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 French prosecutors have requested arrest warrants for the managers of Australian streaming service Kick over a man’s death during a live broadcast on the platform. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260128/french-probe-seeks-warrants-for-tech-execs-over-streamers-death Wed, 28 Jan 2026 09:31:36 +0100 french-probe-seeks-warrants-for-tech-execs-over-streamers-death It’s one of the most important questions anyone living in France, especially in rural areas, should consider when choosing their mobile phone operator – and an interactive government agency map offers users an instant view of coverage by area. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250717/which-french-phone-operator-offers-the-best-mobile-coverage Thu, 17 Jul 2025 16:03:39 +0200 which-french-phone-operator-offers-the-best-mobile-coverage France's data protection watchdog has fined web services provider Yahoo €10 million for not respecting users' refusals of internet-tracking "cookies" or implying they would lose access to email accounts if they did. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240119/france-fines-yahoo-e10million-over-cookie-abuses Fri, 19 Jan 2024 10:05:55 +0100 france-fines-yahoo-e10million-over-cookie-abuses The EU's Digital Services Act came into effect on Friday - here's what is in it and what it means for internet users in EU countries. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230825/explained-how-the-eus-new-digital-services-act-affects-internet-users-in-europe Fri, 25 Aug 2023 18:17:06 +0200 explained-how-the-eus-new-digital-services-act-affects-internet-users-in-europe State aid for households in France who do not have access to a good internet connection will double to between €300 and €600 depending on income, from next month. https://www.thelocal.fr/20220311/france-doubles-aid-to-help-households-get-faster-internet Fri, 11 Mar 2022 18:07:42 +0100 france-doubles-aid-to-help-households-get-faster-internet France's CNIL data privacy watchdog said on Thursday it had fined two Google units a total of €100 million and an Amazon subsidiary €35 million over advertising cookies. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201210/french-watchdog-fines-google-and-amazon-subsidiary-135m-for-unauthorised-cookies Thu, 10 Dec 2020 11:15:32 +0100 french-watchdog-fines-google-and-amazon-subsidiary-135m-for-unauthorised-cookies France has vowed to eradicate all 'dead spots' from the map and get even its most rural areas a functioning internet connection. But there are still areas in the country without even a phone signal. Here's a look. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201113/map-where-in-france-are-the-phone-and-internet-dead-spots Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:17:32 +0100 map-where-in-france-are-the-phone-and-internet-dead-spots For many people the dream is to escape the rat race and move to a beautiful and tranquil French village, drink red wine and live happily ever after. But what's moving to the French countryside really like? https://www.thelocal.fr/20201030/ten-things-to-expect-if-you-move-to-rural-france Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:10:03 +0100 ten-things-to-expect-if-you-move-to-rural-france When kids become YouTube or Instagram sensations, should they be considered child workers? And who looks after their money? The French parliament has attempted to answer those questions with a new law passed on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201007/france-passes-law-to-regulate-work-of-child-internet-stars Wed, 07 Oct 2020 10:19:59 +0200 france-passes-law-to-regulate-work-of-child-internet-stars France on Tuesday began to auction off radio frequencies for the deployment of ultrafast 5G mobile technology, a process that will add billions of euros to the government's depleted coffers. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200929/france-begins-process-to-roll-out-ultrafast-5g-network Tue, 29 Sep 2020 14:12:24 +0200 france-begins-process-to-roll-out-ultrafast-5g-network French lawmakers on Wednesday approved a controversial bill to ban hate speech on social media, a measure dismissed as censorship by detractors. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200513/french-parliament-adopts-controversial-online-hate-speech-bill Wed, 13 May 2020 21:38:16 +0200 french-parliament-adopts-controversial-online-hate-speech-bill Google cannot escape French law obliging the US online giant to pay royalties to media outlets for displaying their articles, pictures and videos in search results, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191005/macron-no-escape-for-google-from-french-copyright-law Sat, 05 Oct 2019 13:53:11 +0200 macron-no-escape-for-google-from-french-copyright-law French MPs on Thursday backed a bill giving online platforms just 24 hours to remove hate speech or face hefty fines, the latest initiative in Europe to tackle online racism, anti-Semitism, sexism and homophobia. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190704/french-mps-back-bill-forcing-social-media-firms-to-remove-hate-speech Thu, 04 Jul 2019 18:05:02 +0200 french-mps-back-bill-forcing-social-media-firms-to-remove-hate-speech Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday that France would stick to plans for a tax on digital giants such as Facebook and Apple, despite indignation in Washington. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190405/france-determined-to-tax-digital-giants-like-facebook-despite-us-anger Fri, 05 Apr 2019 11:23:30 +0200 france-determined-to-tax-digital-giants-like-facebook-despite-us-anger America has warned France to drop plans for a tax on digital leaders such as Facebook and Apple, saying it would hurt American business. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190404/us-warns-france-against-new-tax-on-digital-giants Thu, 04 Apr 2019 18:39:32 +0200 us-warns-france-against-new-tax-on-digital-giants As a study reveals that the government is unlikely to hit its target to roll out high speed internet to rural areas by 2022, we ask readers living in the countryside what their services are really like. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190402/what-the-internet-in-rural-france-is-really-like Tue, 02 Apr 2019 11:59:38 +0200 what-the-internet-in-rural-france-is-really-like A new survey has revealed the gaping and persistent inequality across France when it comes to access to high speed internet, and warns that the government will likely take until 2029 to sort out the problem, instead of 2022 as it promised. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190402/france-failing-in-promise-to-roll-out-high-speed-internet-access-to-rural-areas Tue, 02 Apr 2019 11:55:42 +0200 france-failing-in-promise-to-roll-out-high-speed-internet-access-to-rural-areas Share your experiences and tips with other readers on the internet in rural France, and what can be done to improve it. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190325/internet-services-in-rural-france-are-they-really-that-bad Mon, 25 Mar 2019 11:50:55 +0100 internet-services-in-rural-france-are-they-really-that-bad A French court has ordered Google to remove "abusive" clauses from the service conditions it requires consumers to accept to the internet giant's services, a consumer group said on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190213/french-court-orders-google-to-remove-abusive-clauses Wed, 13 Feb 2019 17:26:17 +0100 french-court-orders-google-to-remove-abusive-clauses The French authorities have closed down one of the most important "Dark Web" sites dealing in drugs, guns and false identity documents after a massive operation, a top official said on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180616/french-police-shut-down-giant-dark-web-site Sat, 16 Jun 2018 16:28:36 +0200 french-police-shut-down-giant-dark-web-site