France | Pakistan

WASHINGTON: A rare public confrontation between two Western allies unfolded at the United Nations Security Council on Monday evening when the United States delegation walked out as the French ambassador began speaking. The dramatic gesture followed a sharp diplomatic exchange over human rights, the United Nations system and Washington’s decision to oppose the extension of the mandate of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. While Washington and Paris exchanged sharp accusations over human rights and the future of the UN system, Pakistan chose not to enter the dispute, focusing instead on the Ukraine war and the need for diplomacy. The US protest was triggered by criticism from France after a General Assembly vote on extending Turk’s four-year mandate. The resolution received overwhelming support, with 144 countries voting in favour. The United States was among only 10 countries that opposed the extension. Pakistan stays out of US-France dispute, focusing instead on Ukraine conflict Following the ...

Firefighters raced on Tuesday to subdue huge wildfires that have forced unprecedented evacuations of tens of thousands of people across France and Spain, as western Europe braced for another heatwave. The fires have torn through a region already battered by a blisteringly hot and dry summer. Crews were seeking to capitalise on more favourable weather before a new wave of higher temperatures settled in from Wednesday. In the Bordeaux region of France, firefighters contained the forest blaze overnight, while in Spain, authorities allowed people from nine out of 11 towns in the central Toledo province to return to their homes. However, fires still raged out of control in Madrid and nearby provinces, prompting heightened vigilance. One Spanish evacuee described a “red hell” of fire, portraying intense scenes as residents fled with little more than clothes on their backs. Europe, the world’s fastest warming continent, has endured record-breaking heatwaves this year. Scientists say human-driven climate change is in...

England beat France 6-4 in a chaotic World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday as Kylian Mbappe became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. Both teams had higher aspirations at the 2026 tournament but suffered painful semi-final exits — France were outplayed by Spain while England suffered a late collapse against Argentina. Both coaches made multiple changes for the match in the oppressive heat of Miami, with a host of stars on the bench at the start. England boss Thomas Tuchel left out Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham from his starting line-up while Deschamps, stepping down after 14 years at the helm, omitted Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele. Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice put England ahead with a goal from distance in the third minute and Ezri Konsa headed home to make it 2-0. Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were a threat as France searched for a way back into the game but they found England’s second-choice goalkeeper Dean Henderson in top form. The game threatened to become embarrassing for F...

France said Friday it was blocking access to the online prediction market Polymarket, as punters continued to make bets despite a ban already in place. The national gaming authority ANJ said that Polymarket’s webpage would be blocked on French territory, which adds to a November 2024 ban on financial transactions to the site. Polymarket is one of a number of online prediction markets which allow people to bet on the outcome of future events. The ANJ said the site’s continued availability — where betting odds on different events are updated in real time — constituted advertising. “Advertising, by any means whatsoever, in favour of an unauthorised betting or gambling site is a criminal offence,” the ANJ said, and noted the fines could reach 100,000 euros ($114,000). The regulator said that despite the ban on transactions from French accounts, visits from French internet addresses to Polymarket’s site have been rising, hitting 578,751 last month. The betting markets have caused a number of problems. France’s wea...

Merz says Germany and France are entering a new strategic partnership phase with steps on security and defence

Macron says France and Germany share China concerns, citing a €1 billion daily trade deficit and job losses.

Spain stunned tournament favourites France 2-0 to reach the World Cup final on Tuesday, producing a tactical masterpiece to shatter Les Bleus’ dreams of winning the title for the third time. A first-half penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a 58th-minute Pedro Porro goal sealed an utterly clinical victory for the European champions at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Spain, World Cup winners in 2010, will now face either Argentina or England in Sunday’s final in New Jersey. France had entered the showdown as the overwhelming favourites for the tournament after a dazzling, goal-laden run to the semi-finals. But France’s vaunted front four of captain Kylian Mbappe, Ballon D’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise were snuffed out by a combination of Spanish poise and power. Spain, who had beaten France in their previous two competitive meetings, had vowed to go on the front foot in the pre-match build-up and they proved as good as their word. A commanding performance by Spain’s midfield le...

