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 days of smuggling pork pies into France - or stinky French cheese into the UK - could soon be over after the UK and EU agreed a deal to remove checks on food and animal products. https://www.thelocal.fr/20261103/food-rules-to-be-relaxed-on-uk-france-trips-after-eu-deal Tue, 03 Nov 2026 14:46:25 +0100 food-rules-to-be-relaxed-on-uk-france-trips-after-eu-deal Leaders of the EU and the UK will meet for a crucial summit in November with a move towards closer cooperation on the table. But how much will be achieved given the differences and disagreements that exist? https://www.thelocal.fr/20261031/a-lot-of-arguing-to-be-done-whats-at-stake-in-the-upcoming-eu-uk-summit Sat, 31 Oct 2026 11:36:08 +0100 a-lot-of-arguing-to-be-done-whats-at-stake-in-the-upcoming-eu-uk-summit Thousands of French and British troops have taken part in a military training exercise that included one of Britain's largest airborne operations in two decades, the UK government said Sunday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20261025/french-and-uk-troops-war-game-attack-on-nato-territory Sun, 25 Oct 2026 12:01:04 +0100 french-and-uk-troops-war-game-attack-on-nato-territory The company behind a catamaran ferry service between Boulogne and Dover is set to pilot a new France-UK route later this year. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260807/new-sail-power-ferry-service-to-connect-france-and-uk Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:35:55 +0200 new-sail-power-ferry-service-to-connect-france-and-uk Four people have died off the coast of northern France as they tried to cross the Channel to England, taking the number of small boat deaths this year to six. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260410/four-migrants-die-trying-to-cross-channel-french-officials Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:20:08 +0200 four-migrants-die-trying-to-cross-channel-french-officials French authorities rescued more than 6,000 migrants attempting to reach Britain in small boats last year, while 25 people died and two remain missing, the maritime prefecture said Friday in its annual report. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260131/france-rescues-over-6000-uk-bound-channel-migrants-in-2025 Sat, 31 Jan 2026 11:41:51 +0100 france-rescues-over-6000-uk-bound-channel-migrants-in-2025 France will soon start stopping at sea boats taking migrants across the Channel for southern England, local officials said on Friday, a major change in strategy following pressure from the UK. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251128/france-to-toughen-action-to-halt-uk-bound-channel-migrants Fri, 28 Nov 2025 15:45:12 +0100 france-to-toughen-action-to-halt-uk-bound-channel-migrants The 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry has been moved from its museum in northern France for the first time in more than 40 years, authorities said on Friday, before the artwork's loan to the United Kingdom. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250920/bayeux-tapestry-leaves-museum-for-first-time-since-1983-before-uk-loan Sat, 20 Sep 2025 10:26:24 +0200 bayeux-tapestry-leaves-museum-for-first-time-since-1983-before-uk-loan The first returns under a UK-France deal aimed at stopping migrants from trying to cross the English Channel will take place next week, French sources told AFP Saturday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250914/first-returns-under-uk-france-migrant-deal-due-this-week-french-sources-say Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:10:14 +0200 first-returns-under-uk-france-migrant-deal-due-this-week-french-sources-say Britain is in line to host the Grand Depart of the 2027 Tour de France, according to media reports over the weekend. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250302/britain-set-to-host-2027-tour-de-france-grand-depart Sun, 02 Mar 2025 16:44:18 +0100 britain-set-to-host-2027-tour-de-france-grand-depart Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised on Thursday to bring a "new impetus" to ties with France and to work with Paris to oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine and end migrant-trafficking across the Channel. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240718/british-pm-promises-new-impetus-to-french-ties Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:56:30 +0200 british-pm-promises-new-impetus-to-french-ties French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday hailed the "spirit of sacrifice" of the soldiers who liberated Europe from Nazi occupation, as he prepared to join US counterpart Joe Biden and King Charles III to mark 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240606/macron-lauds-spirit-of-sacrifice-as-d-day-marked-under-ukraine-shadow Thu, 06 Jun 2024 10:49:49 +0200 macron-lauds-spirit-of-sacrifice-as-d-day-marked-under-ukraine-shadow Monday May 6th marks the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Channel Tunnel, considered one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. Here are some of the most important moments in its history as well as some iconic pictures. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240506/in-pictures-30-years-ago-france-and-the-uk-opened-the-channel-tunnel Mon, 06 May 2024 11:58:48 +0200 in-pictures-30-years-ago-france-and-the-uk-opened-the-channel-tunnel Britain and France will step up efforts to halt crossings of the English Channel by migrants in small boats, after figures showed more than 1,000 people had made the crossing in January https://www.thelocal.fr/20240131/france-uk-stepping-up-efforts-to-halt-migrant-crossings-cleverly Wed, 31 Jan 2024 10:18:11 +0100 france-uk-stepping-up-efforts-to-halt-migrant-crossings-cleverly A Syrian national was charged and jailed on Sunday as part of an inquiry into a shipwreck in the English Channel last week that claimed the life of a migrant, prosecutors said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20231217/syrian-jailed-in-france-over-deadly-migrant-crossing Sun, 17 Dec 2023 18:21:46 +0100 syrian-jailed-in-france-over-deadly-migrant-crossing A chain of buoys blocks a river in northern France, the latest costly measure the authorities have deployed in their almost impossible mission to stop Britain-bound migrants crossing the Channel. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230902/tighter-french-coast-patrols-in-place-to-stop-channel-migrants Sat, 02 Sep 2023 19:23:24 +0200 tighter-french-coast-patrols-in-place-to-stop-channel-migrants France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is to hold two days of talks in Britain from Wednesday aimed at limiting the flow of clandestine immigration across the Channel to England, his office said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230614/french-interior-minister-visits-uk-on-migration-cooperation-mission Wed, 14 Jun 2023 11:17:39 +0200 french-interior-minister-visits-uk-on-migration-cooperation-mission France is to try 19 men over a people-smuggling plot that led to the 2019 deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in the back of a lorry, a source familiar with the matter has said. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230524/france-to-try-19-men-over-2019-migrant-lorry-deaths-report Wed, 24 May 2023 14:26:58 +0200 france-to-try-19-men-over-2019-migrant-lorry-deaths-report France may have humiliated England on the rugby field but the rekindled cooperation between the neighbouring countries is a win-win situation for both governments, writes John Lichfield. Even if the UK's French-bashing press won't accept it. https://www.thelocal.fr/20230313/opinion-macron-and-sunak-show-france-and-uk-can-be-good-neighbours-again Mon, 13 Mar 2023 13:09:01 +0100 opinion-macron-and-sunak-show-france-and-uk-can-be-good-neighbours-again Britain has agreed to pay France another €72.2million to prevent migrant boat crossings under a new deal intended to improve cooperation between the two countries. But what the money actually be spent on? https://www.thelocal.fr/20221114/migrant-channel-crossings-what-will-france-spend-the-e72-2-million-euros-on Mon, 14 Nov 2022 17:16:56 +0100 migrant-channel-crossings-what-will-france-spend-the-e72-2-million-euros-on