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French police took a top general into custody last week as part of an ongoing probe into potential bribery among the selection committee for the country’s highest decoration, the Legion of Honour. Investigations centre on possible payoffs for awards including expensive meals, holidays and thousands of euros in cash.
More than 400 people have been arrested as protesting students clash with police.
A 10-year-old child and two women died Monday on the treacherous migration route across the English Channel from France, apparently trampled to death on a boat packed with more than 100 people, French authorities said. The so-called “taxi boat" ran into difficulty off the northern French coast, with its passengers asking for help, authorities said. Such inflatable boats attempt the dangerous crossing after picking up people from the beaches of northern France, where they wade into the sea to clamber aboard. FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin tells us more.
French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Tuesday vowed to hit back at allegations of antisemitism targeting her de-facto number two Jordan Bardella, which have punctured her buoyant campaign at a time she is riding high in the polls. Le Pen, who is aiming to win the Elysee at her fourth attempt next year in a far-right breakthrough that would send a shockwave across Europe, lambasted the Mediapart website that published the claims and said Bardella has her "total confidence".
🇫🇷 ✡️ Far-right #NationalRally (RN) party leader Jordan #Bardella has denied accusation by French investigative website #Mediapart that he made anti-Semitic comments on private chats in 2013. It comes as RN candidate Marine #LePen is polling well in the lead for the 2027 presidential election.
National Rally President Jordan Bardella says he will sue for libel over comments he is accused of making as a young activist.
French presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen on Tuesday denounced an attempt to "derail" her Élysée Palace run after a media report accused the head of her far-right National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, of making ant-Semitic comments in 2013. Le Pen said Bardella, who is tipped to be prime minister if she wins the presidency, had her "total confidence".
PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, September 29: Jordan Bardella, the head of the far-right National Rally party, is accused of anti-Semitic comments dating back to 2013. But first: French high schoolers call for a nationwide strike to protest against teacher absences and dilapidated schools. The Washington Post looks at how AI data centres are transforming the US landscape. Plus, where are all the hunks? The Miss England pageant is struggling to recruit candidates!
French civil servants went on strike on Tuesday and high school students blocked the entrances to schools in a show of discontent with planned budget cuts ahead of next year's presidential election. Seven months before the election, and just two days before the government unveils its 2027 budget draft, opinion polls consistently show the deep unpopularity of France's centre-right government and of President Emmanuel Macron. FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar reports from Paris.
Jordan Bardella, a key ally of French far-right presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen, on Tuesday said allegations he made antisemitic comments in 2013 marked part of a "total war" against their party ahead of the 2027 polls. Bardella, a savvy user of social media who projects a clean-cut image, has been a key player in Le Pen's project of "de-demonisation" to make the National Rally into an electable force. FRANCE 24's French Politics Editor Marc Perelman tells us more.
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said on Monday he had filed a defamation lawsuit against investigative website Mediapart over a report alleging he made antisemitic remarks in private messages over a decade ago, saying the story was an effort to "destabilise" campaigning ahead of next year's election. The 31-year-old leads the far-right National Rally party which is seeking to clear its racist image. The party's candidate, Marine Le Pen, is leading polls for the April presidential election. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports.
The singer appeared at the end of L'Oreal's annual show as the French fashion bonanza kicked off.
A French investigative website on Monday alleged that far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella made anti-Semitic comments in writing in 2013, but the close ally of presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen dismissed the claims as fake. According to the report by Mediapart, Bardella wrote, among other comments, in a chat: "The Jew has to dominate other peoples, crush them, and rob them; a Zionist is necessarily a Jew, and fundamentally so."
French firefighters went on strike on Monday to demand additional resources and staff, after the country experienced its worst wildfires in decades this summer. They're also expected to join public sector workers in Tuesday's nationwide protest, and could continue to strike until October to put pressure on the government before it approves the 2027 budget.
Over 160 people were arrested and dozens injured after student protests in France descended into violence. With a presidential election approaching, senior politicians are pointing fingers at each other.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and hard-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon traded barbs on Monday over high school students blockading classes to demand more resources. The students cite teacher shortages, deteriorating schools and heavy schedules. The dispute comes ahead of next spring’s presidential election and mounting pressure over France’s finances.
Students are protesting over issues such as overcrowded classes, but the prime minister has condemned reports of violence.
Bardella rejects allegations of anti-Semitic private messages published by Mediapart, calling them forgeries.
A French investigative website on Monday alleged that far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella made antisemitic comments in writing in 2013, but the close ally of presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen dismissed the claims as fake. The allegations emerged as Le Pen's prospects for the 2027 elections appear stronger than at any point in her previous campaigns. FRANCE 24's Jennie Shin speaks with Dr Andrew Smith, Lecturer in History and Liberal Arts at Queen Mary University of London.
French police have used tear gas to disperse migrants attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain from France.
