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France
- French far-right leader Marine Le Pen holds first big campaign rally in Orléans, promising 'revival' and 'rule of law'
About six months before France's 2027 presidential election, far-right leader Marine Le Pen held her first large campaign rally outside Orléans on Sunday, with organisers saying more than 8,000 supporters attended amid heavy police security and traffic restrictions in the city. Le Pen promised to lead a 'revival' of France, 'restore the rule of law' and protect its language, traditions and way of life. She still faces existing court cases that could affect her eligibility to run.
Oct 26, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: More than 400,000 protest across France over school funding and cost of living; clashes in Paris, almost 1,000 arrests
A week after about 550,000 people marched, France saw another nationwide protest on Saturday, Oct 24, over school funding and the rising cost of living; the Interior Ministry counted about 410,000 participants. The Paris march began peacefully, but near its end point in eastern Paris masked protesters threw objects and fireworks at police, who responded with tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon, while in Marseille young people burned bins and threw stones and bottles at security forces. The government said police made almost 1,000 arrests, in what was seen as a fresh challenge to President Macron.
Oct 25, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Trappes shooting suspect says he wanted to avenge shops looted on Oct 17; Macron calls it a racist terror attack
A drive-by shooting in Trappes and neighbouring La Verrière in Yvelines, west of Paris, on Oct 23 killed one person and injured at least five, including a 12-year-old girl. Le Monde reported that the suspect told police he targeted Black and Arab people to avenge shopkeepers looted during the Oct 17 riots, and that police found a copy of Mein Kampf at his home. Prosecutors opened an investigation for murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, and President Macron called it a racist terror attack.
Oct 25, 2026 Morning - France and Britain hold first joint nuclear deterrence exercise, with French Rafale jets simulating a nuclear strike under RAF Typhoon escort
The British government said Britain and France held their first joint nuclear deterrence exercise, codenamed Rummy, over the Mediterranean on Oct 20-21. French Rafale jets took off from Saint-Dizier air base on a simulated nuclear strike mission escorted by RAF Typhoons, with an A330 multi-role tanker taking part; no nuclear weapons were involved. The exercise was held under the Northwood Declaration signed on July 10, 2025, and Britain said it will spend £63 billion on nuclear deterrence over the next four years.
Oct 24, 2026 Afternoon - Moody's keeps France at Aa3 with negative outlook as 10-year French bond yield tops 5% for first time since 2002
CNBC reported that Moody's held France's sovereign credit rating at Aa3 with a negative outlook. France's 10-year government bond yield recently rose above 5% for the first time since 2002; the budget deficit is about 5.5% of GDP, and political instability has fed market worries about the country's debt.
Oct 24, 2026 Afternoon - Drive-by shooting in Trappes near Paris kills one and wounds five; Macron calls it a 'racist terrorist attack'
A gunman fired at passers-by from a car for about 15 minutes in Trappes and neighbouring La Verrière, south-west of Paris, on Friday, Oct 23, killing one person and wounding five, three of them seriously, including a 12-year-old girl shot eight times. The suspect, named by French media as 39-year-old Kevin T, was arrested; France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office (PNAT) said the case appeared to be murder linked to a terrorist enterprise and that he had four prior records that had been automatically erased. Macron said at the scene it was a 'racist terrorist attack' in which targets were chosen for their skin colour or religion, calling it a turning point for the Republic, while Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh said it was 'objectively a racist attack, possibly Islamophobic'.
Oct 24, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Storm Adam flooding kills at least four in southern France, including two women drowned in a Bouches-du-Rhône cellar
BBC reported that the death toll from flooding caused by Storm Adam in southern France on Oct 21 rose to at least four, with one injured. Two women aged 86 and 26 were found drowned in a cellar in Bouches-du-Rhône, and local media in Corsica said a man died when an off-road vehicle was swept away. Dozens of residents of Mouriès and Saint-Martin-de-Crau went to emergency shelters, and France's weather service issued orange wind warnings for five north-western departments as Storm Austen moves in from the Atlantic.
Oct 23, 2026 Afternoon - France detects world's first known human case of Shamonda virus; severely immunocompromised patient in Lyon died in early October
BBC and AP reported that France's health and agriculture ministries announced on Oct 22 the world's first known human infection with Shamonda virus. The severely immunocompromised patient was treated in a Lyon hospital and died in early October, with neurological complications considered 'likely' linked to the virus; authorities believe the patient was infected by a biting midge in eastern France, where animal infections were found this spring and summer. The virus mainly infects cattle, was first identified in Nigeria in the mid-1960s and was detected on European cattle farms for the first time this summer; France said there is no identified risk to the general public, and the WHO confirmed it is the first documented human case.
Oct 23, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: 217 jailed and 2,700 detained after French riots; Paris extends curfew as Marseille and Lyon ban weekend protests
Last weekend's French cost-of-living protests turned into riots and looting. CNA, citing AFP, reported the justice minister said on Oct 22 that 2,700 people had been detained since Saturday, more than 1,000 had appeared in court and 217 had been jailed after fast-track trials, half of them with no criminal record and mostly men aged 18 to 25. BBC reported Paris extended a partial curfew around Place de la République and Les Halles until Monday, the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and Picasso Museum will close on Saturday, and Marseille and Lyon banned all protests this weekend; Interior Minister Jean-Didier Berger said police deployment would be 20% larger than last weekend.
Oct 23, 2026 Morning - Floods in south-east France kill at least three in Bouches-du-Rhône; Marseille's historic centre inundated
RIA Novosti, citing AFP, reported that heavy rain and floods on Oct 20 killed at least three people in the Bouches-du-Rhône department: women aged 86 and 26 drowned in a basement in a town north-west of Marseille, and a 75-year-old man was swept away in Istres. BFMTV reported Marseille's historic centre was flooded, and Le Monde said record rainfall in the south-east and Corsica had killed at least four people.
