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France expels ‘radical’ Tunisian imam

France expels ‘radical’ Tunisian imam

FRANCE has expelled a Tunisian Muslim cleric for "radicalism" and "unacceptable remarks", Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a statement on Twitter. "The radical Imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi has just been expelled from the national territory, less than 12 hours after his arrest. We will not let people get away with anything," Darmanin said in a statement on X. In an earlier statement, Darmanin said he had given instructions to issue a ministerial deportation order against "this radical 'imam' with unacceptable remarks". "Firmness is the rule," he added. In a post that went viral on social media and was widely reported…
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Gabriel Attal becomes France’s youngest prime minister as Macron seeks reset

Gabriel Attal becomes France’s youngest prime minister as Macron seeks reset

GABRIEL Attal promised to be bold and act fast to help the middle class weather the rising cost of living, after President Emmanuel Macron, seeking to breathe new life into his second term, on Tuesday made him France's youngest-ever prime minister. The appointment of Attal, 34, a popular and media-savvy rising star of French politics, signals a desire by Macron to move beyond divisive reforms and improve his centrist party's chances in the European Parliament elections in June. "Dear @GabrielAttal, I know I can count on your energy and your commitment to implement the project of revitalisation and regeneration that I announced,"…
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Four children and their mother murdered in France

Four children and their mother murdered in France

POLICE in France arrested a man suspected of murdering his wife and four children in a knife attack early on Christmas Day, a public prosecutor said. Their bodies were found on Monday night in a bloodied apartment in the town of Meaux, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Paris. Local prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier said the mother and two daughters had been stabbed so many times it was impossible to determine how many blows they had received. The family's two younger sons appeared to have been suffocated or drowned. Police detained the children's father, 33, at his residence in a nearby…
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France plans to close embassy in Niger following coup, letter shows

France plans to close embassy in Niger following coup, letter shows

FRANCE is planning to close its embassy in Niger for an indefinite period as it is unable to carry out diplomatic tasks due to restrictions imposed by the ruling junta, a French embassy letter to its Niger staff dated Tuesday and seen by Reuters showed. Relations between Niger and France, its former colonial ruler, have broken down since army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power in a coup in July. Following the strategy of juntas in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, they ordered police to expel France's ambassador Sylvain Itte and called for the departure of French troops from its territory. France…
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Missing boy found in France to return to Britain in next few days

Missing boy found in France to return to Britain in next few days

A teenager from Britain who resurfaced in southern France after disappearing six years ago is expected to return to northern England in the next few days, police said after the boy left a spiritualist mountain community in the Pyrenees. Alex Batty disappeared at the age of 11 during a holiday with his mother and grandfather in Malaga, Spain, in 2017 and both are still wanted in connection with his disappearance. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said they were working with French authorities to bring Batty back home and to his grandmother, who is his legal guardian, according to French prosecutors. "He's getting well…
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France to end contract with biggest Muslim high school amid fears of wider crackdown

France to end contract with biggest Muslim high school amid fears of wider crackdown

FRANCE is to end funding for its biggest Muslim high school on the grounds of administrative failures and questionable teaching practices, a local official said, the latest in what some rights groups say is a wider crackdown on Muslims. Private school Averroes, the first Muslim high school to open in mainland France in 2003 in the northern city of Lille, has more than 800 pupils and has been under contract with the state since 2008. Pupils follow the regular French curriculum and are also offered religion classes. But in an October report seen by Reuters, the interior ministry's local office said the…
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Mali and Niger revoke tax cooperation treaties with France

Mali and Niger revoke tax cooperation treaties with France

MALI and Niger have revoked two treaties with France for cooperation and administrative assistance in tax matters, their governments said in a statement. The two West African countries are both run by military juntas that seized power in coups and have been taking steps to distance themselves from former colonial ruler France, which had previously been a close partner in security and other areas. The statement revoked one agreement with France from 1972 which was meant to avoid double taxation and "establish rules of reciprocal assistance" in various tax matters. The other agreement had similar aims. "The persistent hostile attitude of France…
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France says it’s in talks with Egypt on setting up field hospital for Gaza wounded

France says it’s in talks with Egypt on setting up field hospital for Gaza wounded

FRANCE is in talks with Egypt to establish a military medical facility on the ground, which would include surgical capacities for people seriously wounded in the neighbouring Gaza Strip, France's defence minister said in remarks published. Paris will host an international humanitarian conference for the civilian population in Gaza later this week as it looks to coordinate international efforts for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian enclave. Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in Gaza and troops seized a militant compound in the past 24 hours, the Israel Defence Forces said on Monday, while the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said the air strikes killed…
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Analysis: West losing sight of Sahel after France announces Niger withdrawal

Analysis: West losing sight of Sahel after France announces Niger withdrawal

FRANCE'S decision to pull 1,500 troops from Niger leaves a gaping hole in Western efforts to counter a decade-long Islamist insurgency and could bolster Russian influence across the vast, insecure scrublands of West Africa, analysts and diplomats said. Niger was the West's last key ally in the central Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert until a July 26 coup brought in a military junta which called for France to leave. France's forces have already been kicked out of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso following coups in those countries, weakening its influence in its former colonies amid a wave of anti-French…
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African killed in France: Macron cancels trip

African killed in France: Macron cancels trip

MORE than 1,300 people were arrested in France during a fourth night of rioting and President Emmanuel Macron cancelled a trip to Germany as the funeral took place of teenager Nahel M, whose shooting by police sparked nationwide unrest. Macron's government deployed 45,000 police officers as well as armoured vehicles overnight to tackle the worst crisis for his leadership since the "Yellow Vest" protests which paralysed much of France in late 2018. A similar number of police would again be on the street into Saturday night, interior minister Gerald Darmanin told a press conference, with reinforcements sent to major cities…
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