French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has promised to address student concerns as growing protests force hundreds of schools to close. Students are demanding better school conditions and more teachers, while criticism grows over how police are handling the demonstrations.
Published On 8 Oct 20268 Oct 2026
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Head of the Roman Catholic Church holds ’emotional’ two-hour meeting with seven abuse victims in French town of Lourdes.
Published On 27 Sep 202627 Sep 2026
Pope Leo XIV has thanked a group of survivors of clerical abuse “for their painful testimony” and “reaffirmed his commitment” to end harm by Catholic priests at a meeting in southwestern France, the Vatican said.
The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics is on a four-day visit to France.
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On Sunday, the pontiff visited the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, where he privately met seven survivors of child abuse, now adults, and promised to further efforts to reform the Church in the wake of the global sexual abuse scandal.
The group said in a later news conference that the meeting was emotional and touching.
“When he saw the state I was in, he took me into his arms,” survivor Jean-Marie Delbos said, adding, “It was an extraordinary moment.”
The 80-year-old was abused as a pupil at the nearby boarding school of Notre-Dame de Betharram, where staff have been accused of physical and sexual abuse over several decades.
The survivors said they felt heard and that they were impressed by Leo’s compassion and knowledge of their individual cases.
But they hoped the words would be accompanied by action.
Jerome Guillement, who has written about a priest abusing him as a teenager, said at the news conference that the pope understood the “systemic” nature of sexual abuse in the Church.
“From his point of view, the perpetrators are individuals, but what allows it to continue is the systemic dimension within the institution,” he said.
“He certainly believes that the Church has done a great deal in France, but he also believes that the Church in France still has a tremendous amount left to do.”
![Pope Leo participates in a candlelight procession at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes as part of his four-day apostolic journey to France, in Lourdes, France, September 27, 2026 [Stephane Mahe/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-09-27T202553Z_140704132_RC2VRNAYDPZJ_RTRMADP_3_POPE-FRANCE-1790546103.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Local leaders hoped Leo’s visit would help repair the Church’s standing after a 2021 independent inquiry found that some 330,000 French children had been abused by Catholic clergy and lay leaders over seven decades.
The pope told an estimated 150,000 people gathered for a Mass in a field near the famed Catholic shrine in Lourdes earlier on Sunday that the Church must have the courage to face its past.
Veronique Garnier, another survivor who met with the pontiff, said she had found the Mass, in which Leo referred to abuse without directly apologising for it, troubling and wondered why she had attended.
But she said she was encouraged by her meeting with Leo.
“I do indeed believe there is hope – hope that there can be change and truly listening to us at a deep level, rather than just superficially with beautiful words that are never followed by any real action,” she said.
Leo also spoke about the abuse scandals in a closed-door meeting with French bishops on Sunday, according to a Vatican-provided text.
He was expected to visit the northeastern city of Metz on Monday before returning to Rome the same day.
French Open – final round
-20 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -17 A Hidalgo (Esp); -15 M Pavon (Fra), T Vaillant (Fra), K Reitan (Nor), E Lopez-Chacarra
Selected others: -12 L Aaberg (Swe); -10 E Ferguson (Sco), D Bradbury (Eng); -7 E Molinari (Ita), V Hovland (Nor)
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick secured his fourth title of the season with a three-shot win at the French Open in Paris.
Fitzpatrick carded a one-under-par 70 to hold off the challenge of Spain’s Angel Hidalgo at Le Golf National.
The 32-year-old has already won the Valspar Championship and RBC Heritage titles on the PGA Tour this year, as well as the Zurich Classic team event in New Orleans alongside younger brother Alex.
He led by five shots going into the final day, but a run of 12 successive pars allowed the chasing pack to cut that advantage to two.
However, crucial birdies on the 13th and 15th pushed Fitzpatrick further clear and even a bogey at the last could not deny him an 11th European Tour title.
“Delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today,” he said.
“I didn’t have my best stuff for the first 12 holes and then managed to find some of my best stuff.
“In a way I was quite lucky – I left myself in some nice spots where you can still get up and down from, but I fully took advantage of that and did really well.”