Oct 22, 2026 Afternoon - French Mirage 2000D fighter crashes near Nancy during training, killing at least one crew member
RFI reported that a French Mirage 2000D fighter jet crashed near Nancy during a training flight on the evening of Tuesday, Oct 20. The French Air and Space Force said at least one crew member was killed and searchers were still looking for the other crew member.
Oct 22, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: French 10-year bond yield tops 5% for first time since 2002; Macron calls foreign leaders' riot remarks 'stupid'
CNBC reported that France's 10-year government bond yield briefly rose above 5% before 11:30 am Paris time on Wednesday, Oct 21, for the first time since 2002, then stood at about 4.9794%, up about 6 basis points. France saw large-scale riots at the weekend while the government struggles to pass its 2027 budget through a divided parliament. The Guardian said Macron, visiting Qatar, said in Doha that some foreign leaders had made 'unacceptable and stupid' comments after the riots, and when asked whether he meant Trump replied 'including him'; Trump had blamed the violence in France on 'migrants, jihadists and communists'. RFI said Bahrain and the UAE will each supply France with an extra 100,000 tonnes of diesel a month.
Oct 22, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: 50 Carrefour stores looted on first day of French riots; government admits missteps, to send troops Saturday
Reuters reported that French retailer Carrefour had 50 stores emptied by looters on the first day of the unrest, with its CFO estimating a hit of €80 million to €200 million to full-year sales; the chief executive said he hoped the next protest wave on Oct 24 would have better security. Japan Times reported Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Oct 20 that Saturday's deployment would be 'massive', with restoring order after rioting and looting in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and elsewhere on Oct 17 the immediate priority; Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said troops would deploy alongside police, and the government acknowledged missteps in its response to the weekend violence and pledged to adjust tactics.
Oct 21, 2026 Afternoon - France to deploy Operation Sentinelle soldiers ahead of weekend protests after curfews bring first calm night
Nationwide protests in France on Oct 18 over the cost of living and school conditions turned into the most destructive riots in years, with at least 2,400 arrests and more than 3,000 businesses damaged. After curfews in parts of Paris including Place de la République and Les Halles and central Lyon, the night of Oct 19 was the first calm night since the riots, and Lille and Nice imposed curfews for minors. The interior minister told the National Assembly on Oct 20 that troops from Operation Sentinelle, the domestic military deployment set up after the 2015 Paris attacks, will take on static guard duties to free up police and gendarmes, and the prime minister said a 'massive' security force will be deployed on Saturday.
Oct 21, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: France imposes partial curfews; officials say more than 2,500 arrested, Vinted removes suspected loot listings
After weekend riots, French authorities imposed partial curfews around Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping area in Paris and restricted night-time activity in cities including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon and Lille; officials said more than 2,500 people had been arrested and about 1,000 police injured. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez admitted police had 'lost control' in some cities. Second-hand platform Vinted said it had identified and removed listings linked to looting and that violating accounts can be permanently banned; chambers of commerce said more than 2,000 businesses were affected.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Limoges city hall set on fire becomes unexpected focus of French unrest
In Limoges, the central French porcelain city, rioters set the city hall on fire during the weekend's nationwide unrest, making it one of the more unexpected flashpoints. The New York Times noted the city had not been known for political unrest. The arson belonged to the same wave of cost-of-living and public-service protests that brought looting and fires in Paris, Marseille, Lille and elsewhere; the central government has authorised partial curfews in multiple cities.
Oct 20, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: France imposes partial curfews in Paris, Lille and other cities; Macron rejects interior minister's resignation
After an emergency cabinet meeting on Oct 19, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government was determined to restore public order and would impose 'partial' curfews where needed, not city-wide ones. Four northern cities including Lille have 8 pm–6 am curfews on Monday and Tuesday nights, Paris police imposed an 11 pm–6 am curfew with a ban on gatherings around Place de la République and the looted Les Halles area, and Marseille banned all gatherings and demonstrations. Reuters reported Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered to resign but President Macron refused; art students blockaded the Louvre, which closed on the first anniversary of its jewel heist, and unions called a new strike for Nov 5.
Oct 20, 2026 Morning - Follow-up: Trump blames French riot violence on immigration; Kremlin calls meddling claims 'absurd'
Cost-of-living protests across France on Oct 17 turned into looting and arson. RFI reported that US President Donald Trump said on Oct 18 the violence should be blamed on immigration and urged France to tighten related rules. RIA Novosti reported Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Oct 19 that claims Russia stirred European unrest were 'absurd accusations' that 'even Europe itself does not take seriously'. The Sydney Morning Herald reported young people in black hoodies and balaclavas still gathered at Place de la République on the afternoon of Oct 18. The NFL said on Oct 18 that the New Orleans Saints–Pittsburgh Steelers game would still be held as planned on Oct 25 at Stade de France, the league's first regular-season game in France.
Oct 19, 2026 Afternoon - Follow-up: Nearly 2,400 arrested in French riots; Macron speaks of 'anger and shame'
About 550,000 people marched across France on Oct 17 against fuel price rises, the cost of living and declining public services; many protests turned into looting and arson, and Limoges city hall was set on fire. The Interior Ministry said nearly 2,400 people were arrested, and Al Jazeera reported about 1,000 police and gendarmes injured. In a national address from the Élysée Palace on Oct 18, President Emmanuel Macron said 'we all feel anger and shame' and that rioters would pay for their crimes, but declared no state of emergency or curfew.
Oct 19, 2026 Morning