? https://www.thelocal.fr/20260410/explained-why-does-alsace-want-to-leave-its-french-region Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:38:05 +0200 explained-why-does-alsace-want-to-leave-its-french-region A 600-year-old grape seed discovered in the toilets of a medieval French hospital is genetically identical to the grapes still being used to make pinot noir wine, scientists said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260324/600-year-old-pinot-noir-grape-found-in-medieval-french-toilet Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:10:52 +0100 600-year-old-pinot-noir-grape-found-in-medieval-french-toilet A Paris court has found a historian of the Nazi occupation of France not guilty of libel for having described her mother and other family members as "collaborationist" during World War II. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260320/french-author-cleared-of-libel-over-nazi-collaborator-family-novel Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:47:14 +0100 french-author-cleared-of-libel-over-nazi-collaborator-family-novel Children at a primary school in eastern France found a strange new attraction next to their playground this week: a skeleton sitting upright, peeking out the top of a circular pit. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260318/mysterious-ancient-skeletons-discovered-sitting-upright-in-france Wed, 18 Mar 2026 16:18:13 +0100 mysterious-ancient-skeletons-discovered-sitting-upright-in-france