Matthieu Pavon shot the best round of the day, with a seven-under 64 ensuring he finished tied for fourth alongside French compatriot Tom Vaillant, Spain’s Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan.
The move comes after the EU lifts sanctions on oligarchs following what diplomats described as pressure from Baku.
Published On 23 Sep 202623 Sep 2026
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has pardoned Martin Ryan, a French national who was serving a 10-year prison sentence on spying charges.
The move on Wednesday came a day after the European Union lifted sanctions on Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov following what diplomats described as pressure exerted by Baku.
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Ryan, who was arrested in 2023 and sentenced in March, was among 20 people pardoned by Aliyev’s office, alongside Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian-Israeli and Pakistani nationals, Reuters news agency reported.
Aliyev’s website said the president took into account their “personalities, state of health, family circumstances” and other reasons in deciding to grant pardons.
France welcomed “with relief the decision to grant clemency” to Ryan, calling it “a humanitarian gesture”, according to a French Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. “This decision is the result of patient and exacting dialogue with the Azerbaijani authorities.”
It remained unclear whether Ryan had been released.
Prosecutors alleged Ryan gathered information on Azerbaijan’s military ties with Turkiye, Iran and Pakistan, as well as on companies linked to Russia and China.
Ryan, who also holds British citizenship, denied the charges. France said the allegations against him were false and had called for his immediate release, arguing he had been caught in the crossfire of diplomatic tensions.
The delisting of Usmanov and fellow Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman was the first time the EU removed sanctions on the wealthiest members of Russia’s billionaire elite who had not publicly condemned the war on Ukraine.
Usmanov, who once held a minority stake in Arsenal football club, graduated from the same prestigious diplomatic school in Moscow as the presidents of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and knows them personally.
European diplomats told Reuters and AFP news agencies that France had privately indicated Baku was using Usmanov’s sanctions status to pressure Paris over its detained citizens.
A second Frenchman, Anass Derraz, an employee of the French water company Saur who was sentenced to 12 years on corruption charges, was not included in the pardons.
An Azerbaijani diplomat rejected suggestions of a pressure campaign as “categorically unfounded”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the move reflected Russian efforts “to break the West’s unity”, while his Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Moscow was “celebrating, because it got what it wanted: a sense of impunity, the humiliation of the EU, and division among Europeans”.
Latvia abstained from the vote and said it would impose its own sanctions on the two men, with Foreign Minister Baiba Braze calling the EU decision “dangerous”.
Slovakia initially called for Usmanov’s removal, with France later backing the move.
Relations between Baku and Paris have long been strained by France’s support for Armenia, even as ties between Moscow and Baku have also deteriorated since the accidental downing of an Azerbaijani passenger jet by Russian forces in December 2024.
Kremlin calls UK’s support for Ukraine an endorsement of ‘terrorism’ after recent escalation of weapons supplies.
Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026
Russia has stepped up pressure on Ukraine’s allies, summoning Britain’s top diplomat in Moscow over arms shipments to Kyiv and seizing Russian assets of several Western firms.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Britain’s charge d’affairs, Danae Dholakia, on Friday, issuing a formal protest over the UK’s “further increase” in weapons to Ukraine.
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“London is placing itself in the position of an accomplice to the bloody atrocities committed by the Kyiv regime, which can only be characterised as terrorism and war crimes,” the ministry said in a statement.
Britain has maintained its support for Ukraine and says it will stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Kyiv and will provide whatever military equipment it needs, saying just last month that it will share classified weapons information.
Moscow’s move comes the day after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia might be preparing to launch hybrid drone and missile strikes against countries that support Ukraine, including Poland. He said that such attacks would be framed as accidental, with the intention of weakening NATO states’ resolve to invoke collective defence provisions in the event of an attack on one of its countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that the threat posed by Russia’s shadow operations was growing across Europe and that Moscow had targeted France with hybrid attacks in the past few weeks.
“The Russian hybrid threat against Europeans and against France has intensified,” he said after a meeting with French political leaders.
France’s interior minister had met regional prefects to step up “vigilance in response to the Russian hybrid attacks”, Macron said, adding that he had ordered “the government to prepare a plan to protect our critical infrastructure” and the “most sensitive” defence industry and technology sites against drone and cyber-attacks.
