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 US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis thanked his French counterpart Friday for assistance in the immediate aftermath of an ambush in Niger that killed four US troops. https://www.thelocal.fr/20171021/pentagon-chief-mattis-thanks-france-after-niger-attack Sat, 21 Oct 2017 11:32:38 +0200 pentagon-chief-mattis-thanks-france-after-niger-attack France is to send a contingent of counterterror forces to help the army in Niger after militants ambushed a military patrol killing 16, the defence ministry said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170226/france-sends-backup-to-niger-after-16-troops-killed Sun, 26 Feb 2017 13:01:05 +0100 france-sends-backup-to-niger-after-16-troops-killed Protesters angered by Charlie Hebdo's latest Prophet Muhammad cartoon set fire Friday to the French cultural centre in Zinder, Niger's second biggest city, the head of the centre said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150116/niger-anti-charlie-crowd-set-french-cultural-centre-ablaze Fri, 16 Jan 2015 19:16:00 +0100 niger-anti-charlie-crowd-set-french-cultural-centre-ablaze France said Thursday on it would deploy 3,000 soldiers to combat Islamist violence in the vast and largely lawless Sahel region of Africa. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140508/france-to-deploy-3000-soldiers-in-sahel Thu, 08 May 2014 13:24:00 +0200 france-to-deploy-3000-soldiers-in-sahel France's denials it handed over a huge ransom for the release of four hostages are being met with widespread scepticism, with experts saying such payments are common and may be fuelling kidnappings. https://www.thelocal.fr/20131031/experts-cynical-over-french-ransom-denials Thu, 31 Oct 2013 10:23:00 +0100 experts-cynical-over-french-ransom-denials As four French hostages arrived in Paris on Wednesday after spending three years in captivity at the hands of Al Qaeda militants in Niger, sources claimed that a ransom of over €20 million was paid to free the men. The French government has denied any money was handed over. https://www.thelocal.fr/20131030/freed-french-hostages-head-home-from-niger Wed, 30 Oct 2013 12:31:00 +0100 freed-french-hostages-head-home-from-niger Four French hostages held captive by Islamist militants in Niger since 2010 have been released, French president François Hollande announced on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20131029/breaking-french-hostages-released-in-niger Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:31:00 +0100 breaking-french-hostages-released-in-niger Al-Qaeda's north African branch has released a video purporting to show seven kidnapped Westerners including four Frenchmen, the Mauritanian news agency ANI reported on Monday, footage France's foreign ministry deemed "credible". https://www.thelocal.fr/20130917/al-qaeda-issue-credible-french-hostages-video Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:48:00 +0200 al-qaeda-issue-credible-french-hostages-video At least 20 people were killed and several trainee officers taken hostage when Islamist militants carried out twin bombings on a French-run nuclear plant in Niger. The attack was claimed by the group Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). https://www.thelocal.fr/20130524/update-20-dead-after-islamist-attack-on-french-plant Fri, 24 May 2013 10:34:00 +0200 update-20-dead-after-islamist-attack-on-french-plant France said on Thursday that there were dead among the victims of twin bombings at a uranium processing plant owned by French nuclear giant Areva and a military base in northern Niger. https://www.thelocal.fr/20130523/france-confirms-fatalities-in-attack-on-areva-plant Thu, 23 May 2013 14:57:49 +0200 france-confirms-fatalities-in-attack-on-areva-plant President François Hollande said on Thursday that Islamist groups holding French hostages in Africa were not trustworthy and should not be taken seriously after Al-Qaeda accused Paris of blocking negotiations for their release. https://www.thelocal.fr/20121227/hollande-al-qaeda-not-to-be-trusted-over-hostages Thu, 27 Dec 2012 18:14:00 +0100 hollande-al-qaeda-not-to-be-trusted-over-hostages