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 will stage an elaborate light show at the Statue of Liberty to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, the French consulate said Monday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260630/france-to-illuminate-statue-of-liberty-for-us-250th-birthday Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:47:47 +0200 france-to-illuminate-statue-of-liberty-for-us-250th-birthday French scholar and Resistance fighter Marc Bloch, who was tortured and executed by the Gestapo in 1944, entered the Pantheon on Tuesday, becoming the first historian to receive the honour bestowed on exceptional figures in politics, culture and science. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260624/historian-and-resistance-hero-marc-bloch-joins-frances-pantheon-greats Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:54:02 +0200 historian-and-resistance-hero-marc-bloch-joins-frances-pantheon-greats France is set to unveil a 'heritage pass' that will give visitors access to hundreds of the country's most beautiful and historic sites. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260612/new-heritage-pass-will-open-doors-to-500-historic-french-venues Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:06:14 +0200 new-heritage-pass-will-open-doors-to-500-historic-french-venues President Emmanuel Macron endorsed the symbolic repeal of royal decrees that governed slavery in French colonies, as France confronts its history and the sensitive issue of reparations. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260522/macron-urges-caution-on-reparations-as-france-confronts-slavery-legacy Fri, 22 May 2026 08:44:32 +0200 macron-urges-caution-on-reparations-as-france-confronts-slavery-legacy Whenever French pundits and politicians want their leaders to stand up to USA, someone will always invoke the memory of Charles De Gaulle - so what's the real story of France's post WWII leader and his relationship with America? https://www.thelocal.fr/20260109/why-does-france-want-its-leaders-to-channel-de-gaulle Fri, 09 Jan 2026 13:40:43 +0100 why-does-france-want-its-leaders-to-channel-de-gaulle Divers have discovered a long-submerged 7,000-year-old wall under the sea off western France, scientists have said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251212/ancient-undersea-wall-found-off-french-coast Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:47:40 +0100 ancient-undersea-wall-found-off-french-coast France has returned three colonial-era skulls to Madagascar, including one believed to be that of a Malagasy king decapitated by French troops during a 19th-century massacre. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250827/france-returns-skull-of-beheaded-king-to-madagascar Wed, 27 Aug 2025 10:54:59 +0200 france-returns-skull-of-beheaded-king-to-madagascar France waged a “war” in Cameroon marked by “repressive violence” during and after the African country’s decolonisation in the late 1950s, President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged in a letter. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250813/macron-admits-french-repressive-violence-in-cameroon-decolonisation-war Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:29:04 +0200 macron-admits-french-repressive-violence-in-cameroon-decolonisation-war At the foot of Sainte Victoire, the mountain in Provence immortalised by Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne, a palaeontologist brushes meticulously through a mound of red clay, looking for fossils. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250702/eggs-en-provence-frances-unique-dinosaur-egg-trove Wed, 02 Jul 2025 10:48:21 +0200 eggs-en-provence-frances-unique-dinosaur-egg-trove Visitors to France’s Palace of Versailles can now strike up a conversation with talking statues instead of listening to a traditional audio guide, as part of a new collaboration with artificial intelligence companies, the palace has said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250625/frances-versailles-unveils-ai-powered-talking-statues Wed, 25 Jun 2025 10:52:12 +0200 frances-versailles-unveils-ai-powered-talking-statues From technology to medicine, transport to fashion, French inventors are responsible for many of the things that shape the modern world (even if they didn't invent the croissant). https://www.thelocal.fr/20220902/12-world-changing-inventions-that-came-from-france Fri, 02 Sep 2022 14:23:13 +0200 12-world-changing-inventions-that-came-from-france A hand-written letter from Napoleon denying his role in the kidnapping of Pope Pius VII in 1809 will be auctioned this weekend, in a reminder of France’s complicated past relationship with the Vatican. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250423/napoleon-letter-auction-denies-role-in-french-pope-detention Wed, 23 Apr 2025 10:49:02 +0200 napoleon-letter-auction-denies-role-in-french-pope-detention A French organisation dedicated to the conservation of historic heritage is offering a chance for members of the public to win an authentic fragment of Notre Dame cathedral, as part of a fundraising drive. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250305/french-fundraiser-offers-chance-to-win-piece-of-notre-dame Wed, 05 Mar 2025 09:53:10 +0100 french-fundraiser-offers-chance-to-win-piece-of-notre-dame French officials have ‘relaunched’ a bid to have the D-Day landing beaches protected by UNESCO World Heritage listing. https://www.thelocal.fr/20241030/normandy-to-update-bid-for-world-heritage-status-for-frances-d-day-beaches Wed, 30 Oct 2024 17:35:26 +0100 normandy-to-update-bid-for-world-heritage-status-for-frances-d-day-beaches For most people the guillotine summons to mind images of the French Revolution, but the lethal contraption remained in use until well into the 20th century. https://www.thelocal.fr/20220504/reader-question-when-did-france-stop-guillotining-people Wed, 04 May 2022 18:31:26 +0200 reader-question-when-did-france-stop-guillotining-people Two conferences will highlight the French lives and careers of 10 inspirational women https://www.thelocal.fr/20241010/events-spotlight-10-inspirational-women-in-french-history Thu, 10 Oct 2024 15:17:39 +0200 events-spotlight-10-inspirational-women-in-french-history French women have made an impact on the world, but how many famous names can you recognise. Here are 10 of France's most celebrated women, immortalised during the opening ceremony of the 2024 summer Olympics. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240918/how-many-of-frances-10-most-iconic-women-can-you-name Wed, 18 Sep 2024 17:34:14 +0200 how-many-of-frances-10-most-iconic-women-can-you-name A centuries-old mystery surrounding a poet buried in Paris’s Notre Dame could be close to being solved thanks to archaeological digs at the world-famous cathedral. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240918/notre-dames-dead-poet-mystery-close-to-solution Wed, 18 Sep 2024 11:03:41 +0200 notre-dames-dead-poet-mystery-close-to-solution Aux armes, readers, here's a closer look at the rather bloody song that is so dear to many in France (but not everyone). https://www.thelocal.fr/20180425/happy-birthday-marseillaise-all-you-need-to-know-on-the-french-national-anthem Wed, 25 Apr 2018 12:33:08 +0200 happy-birthday-marseillaise-all-you-need-to-know-on-the-french-national-anthem As the 80th anniversary of D-Day approaches, what became of the German-built Atlantic Wall defences intended to keep the Allies at bay? https://www.thelocal.fr/20240522/fortress-europe-the-nazi-wall-that-failed-to-prevent-d-day Wed, 22 May 2024 18:16:46 +0200 fortress-europe-the-nazi-wall-that-failed-to-prevent-d-day