As Russia steps up pressure on Ukraine’s political allies, it is also targeting Western companies.
Moscow has ordered the seizure of Russian businesses and assets of Swiss food giant Nestle and three French firms: retailer Auchan, DIY chain Lemana Pro (formerly Leroy Merlin) and logistics firm FM Logistics.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree late on Thursday that changed the firms’ Russian operations to a new entity, LEV Management, which is managed by a Russian Ministry of Interior general, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe.
Nestle said it was still “assessing” the situation and its options but it remains “committed to taking all necessary steps to protect its rights”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that one of the reasons behind the decision was because Nestle and Auchan are companies from “unfriendly” countries.
Their assets are only under “temporary administration” and that no decisions have been taken as of yet, Peskov added.
Overnight Russian strikes hit multiple regions in Ukraine, sparking several fires across the country, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to host the inaugural Carpathian Eight summit of several European countries.
They include Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Serbia, with the European Union also set to discuss regional cooperation.
Hungary and Slovakia have refused to send Kyiv direct military assistance in the past, though Poland and Romania remain staunch allies.
PARIS: France’s ex-culture minister Rachida Dati appeared in court Wednesday on corruption charges linked to dealings with the Renault-Nissan group, just months after her bruising defeat in the Paris mayoral race.
One of the most prominent figures on the French right, Dati, 60, stood in court dressed in black to hear the charges against her, all of which she denies.
Carlos Ghosn, the fugitive former Renault-Nissan chief now living in Lebanon, is being tried in absentia.
Dati has been dogged by controversies for much of her political career.
She resigned as culture minister in February to concentrate on the Paris mayoral race, but lost to Socialist rival Emmanuel Gregoire in March.
She stands charged with corruption and influence-peddling over alleged lobbying for Renault-Nissan between October 2009 and February 2013 while she was a member of the European Parliament.
She became an MEP after serving as justice minister between 2007 and 2009 under President Nicolas Sarkozy.
She has been accused of accepting 900,000 euros (around $1 million) in lawyers’ fees from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan.
Dati, who is still the mayor of the French capital’s wealthy seventh district, denies all the charges.
She faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 450,000 euros, if convicted. She could also face a five-year ban on holding public office.
Her legal team said Dati worked “exclusively” as a lawyer for the Netherlands-based subsidiary.
“Unfounded allegations of influence-peddling in the European Parliament stem from an artificial intellectual construct devised by the prosecution,” her lawyers said.
– ‘Explain facts’ –
French prosecutors argue that a legal services contract signed in 2009 between Dati and Ghosn, under which the former minister was paid an annual fee of 300,000 euros, was used to disguise lobbying work.
Investigators obtained the contract in 2019 during a search of Renault’s headquarters following Ghosn’s arrest in Japan, in a separate case.
Ghosn, the 72-year-old former chairman and chief executive of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, was arrested in Japan in 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct, before being sacked by Nissan’s board.
He made a dramatic escape from Japan hidden in an audio-equipment box, landing in Beirut, where he remains at large.
Ghosn faces a litany of charges, including abuse of power and bribery. He has denied any wrongdoing.
In a letter sent to the court in August and seen by AFP, Ghosn requested that the proceedings be postponed.
Denying any attempt to “delay the trial”, Ghosn said he was prepared to appear by video link to “explain facts” that he disputes.
Dati has repeatedly sought to have the charges against her quashed.
She has also been accused of accepting nearly 300,000 euros in undeclared payments from energy group GDF Suez, also while an MEP.
Prosecutors said last year they were looking into reports that Dati failed to declare jewelry and watches worth 420,000 euros upon taking ministerial office.
She has denied any wrongdoing.
Published on •Updated
France will push back against a European Commission plan to fast-track ratification of trade agreements by circulating only English-language versions during talks with EU governments and lawmakers, skipping translation into the bloc’s 24 official languages, according to several sources.
The slow ratification of the contentious EU–Mercosur trade deal has frustrated the Commission, which wants to accelerate negotiations and bring deals into force more quickly as it seeks new markets amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Translating the agreements into every official EU language can take months due to the legal scrubbing required before the ratification process begins.
