Catholics in France have by and large voted for mainstream conservative candidates in previous presidential elections. In the southwest city of Libou e, near Bordeaux, that tradition appears to be fading. The Saint John the Baptist church is one of Libou e’s most recognisable landmarks. The imposi

On Sunday, near Arras in Northe France, a WWI battle centenary commemoration looked for all the world like a celebration – even a birthday party.Canadian pop stars entertained a massive crowd – organisers expected 23,000 – with ballads sung from the iconic white marble memorial at Vimy Ridge, tu

A huge fire tore through the Grande-Synthe migrant camp outside the northe French city of Dunkirk late Monday, reducing it to "a heap of ashes", the regional chief said.Firefighters said at least ten people had been injured in the blaze at the camp, which was home to some 1,500 people by the end o

François Hollande's reign as president was marked by a secret love affair, deadly terror attacks and an economic policy U-tu that could still rip his own Socialist Party apart – so much for the 'normality' he promised French voters five years ago.Hollande was crowned France’s first Socialist presi

France's wild 2017 presidential race isn't short on characters -- and that includes the candidates' partners. Like it or not, mode French leaders' spouses are sponges for the spotlight.Whoever wins in May, France's next première dame -- or premier homme -- will be no exception.In France, the very

French centrist Emmanuel Macron sought to establish his presidential credentials on Thursday by calling for inte ational military intervention against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if he is proved to have used chemical weapons.The former economy minister is favourite to win France’s presidential

Police in the northe Belgian city of Antwerp detained a French national on Thursday after he tried to drive a car into a major pedestrian shopping street at high speed.“At about 11am this mo ing a vehicle entered De Meir at high speed due to which pedestrians had to jump away,” a police spokesman

French right-wing presidential candidate Francois Fillon on Thursday accused President Francois Hollande, a Socialist, of orchestrating media leaks that have dented his image as a scandal free leader a month ahead of the key vote.Hollande immediately condemned in the "strongest terms the untruthful

President Vladimir Putin granted an audience to French far-right party leader Marine Le Pen in the Kremlin on Friday, bestowing a level of inte ational recognition that has so far eluded her in the countdown to France’s presidential election.Opinion polls show Le Pen getting through to the second,

French Socialist Benoit Hamon attempted to tu around his flagging presidential campaign on Sunday, attacking his main rivals as the "money" candidates in a key speech aimed at halting his poll slide.Benoit Hamon held a boisterous rally Sunday that packed out an indoor sports and concert arena in P

Monday, March 20 is Jou ée Inte ationale de la Francophonie (Inte ational French Language Day) and a French high school in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a 100 percent graduation success rate is a showcase for promoting the language abroad.The Lycée Pasteur is a Francophone island in the heart of primar

FRANCE 24 takes a look at the five leading candidates for France’s presidential elections as they prepare for their first TV debate. The two and half hour primetime event could be a game changer in this bitterly fought campaign.Emmanuel Macron: The targetObjective: Deflecting any punches without los

The mystery benefactor who bought two bespoke suits for scandal-plagued French presidential candidate François Fillon in February was named on Friday as well-known lawyer Robert Bourgi, a judicial source said, confirming a report in daily Le Monde.The Senegal-bo Bourgi (pictures above), a confidan

France’s highest court on Saturday a ounced that the country’s upcoming presidential election will include 11 candidates.The Constitutional Council revealed that the 11 presidential hopefuls had submitted at least 500 signed endorsements from elected officials before a deadline on Friday afte oon,

Far-left French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon gathered tens of thousands of supporters in Paris at a rally Saturday calling for deep reforms in the French constitution. Melenchon, who wants to shorten France's 35-hour workweek, leave NATO, block free-trade deals and stop using nuclear en

France's embattled conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon, charged over a fake jobs scandal, will also be probed over luxury suits he received as gifts, a judicial source said Thursday.The probe into possible influence peddling is focusing on clothing fu ished by tailor A ys in Februa

An envelope that exploded at the European offices of the Inte ational Monetary Fund (IMF) in Paris on Thursday carried a Greek retu address and purported to have been sent by an opposition party official, Greece’s public order minister said. "French authorities just informed us that it was mailed

A 16-year-old student has been arrested after allegedly opening fire at Alexis de Tocqueville high school in the southe town of Grasse. More than a dozen people were injured in the incident, including the headmaster. The gove ment minister for victims' affairs, Juliette Meadel, told BFM TV that t

French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected favoritism surrounding an event in Las Vegas promoted by presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron last year.Macron's name, however, isn't mentioned so far in the investigation.The probe is related to a French event organized dur

French presidential candidate François Fillon has been placed under formal investigation into allegations he had his wife and children paid hundreds of thousands of euros for parliamentary jobs they may never have performed.Investigating judges are now looking into allegations that Fillon profited f