France on Tuesday showcased its military power and unity with allies, holding its largest-ever national day parade with Ukraine’s president as the guest of honour. The final July 14 parade presided over by President Emmanuel Macron brought together thousands of French troops and two dozen foreign heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and hundreds of European troops. The parade marks the storming of the Bastille fortress in the French revolution. Troops march during the annual Bastille Day military parade as a national flag flutters under the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on July 14, 2026. —AFP France’s Armed Forces drive their motorised vehicles during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris on July 14, 2026. —AFP Soldiers of the 12th Cuirassier Regiment Contact Block (12e régiment de cuirassiers – bloc mêlée/contact) march during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Pari...

Eiffel Tower closes early, Tour de France shortens stage for first time in its history

Kylian Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener that set France on their way to a 2-0 win over Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final showdown on Thursday. Mbappe’s weak spot-kick was easily saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but he made up for that by producing a brilliant curling finish to make it 1-0 on the hour mark. That was Mbappe’s eighth goal at the tournament, moving him level again with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, before he came off late on and watched the final minutes with an ice pack around his right ankle. Before exiting, he set up Ousmane Dembele to run through and settle the contest watched by 63,811 at the Gillette Stadium, as France knocked Morocco out, just as they did in 2022. Their 2-0 win four years ago in Qatar came in the semi-finals, and this time the victory for Les Bleus takes them through to the last four. They will face Spain or Belgium in Dallas next Tuesday. France are looking to reach a third consecutive...

A civilian aircraft carrying skydivers crashed near the eastern French town of Tomblaine on Sunday, killing all 11 people on board, local authorities said, in one of France’s deadliest light aircraft accidents. The crash killed five instructors, five students, and the pilot, said Yves Seguy, the prefect of the eastern department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. “There were no bystanders among the victims,” he added, speaking at a press conference. The aircraft, registered in Germany, crashed in a grassy area near the runway of the Nancy-Essey aerodrome, close to a residential area and two roads, an AFP journalist reported. The cause of the incident was not immediately clear. Medical and psychological support teams were caring for relatives of the victims who were present at the airfield, as well as other witnesses. A technical investigation had been opened, said Amaury Lacote, deputy public prosecutor in the eastern city of Nancy. Police urged people on the social media platform X to “strictly avoid” the area around th...

Europe braced on Wednesday for another day of a sweltering heatwave that has smashed records, left tens of thousands of people without power and sent air conditioner sales zooming in a continent unused and ill-equipped to handle searing heat. The extreme weather is being driven by atmospheric patterns that keep hot air trapped in place for days, with these factors worsened by global warming, experts say. France’s national temperature indicator — an average of daytime and nighttime temperatures across 30 stations — reached 29.8 °C on Tuesday, the hottest since measurements began in 1947. With four more French departments being put under the highest heat alert category on Wednesday, around 44 million people are affected, according to AFP calculations. Added to the 31 departments currently on orange alert, more than 90 per cent of the French population is exposed to extreme heat, with temperatures of 39°C to 41°C expected on Wednesday from Brittany to the Paris region, and in much of the southwest. The heatwave ...

Forty people have drowned in France over recent days as they sought to cool down to escape record heat, the prime minister said on Tuesday, ​as a heatwave swept across much of Europe. Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Spain were also sweltering in extreme heat, with record temperatures in some regions disrupting schools and transport ‌networks. Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, making such prolonged heat episodes increasingly likely. Children cool off in the Trocadero Fountain next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris as temperatures rise during a heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 22. — Reuters Heat alert across France Much of France is under severe heat alert and set to experience temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, Meteo France said, with temperatures of up to 43°C expected in some parts of western France. The country has just recorded its hottest afternoon and night since records began in ...

