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 on Saturday said he had expressed gratitude to the Iraqi prime minister for taking measures to protect French forces, after a drone strike killed a French soldier in Iraq's Kurdistan region. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260314/drone-strike-kills-french-soldier-in-iraqi-kurdistan Sat, 14 Mar 2026 10:03:00 +0100 drone-strike-kills-french-soldier-in-iraqi-kurdistan France has sent a helicopter carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the Middle East war, the French military told AFP on Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260307/france-deploys-helicopter-carrier-to-mediterranean Sat, 07 Mar 2026 08:59:30 +0100 france-deploys-helicopter-carrier-to-mediterranean France is sending its flagship aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the widening conflict in the Middle East, President Emmanuel Macron announced. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260304/france-deploys-aircraft-carrier-to-mediterranean-over-iran-war Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:49:57 +0100 france-deploys-aircraft-carrier-to-mediterranean-over-iran-war The Swedish military confirmed Friday that a drone jammed near a French aircraft carrier this week was Russian as France slammed the spy attempt as a "ridiculous provocation". https://www.thelocal.fr/20260228/france-warns-of-provocation-as-sweden-confirms-russian-drone-buzzed-carrier Sat, 28 Feb 2026 15:51:34 +0100 france-warns-of-provocation-as-sweden-confirms-russian-drone-buzzed-carrier European leaders, worried about threats from a nuclear-armed Russia and doubts about the future of US security commitments, are increasingly debating whether to bolster nuclear arsenals on the continent. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260214/merz-says-in-talks-with-macron-on-european-nuclear-deterrence Sat, 14 Feb 2026 09:11:12 +0100 merz-says-in-talks-with-macron-on-european-nuclear-deterrence The flagship of the French Navy, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, on Tuesday set course for the Atlantic, the defence ministry said, after the United States and Europe butted heads over Greenland. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260127/french-aircraft-carrier-heads-to-north-atlantic-amid-greenland-tensions Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:31:37 +0100 french-aircraft-carrier-heads-to-north-atlantic-amid-greenland-tensions French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he had given the official go-ahead to replace his country's flagship, the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251221/macron-announces-new-french-aircraft-carrier Sun, 21 Dec 2025 18:49:33 +0100 macron-announces-new-french-aircraft-carrier The French military used anti-drone measures after five unmanned vehicles flew over a closely guarded base housing nuclear ballistic submarines, a source told AFP on Friday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251205/france-takes-anti-drone-measures-after-flight-over-nuclear-sub-base Fri, 05 Dec 2025 17:41:57 +0100 france-takes-anti-drone-measures-after-flight-over-nuclear-sub-base France will introduce a voluntary military service of 10 months beginning next summer, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, in the face of what he called a growing threat posed by Russia. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251127/macron-says-france-to-restore-voluntary-military-service Thu, 27 Nov 2025 13:56:10 +0100 macron-says-france-to-restore-voluntary-military-service The growing threat from Russia and the risk of renewed conflict in Europe have thrown a spotlight on the continent's varied military service models. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251127/threat-of-war-which-countries-in-europe-have-military-service Thu, 27 Nov 2025 13:37:47 +0100 threat-of-war-which-countries-in-europe-have-military-service France's top general on Thursday faced a backlash across the political spectrum after warning that the country must be ready to "lose its children" against the background of the threat posed by Russia. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251120/french-general-sparks-outcry-with-prepared-to-lose-children-warning Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:13:00 +0100 french-general-sparks-outcry-with-prepared-to-lose-children-warning A decade on from deadly attacks in Paris, the world's two most notorious jihadist groups Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda have significantly evolved and their branches still pose a global security threat, especially from Africa, analysts say. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251113/ten-years-after-paris-attacks-jihadist-threat-has-evolved Thu, 13 Nov 2025 09:48:27 +0100 ten-years-after-paris-attacks-jihadist-threat-has-evolved Modern conflicts are already being fought in space and the next wars will begin there, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, singling out the threat posed by Russia and announcing a multi-billion euro increase in spending on military activities in space. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251113/the-war-of-tomorrow-will-begin-in-space-macron Thu, 13 Nov 2025 09:33:41 +0100 the-war-of-tomorrow-will-begin-in-space-macron Drones flying over airports, commercial sites and other sensitive infrastructure in Europe is a growing phenomenon which EU leaders blame on Russia, and preventing the disruption they cause will prove a tough technical challenge, observers say. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251011/how-can-europe-protect-its-skies-against-escalating-drone-menace Sat, 11 Oct 2025 13:22:49 +0200 how-can-europe-protect-its-skies-against-escalating-drone-menace Sailors on the French frigate Lorraine have been training in counter-drone warfare and testing new equipment, firing at aerial or surface drones singly or in groups, as well as electronic warfare exercises against aircraft simulating drones or missiles. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251004/french-navy-responds-to-drone-threat-with-jamming-and-a-wall-of-steel Sat, 04 Oct 2025 16:38:07 +0200 french-navy-responds-to-drone-threat-with-jamming-and-a-wall-of-steel Every year, 800,000 people aged between 16 and 25 take part in a Defence and Citizenship Day in France - here's what they can expect this year. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250801/whats-in-store-if-your-child-is-doing-frances-journee-de-defense-et-de-citoyennete-this-year Fri, 01 Aug 2025 17:19:52 +0200 whats-in-store-if-your-child-is-doing-frances-journee-de-defense-et-de-citoyennete-this-year Fourteen countries from Northern Europe have agreed to strengthen collaboration to combat Russia's "shadow fleet", which Moscow is accused of using to circumvent sanctions and sell its oil. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250620/european-countries-announce-joint-action-against-russias-shadow-fleet Fri, 20 Jun 2025 09:25:18 +0200 european-countries-announce-joint-action-against-russias-shadow-fleet Paris should apologise to French Polynesia for the fallout of nuclear tests there over three decades, which led to harmful radiation exposure, a French parliamentary report said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250618/france-urged-to-apologise-over-polynesia-nuclear-tests Wed, 18 Jun 2025 10:40:04 +0200 france-urged-to-apologise-over-polynesia-nuclear-tests In a sign of the growing security nerves in Europe, France has embarked on a $1.7 billion renovation of an air base in remote hills in the east of the country so it can handle nuclear-armed bombers. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250529/france-gives-air-base-1-7-billion-nuclear-facelift Thu, 29 May 2025 11:55:55 +0200 france-gives-air-base-1-7-billion-nuclear-facelift France’s armed forces are on schedule to develop battle-ready robots by 2040, according to participants in a test bringing together the military with engineers, researchers and defence contractors. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250507/french-army-hopes-for-combat-ready-robots-by-2040 Wed, 07 May 2025 18:21:58 +0200 french-army-hopes-for-combat-ready-robots-by-2040