The EU executive has confirmed to Euronews that trade chief Maroš Šefčovič told EU trade ministers in February that the trade deal with India concluded on 27 January could serve as a test case for using English as the main language during ratification.
“We lost almost €300 billion by not having the Mercosur agreement in place since 2021, if it comes to the GDP, and more than €200 billion in export opportunities,” Šefčovič told journalists after meeting ministers on 20 February, adding that once negotiations end it can take up to 2.5 years before businesses can operate in partner countries.
“In today’s world, we cannot simply lose the time,” he said.
Šefčovič said the Commission would ensure the agreements are translated into all 24 official EU languages once published in the Official Journal, i.e. after ratification. He added the proposal was backed by at least seven member states at the meeting, though not all countries had time to speak.
French sources who spoke to Euronews were insistent that Paris would vigorously oppose the move to English-only agreements if necessary.
“As a matter of principle, we defend the use of all the languages of the Union, and in particular French, which is one of the EU’s working languages,” one official told Euronews.
Language policy in the bloc’s institutions remains politically sensitive for countries such as France, whose language has declined sharply over the past decades as English massively dominates daily work in the European Union institutions – despite French, German and English being the three official working languages.
“Switching entirely to English raises a legal and democratic issue, and the Commission is well aware of it,” another French official told Euronews.
On its website, the European Commission says linguistic diversity is essential and that the EU promotes multilingualism in its institutional work.
The bloc once even had a commissioner dedicated to multilingualism, though the portfolio was gradually merged with others and eventually disappeared.
“I have the impression that in some cases the Commission seizes the opportunity to push the idea that English has a superior status, and that the other official languages are translation languages that can come later,” Michele Gazzola, expert in language policy, said.
He added that relying only on English during ratification could pose problems for members of the European Parliament, and even more so if national parliaments are involved.
“It’s a matter of transparency, precision and understanding.”
France Televisions has removed the replay of the France 5 programme La Grande Librairie after actress Adèle Haenel used a live segment to denounce what she called a genocide in Gaza. The broadcaster says it acted as a precaution while awaiting a review by media regulator Arcom.
Published On 13 Sep 202613 Sep 2026
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PARIS: Investigators suspect that a train derailment in northwest France which injured 44, one gravely, was the result of sabotage, a police source told AFP on Saturday.
A fragment of rail was found on the track, with the possibility of a malicious act being treated as the main line of inquiry as a result, the source said.
Carrying 186 passengers, the train was running between the Normandy cities of Rouen and Caen when it derailed around 7:45 pm (1745 GMT) Friday.
Authorities activated a mass-casualty response plan, with 130 firefighters, five medical teams and 80 vehicles drafted in.
Rouen prosecutor Sebastien Gallois said 44 people were injured including an 18-year-old woman evacuated “in a critical condition”, while tests for drugs and alcohol on the train driver had come back negative.
SNCF Reseau, which controls the French rail network, told AFP that traffic on the line has been suspended and power to the tracks cut to allow emergency services to operate.
Published on •Updated
France will push back against a European Commission plan to fast-track ratification of trade agreements by circulating only English-language versions during talks with EU governments and lawmakers, skipping translation into the bloc’s 24 official languages, according to several sources.
The slow ratification of the contentious EU–Mercosur trade deal has frustrated the Commission, which wants to accelerate negotiations and bring deals into force more quickly as it seeks new markets amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Translating the agreements into every official EU language can take months due to the legal scrubbing required before the ratification process begins.
The EU executive has confirmed to Euronews that trade chief Maroš Šefčovič told EU trade ministers in February that the trade deal with India concluded on 27 January could serve as a test case for using English as the main language during ratification.
“We lost almost €300 billion by not having the Mercosur agreement in place since 2021, if it comes to the GDP, and more than €200 billion in export opportunities,” Šefčovič told journalists after meeting ministers on 20 February, adding that once negotiations end it can take up to 2.5 years before businesses can operate in partner countries.
“In today’s world, we cannot simply lose the time,” he said.
Šefčovič said the Commission would ensure the agreements are translated into all 24 official EU languages once published in the Official Journal, i.e. after ratification. He added the proposal was backed by at least seven member states at the meeting, though not all countries had time to speak.