A punishing heatwave sweeping across much of Europe prompted a partial alcohol ban in France, nationwide warnings in Germany and the closure of a soccer fan zone in Spain, as temperatures climbed towards record levels. France was expecting 35 of its 96 departments or regions to declare red heatwave alerts on Sunday, with temperatures of 39 to 40 degrees Celsius expected from the southwest through the Paris region into Burgundy, with some areas possibly reaching 41°C. After a crisis meeting, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu pre-emptively banned alcohol consumption on Sunday at the annual Fete de la Musique festivals and other public events to be held in those 35 regions on Sunday. Authorities in Paris ordered parks to remain open around the clock, however. A woman protects herself from the sun under an umbrella on the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower as temperatures rise in Paris during a second heatwave affecting a large part of France, June 20, 2026. — Reuters Heat alerts were declared in most of Germa...

Half of capital will go to SoftBank data centres; Macron aims to make France AI leader

PM says 'unthinkable for a country like France not to respond using the tools of the rule of law'

Temperatures hit record highs for May in the United Kingdom and France on Monday, as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe throughout the week. A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer. Temperatures in Spain were expected to peak later this week at 38°C, while parts of Italy imposed restrictions on working outdoors. In the UK, the Met Office weather agency said it was the hottest May day on record, with temperatures hitting 34.8°C at Kew Gardens, southwest London – a full two degrees above the previous high. “This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone May,” it said on X. “The weather here, it’s like a mini version of hell. It’s boiling. It’s like really hot,” said 10-year-old Liza Nizari on a visit to London, where temperatures normally average about 17°C or 18C at this time of year. Lindy Brand-Daloze, a 66-yea...

France announced on Saturday it had banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entry for a video mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. “From today, Itamar Ben Gvir is banned from entering French territory” after “his reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens” who were part of the humanitarian flotilla, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X. He added that, along with Italy, he was also calling for European Union-level sanctions against the far-right Israeli minister. Ben Gvir’s actions follow a long list of hatred and violence against Palestinians, Barrot wrote. The ban follows a global outcry after Ben Gvir published a video on Wednesday showing the heavy-handed treatment of foreign activists from the flotilla. In the video, dozens of activists are seen forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied. The clip, which was captioned “Welcome to Israel”, also showed Ben-Gvir heckling the activists...

France’s health minister said Thursday that 26 people in France identified as close contacts of hantavirus cases linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship had tested negative for the illness. Dutch authorities also confirmed that all people who arrived in the Netherlands on evacuation flights from the ship this week have tested negative. Twenty-six people are in hospital isolation in France, including 22 identified as close contacts of a Dutch woman on the MV Hondius that was at the centre of an international alert for the rare disease typically transmitted by rodents. French doctors are monitoring four others who were on the ship, while a fifth French passenger tested positive for hantavirus and is in serious condition in a French hospital. “As of today, all close contacts of a person who tested positive for hantavirus, present in France, have tested negative, without exception,” said Health Minister Stephanie Rist on X. Twenty-two of the individuals in France were on a flight from the Atlantic island of Saint He...

President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France would increase the number of its nuclear warheads and cooperate with eight European countries to help protect the continent as the clock ticks on his presidency. His speech at France’s Ile Longue nuclear submarine base came after US and Israeli attacks against Iran in a campaign that risks destabilising the Middle East. Macron updated France’s nuclear doctrine as Russia’s war against Ukraine grinds into a fifth year and Nato allies worry about Washington’s wavering commitment to Europe. “We must strengthen our nuclear deterrent in the face of multiple threats, and we must consider our deterrence strategy deep within the European continent, with full respect for our sovereignty,” Macron said. He announced “the gradual implementation of what I would call advanced deterrence”. Macron announced a series of concrete measures in a bid to bolster Europe’s security as France’s allies are concerned that a possible win by the eurosceptic far-right National Rally part...