High school students in France are continuing protests over the state of school buildings, overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of teachers. The actions have spread to more than 1,200 lycées, and some parents and teachers have joined them. The movement began in the poorer suburbs of Paris and within a...
Spanish Senate rejects friendship treaty with France on the day of Macron’s visit to Madrid
Spain’s Senate on 29 September 2026 rejected ratification of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with France. The vote was 142 against, 106 in favour and one abstention. The vote took place on the first day of French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Madrid. The document was signed by...
EU Council sanctions former head of RT’s French branch
The Council of the European Union has added Ksenia Fedorova, former head of the French division of the Russian state television channel RT (Russia Today), to its sanctions list. The restrictive measures were imposed over her involvement in Russian hybrid activity and the dissemination of pro-Kremlin narratives. The decision was...
Paris tightens protection of critical infrastructure and defense industry sites over Russian hybrid warfare threat
The threat of Russian hybrid warfare against Europe is “real and documented” by the majority of European intelligence services, including France’s, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on BFMTV. Downplaying that threat would be irresponsible, he said. Sabotage and drone incidents across Europe are becoming systematic. Nuñez cited an attempted...
French far-right leaders unexpectedly issue a harsh condemnation of Russia’s actions
Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally group in the French National Assembly, and party president Jordan Bardella issued a joint statement categorically condemning Moscow’s actions. The politicians called Russia’s decision to place the assets of French and European companies operating in Russia under temporary administration a hostile act...
What France’s ultimatum over Usmanov means for EU policy
In mid-September 2026, the European Union came close to a serious breakdown in one of its main instruments of pressure on Russia. Personal sanctions against roughly 2,500–3,000 Russian individuals and companies, imposed after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, were due to be renewed on 15 September. Instead,...
France’s Foreign Ministry refuses to name partners seeking to lift sanctions on Usmanov
The French Foreign Ministry has declined to name the international partners pressing for Alisher Usmanov’s removal from the EU sanctions list and has not explained the “national security considerations” it cited earlier. Paris has confirmed that it supports taking the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov off the European Union’s sanctions list,...
French Foreign Minister warns that concessions to the far-right lead to disaster
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot said democratic and republican forces have no right to make any concessions to the far right. At the same time, he called for an urgent response to the “despair and public anger” that are fueling the rise of such parties. The...