Tag: France

36 evacuated from China to France show virus symptoms: minister

  AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (AFP) — Thirty six people aboard an evacuation flight from China that landed in France on Sunday showed symptoms of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 360 people, Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said. In all, 254 people arrived in France from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the deadly virus was first detected, on the second such flight. “About 20 people who presented symptoms have stayed on the tarmac” at Istres […]

20 China evacuees in France showing coronavirus symptoms: health minister

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (AFP) — Around 20 of the 250 people flown back to France from China Sunday because of the coronavirus outbreak are presenting symptoms of the virus, the country’s health minister said. “About 20 people who presented symptoms have stayed on the tarmac” at Istres airport in the south of France, Agnes Buzyn told journalists. They included French and non-European nationals. Army medics there were carrying out tests to establish whether or not they […]

France cracks down on plastic waste, destruction of unsold clothes

PARIS, France (AFP) — The French parliament on Thursday passed a law forbidding retailers from destroying unsold clothes and banning single-use plastic containers by 2040, part of the government’s efforts to reduce waste. The bill adopted by the Senate, after being cleared by the lower house National Assembly last week, bans fast-food restaurants from serving food that is not for takeaway in plastic containers beyond 2023. All single-use plastic packaging will be banned 17 years […]

‘I’m more useful here’: French doctor stays put in virus-hit Wuhan

by Sébastien RICCI WUHAN, China (AFP) — France is preparing to airlift hundreds of its citizens from the Chinese city at the center of a deadly coronavirus outbreak, but one Frenchman is staying put. Philippe Klein is head of the International SOS Hospital in Wuhan, the first city to be locked down by Chinese authorities as they battle the spread of the virus. “It’s not an act of heroism. It’s been well thought out, it’s […]

French citizens evacuated from virus-hit Wuhan

WUHAN, China (AFP) — A jet carrying around 200 French citizens flew out of the virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan on Friday, according to AFP journalists on board the flight. The French military aircraft is bound for southern France, where the passengers will undergo a 14-day quarantine, in case they are carrying the new coronavirus. The United States and Japan have already carried out airlifts from Wuhan for their citizens. A second US flight is […]

French adventurers train for Arctic exploit

by Olivier MORIN ALTA, Norway (AFP) — A blueish glow spreads across the snow as far as the eye can see, a few bare trees dotting the windy plateau. In this remote corner of Norway’s far north, two French adventurers are training for their next big exploit. Next month, Matthieu Bellanger and Loury Lag, both in their 30s, will leave eastern Canada for Alaska in a 130-day expedition passing through the famed Northwest Passage in […]

Five people in France confirmed to have coronavirus

PARIS, France (AFP) — The daughter of a Chinese tourist who is seriously ill in a Paris hospital has become the fifth person in France to be confirmed with the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday. Her 80-year-old father was the fourth confirmed case in France of the new coronavirus that has killed more than 100 people since it emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. “A fifth case has been detected,” Health Minister Agnes […]

French towns, NGOs sue oil giant Total over climate ‘inaction’

Paris, France (AFP) – A group of French cities and advocacy groups said Tuesday they had filed a lawsuit against oil giant Total, claiming it was not doing enough to limit carbon emissions and prevent climate change. “We’re asking for them to be held accountable, but also for positive and concrete actions for our citizens and territories,” Patrick Jarry, mayor of the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the case was filed, told journalists. It is […]

Bugatti touts green ambitions while storming full speed ahead

MOLSHEIM, France (AFP) – Marc Antoine BAUDOUX Supercar manufacturer Bugatti, fresh off one of its best years, wants the world to know it has taken environmental concerns to heart even as it prepares a next generation of heart-pounding — and gas-guzzling — speed machines. The French automaker has implemented a series of measures to offset the carbon emitted by the 81 racers it produced last year, including a shift to biogas and other green energy […]

Three coronavirus cases confirmed in France, first in Europe

  PARIS, France (AFP) — Three cases of the coronavirus have been “confirmed” in France, the first in Europe, officials said Friday. The first case involved a patient in hospital in the southwestern city of Bordeaux while the other was in Paris, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn told reporters. A third person, who is a close relative of one of the other two, has also been confirmed to have the virus, the health ministry said […]

France, Sahel nations vow to step up anti-jihadist fight

  PAU, France (AFP) – Laurence Benhamou and Marie Wolfrom France and its five partner nations in the Sahel region of West Africa pledged Monday to bolster their efforts against jihadists waging an increasingly deadly insurgency, while urging the United States to keep its troops engaged in the region’s anti-terror fight. President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad lauded Washington’s “crucial support”, after a top US general confirmed […]

French transport strike drags on despite govt compromise on pensions

by Marie-Pierre FEREY PARIS, France (AFP) — A crippling French transport strike dragged into its 39th day on Sunday despite the government’s offer to withdraw the most contested measure of the pension reform plans that sparked the protest. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Saturday he would drop plans to increase the official age for a full pension to 64 from 62 in an effort to end a strike which has paralyzed Paris and its suburbs, […]