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 mayor of France's second-biggest city Marseille said Wednesday that Kanye West was "not welcome", after the music star known for his antisemitic rants announced a concert in June. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260304/marseille-mayor-opposes-kanye-west-gig-over-unabashed-nazism Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:22:17 +0100 marseille-mayor-opposes-kanye-west-gig-over-unabashed-nazism Thousands of people gathered in Marseille on Saturday to honour the brother of an anti-drug activist murdered in France's second largest city whose death sparked nationwide calls to confront drug crime. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251123/thousands-rally-in-france-after-murder-linked-to-anti-drug-activism Sun, 23 Nov 2025 11:52:42 +0100 thousands-rally-in-france-after-murder-linked-to-anti-drug-activism It's nine in the morning and Marseille city contractors armed with long tongs were picking up syringes amid the morning crowd, dropping them one by one into a yellow recipient fixed on a cart. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250719/witnesses-to-despair-marseille-sees-poverty-fuel-cocaine-problem Sat, 19 Jul 2025 11:06:51 +0200 witnesses-to-despair-marseille-sees-poverty-fuel-cocaine-problem A new mural depicting a lighthouse by world-famous street artist Banksy has appeared on a wall in the southern French city of Marseille, with AFP confirming its location on Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250530/we-love-it-marseille-discovers-new-banksy-artwork Fri, 30 May 2025 18:33:24 +0200 we-love-it-marseille-discovers-new-banksy-artwork A huge golden statue of the Virgin Mary that has for more than a century watched over the French port city of Marseille and its seafarers is this summer to receive a gold-leaf facelift. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250131/marseilles-giant-virgin-mary-statue-to-gleam-brighter Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:08:44 +0100 marseilles-giant-virgin-mary-statue-to-gleam-brighter Hundreds of tonnes of garbage have piled up on the streets of France's second largest city as waste collectors continue strike action to push for more resources. https://www.thelocal.fr/20241031/600-tonnes-of-rubbish-pile-up-in-french-city-as-waste-collectors-strike Thu, 31 Oct 2024 11:24:05 +0100 600-tonnes-of-rubbish-pile-up-in-french-city-as-waste-collectors-strike Two people were killed and four others injured late Saturday in a shooting in a housing project in the northern districts of Marseille, AFP learned Sunday from a police source. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240929/two-dead-and-four-injured-in-a-shooting-in-frances-marseille Sun, 29 Sep 2024 12:25:56 +0200 two-dead-and-four-injured-in-a-shooting-in-frances-marseille Environmental activists blocked France's leading cruise liner port in the southern city of Marseille on Saturday to protest against the sea, air and climate pollution generated by the huge vessels. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240921/environmental-protesters-block-french-cruise-liner-port Sat, 21 Sep 2024 16:28:06 +0200 environmental-protesters-block-french-cruise-liner-port Housekeepers at a luxury hotel in southern France won key concessions on Wednesday after going on strike for a full two months, union representatives said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240731/french-luxury-hotel-housekeepers-win-2-month-strike-standoff Wed, 31 Jul 2024 15:30:52 +0200 french-luxury-hotel-housekeepers-win-2-month-strike-standoff French police have flooded the troubled Marseille district of La Castellane with forces since a crackdown on the drug trade started last month, and one mother told how she feels safer, for now at least. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240411/marseille-district-sees-weary-but-wary-relief-in-drug-crackdown Thu, 11 Apr 2024 10:38:06 +0200 marseille-district-sees-weary-but-wary-relief-in-drug-crackdown A woman and a man, both in their twenties, were killed in a shooting late Saturday in French Mediterranean city Marseille and three others hurt, prosecutors told AFP. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231112/two-killed-in-shooting-in-frances-marseille Sun, 12 Nov 2023 16:42:59 +0100 two-killed-in-shooting-in-frances-marseille A university site in the centre of French Mediterranean port Marseille will close temporarily because of nearby dealing in the city's deadly drug trade, according to a letter seen by AFP. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231004/french-university-closes-building-over-drug-dealing Wed, 04 Oct 2023 13:04:06 +0200 french-university-closes-building-over-drug-dealing A bloody rivalry between two drug gangs in Marseille on France's Mediterranean coast has claimed the lives of dozens of people this year in attacks sometimes carried out by teenagers, according to police. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230818/drug-war-bloodbath-shakes-marseille-as-rival-gangs-shoot-it-out Fri, 18 Aug 2023 12:51:45 +0200 drug-war-bloodbath-shakes-marseille-as-rival-gangs-shoot-it-out 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 French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he would double state funding for upgrading transport in the country's troubled second city Marseille, where 23 have been killed in drug gang turf wars so far this year. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230626/macron-promises-to-double-state-funding-for-transport-in-marseille Mon, 26 Jun 2023 14:24:38 +0200 macron-promises-to-double-state-funding-for-transport-in-marseille Rescue workers on Wednesday dug out the last two people missing after an explosion destroyed a residential building in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille, taking the final death toll to eight. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230413/marseille-building-collapse-toll-hits-eight-as-last-residents-dug-out Thu, 13 Apr 2023 10:58:58 +0200 marseille-building-collapse-toll-hits-eight-as-last-residents-dug-out Rescuers were on Tuesday searching rubble in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille for two people still missing after a deadly building collapse two days before, as investigators began work to ascertain the cause of the blast that brought it down. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230411/two-still-missing-as-marseille-building-collapse-probe-begins Tue, 11 Apr 2023 13:58:27 +0200 two-still-missing-as-marseille-building-collapse-probe-begins Rescue workers on Monday recovered a sixth body from the rubble of a collapsed apartment in France's Marseille, according to local emergency services, as firefighters raced against the clock to find two people still missing. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230410/two-bodies-found-in-french-building-collapse-as-rescue-efforts-continue Mon, 10 Apr 2023 09:15:36 +0200 two-bodies-found-in-french-building-collapse-as-rescue-efforts-continue After another spate of drug-related homicides in Marseille, many are wondering how dangerous France's port city on the Mediterranean really is. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230406/does-the-french-city-of-marseille-deserve-its-dangerous-reputation Thu, 06 Apr 2023 13:10:21 +0200 does-the-french-city-of-marseille-deserve-its-dangerous-reputation The torch relay for the 2024 Paris Olympics will start in the southern port of Marseille, organisers announced on Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230203/2024-olympic-torch-relay-to-start-in-marseille Fri, 03 Feb 2023 12:52:36 +0100 2024-olympic-torch-relay-to-start-in-marseille