France

A collection of 34 posts

Politics

France adopts budget after months of turmoil as Lecornu survives no‑confidence votes

On Monday night, Feb. 2, 2026, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu overcame the last parliamentary obstacle to pass a state budget, surviving last‑gasp no‑confidence votes and clearing the way to fund state services for another year. For more than a year, the failed effort to pass a budget helped

Culture

HBO confirms The White Lotus Season 4 cast with Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Coogan

HBO has officially announced the cast for The White Lotus Season 4, naming Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, Chris Messina and AJ Michalka. Season 4 is reported to take place in France, with locations ranging from Paris to the French Riviera. Series creator

World

France to replace Zoom and Teams with Visio for government use

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on Jan. 29, 2026 that French government officials will stop using American-owned video conference software and begin using a French-made platform called Visio, the change to be completed by the end of the year, he said in a letter to his cabinet. The government said

Culture

HBO confirms The White Lotus Season 4 cast, including Helena Bonham Carter

HBO has officially announced the cast for The White Lotus Season 4, naming Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, Chris Messina and AJ Michalka. Both Bonham Carter and Messina had been previously rumored to be attached to the project; HBO’s announcement marks the

Sports

United States has hosted the most Olympic Games — eight total

The 2026 Winter Olympics kick off February 6, 2026, with the Opening Ceremony in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, bringing Italy's Olympic-host total to four. But the country that has hosted the most Olympic Games is the United States, with eight in all. The U.S. has

Tech

France replaces Teams and Zoom with homegrown Visio for government use

France is moving civil servants off Microsoft Teams and Zoom onto a homegrown, MIT‑licensed open‑source videoconferencing platform called Visio. The Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs (DINUM) is deploying Visio now across ministries and state agencies, with full deployment targeted by 2027. Visio was developed with help from the

Politics

Trump’s tariff threat strains relationship with Macron

President Trump threatened President Emmanuel Macron with tariffs and dismissed him as irrelevant, the latest flare-up in a topsy-turvy relationship that has blown hot and cold for years. Since 2017 the two leaders have had frequent disagreements, exacerbated, from Mr. Trump’s side, by insults, threats and public derision. Mr.

Politics

Lecornu to push France’s budget through without a parliamentary vote

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced on Monday that he will force France’s long‑awaited national budget through the lower house of Parliament without a vote, invoking Article 49.3 of the Constitution and prompting opposition lawmakers to plan no‑confidence motions. The move follows more than four months of

Culture

Audrey Bruno leaves small French village after two years, citing isolation and upkeep

Businessinsider reports that Audrey Bruno moved from a small French village to Lyon after two years, saying country life left her feeling isolated and burdened by home maintenance. Bruno and her husband relocated in 2021 to be near his family and for more space, but she found limited public transit

World

Iraqi Jewish family sues France over Baghdad embassy use, seeks $22 million

A Jewish Iraqi family that fled Iraq generations ago has sued the French government in Paris, saying France has used the family’s Baghdad mansion as its embassy without paying the family rent for decades and seeking $22 million in damages. The Lawee family says brothers Ezra and Khedouri Lawee

Crypto

Around 30% of French crypto firms unlicensed as MiCA June 30 deadline nears

Beincrypto reports that roughly 30% of French crypto firms have not applied for a MiCA licence as the June 30 deadline approaches. Under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, firms must obtain national authorisation to operate across the bloc. In France, companies must notify regulators by June 30

Crypto

France flags 90 unlicensed crypto firms ahead of MiCA deadline

France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has flagged 90 crypto companies as unlicensed under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework ahead of the end-June deadline, Reuters reported. The AMF warned that about 30% of the unlicensed companies had not responded to its query on

Crypto

NFT Paris cancelled as France reports surge in crypto-targeted kidnappings

Beincrypto reports that organisers cancelled NFT Paris and RWA Paris 2026 on January 5, citing a global crypto market collapse and unsustainable costs, a decision that arrives amid reports that France has recorded more than 20 kidnappings and violent attacks targeting crypto professionals and their families since January 2025. The

Politics

Home Office to speed closure of asylum hotels as Labour vows to end use by 2029

Independent.co reports the Home Office is set to accelerate the closure of migrant hotels this Spring, while Labour minister Yvette Cooper has unveiled a plan to close every asylum hotel "for good" and the party has pledged to end their use by 2029. The strategy involves relocating

Tech

VPNs can be used to access ePorner when regional blocks are in place

Mashable says users can unblock the adult site ePorner for free by using a VPN, which hides a device's real IP address and connects it to a secure server in another location to bypass network blocks. The outlet notes that more than a third of U.S. states

Crypto

Colombia and France tighten crypto tax reporting rules

Beincrypto reports Colombia and France have moved to strengthen crypto tax reporting: Colombia’s tax authority will require exchanges and other providers to report user balances and transactions starting with the 2026 tax year, while France’s National Assembly committee adopted amendments to force disclosure of self‑custody wallets holding

World

French researcher Laurent Vinatier freed in swap for Russian basketball player

Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher detained in Russia since 2024, was freed on Thursday in exchange for the release of Daniil Kasatkin, a Russian professional basketball player, French and Russian officials said. Kasatkin had been detained in France on suspicion of negotiating payments for a ransomware ring that hacked around

World

France says it is co-ordinating with European partners over possible US move on Greenland

France has said it is working with allies on how to react if the US were to invade Greenland, amid mounting tension over Donald Trump’s escalating threats to take over the Arctic territory. The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said the subject would be discussed at a meeting with

World

Schiphol cancels at least 700 flights as snow and wind disrupt travel

Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of the largest in Europe, said on Wednesday that it had cancelled at least 700 flights because of snow and wind. More than 1,000 people spent the night at Schiphol, the airport said, and the airport set up camp beds and offered breakfast to travellers

World

Severe winter weather disrupts travel hubs across Northern Europe

Winter weather across Northern Europe has disrupted flights, trains and roads, with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol cancelling nearly 2,000 flights this week and warning travellers of further disruptions on Wednesday. Airport authorities and the flight-tracking website FlightAware said the cancellations included at least 700 on Monday, 500 on Tuesday and

World

UK and France sign declaration to send forces to Ukraine if peace deal is reached

Independent.co reports that the UK and France have signed a declaration of intent to send forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in Paris. Starmer said the countries would "create military hubs in Ukraine" after a ceasefire and

Culture

Brigitte Bardot, France’s first celebrity Marianne, died at 91

Brigitte Bardot, the French film star long regarded as an emblem of France, died on Sunday at age 91. In 1969 she was selected as the first celebrity face for Marianne, the personification of the French republic. Marianne has historically been depicted as a classical-style goddess—slim, young, beautiful and

Culture

Brigitte Bardot: film star, animal advocate and convicted for racial hatred

Brigitte Bardot, the French actor who became an international sex symbol and later an animal rights campaigner, died on 28 December at the age of 91. Bardot rose to prominence in the 1950s and 60s — notably in the 1956 film And God Created Woman — and became an enduring cultural image,

France

Macron Backs Ban on Social Media for Under-15s as France Prepares Parliamentary Debate

President Emmanuel Macron said he supports restricting children’s access to social media in a New Year’s Eve address, appearing to endorse draft legislation that would ban under-15s from social platforms. The proposal, already advanced by other French politicians, is expected to be debated in Parliament in January and,

World

Deadly New Year blaze at Swiss ski resort kills about 40, injures 115

About 40 people were killed and 115 injured in a fire at a New Year's Eve party in the Constellation Bar at the Crans-Montana ski resort. The blaze broke out at roughly 1.30am local time and is thought to have trapped many partygoers in the basement; emergency