French sources who spoke to Euronews were insistent that Paris would vigorously oppose the move to English-only agreements if necessary.
“As a matter of principle, we defend the use of all the languages of the Union, and in particular French, which is one of the EU’s working languages,” one official told Euronews.
Language policy in the bloc’s institutions remains politically sensitive for countries such as France, whose language has declined sharply over the past decades as English massively dominates daily work in the European Union institutions – despite French, German and English being the three official working languages.
“Switching entirely to English raises a legal and democratic issue, and the Commission is well aware of it,” another French official told Euronews.
On its website, the European Commission says linguistic diversity is essential and that the EU promotes multilingualism in its institutional work.
The bloc once even had a commissioner dedicated to multilingualism, though the portfolio was gradually merged with others and eventually disappeared.
“I have the impression that in some cases the Commission seizes the opportunity to push the idea that English has a superior status, and that the other official languages are translation languages that can come later,” Michele Gazzola, expert in language policy, said.
He added that relying only on English during ratification could pose problems for members of the European Parliament, and even more so if national parliaments are involved.
“It’s a matter of transparency, precision and understanding.”
It’s been five years since “Call My Agent!,” known in its home country as “Dix pour cent” (“10 percent”), ended with the staff of Paris’ bankrupt ASK talent agency moving en masse toward the exit, as in the closing moments of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
The rich workplace comedy mounted four seasons from 2015 to 2020; the fourth was made without its creator, Fanny Herrero (she went on to create the fine but less successful “Standing Up,” about Parisian comics). But she has returned, along with “Standing Up” writer Lison Daniel, for “Call My Agent! The Movie,” premiering Thursday on Netflix, which picks up the scattered ensemble more or less where they imagined they’d be when the series ended, and gets them back in the same frame.
As a movie, it’s its own sort of beast — a complete statement in a single package, with not just A and B stories, but C and D as well, and arcs that might develop over a season of the show compressed into a couple of hours. But its essentials are essentially unchanged: It’s still about the difficulty of making art, and the often unsavory business that lets art get made, with known actors playing fun house versions of themselves and our heroes attempting to wrangle them into order, with whatever works — lies, bribes, real shared feelings. The regular cast, many of whom Americans will first have met here, still feel identical with their characters, rather than just professionals who have been paid to play them, so that even when the action is outlandish the emotions are real.
The focus here is on the fierce Andréa (Camille Cottin), who has left agenting and is about to direct her first movie, a drama set in the woods, and Noémie (Laure Calamy), whom Andrea hires as a replacement producer — she has become the producer of a hit workplace comedy, “Les Colleagues,” the sort of show that produces a lot of branded merch — believing that she can mold Noémie to her will. On the domestic front, Andréa separated from partner Colette (Ophélia Kolb), a co-parent to her daughter Flora — some sticky questions will arrive, doubling the pressure.
Noémie is still with Mathias (Thibault de Montalembert), once the most formidable of agents, who has quieted down somewhat owing to a Season 4 heart attack, and the fact that he’s working in the agency his daughter Camille (Fanny Sidney) announced at the end of the series. He’s feeling old (comparatively, he is, at 64 — though Liliane Rovère as agent emeritus Arlette beats him at 93) and things with Noémie are not great, which sets the stage for some romantic comedy, including a wild boar.
Andréa’s movie brings the old cast together, including sensitive junior agent turned aspiring actor Hervé (Nicolas Maury), and I am glad to see them. (Stéfi Celma’s Sophia, a receptionist turned actor, is sadly missing.) Much goes wrong, before things go right. (It’s a comedy, they will — though there are some moving dramatic moments along the way.) To be sure, there are no backstage comedies — or dramas, or dramedies — in which nothing goes wrong, or things even go mostly right. Disaster is the air they breathe.
On the eve of production, Andrea loses her male lead (Laurent Lafitte as himself) to a Wes Anderson movie; the psychologically delicate actor they get to replace him, Vincent Macaigne as himself, who’s represented by former ASK agent Gabriel (Grégory Montel), now working for their old rival, has a messy history with the other lead, Laetitia Casta, also as herself. They can barely work together. (There will be a bit of romantic comedy wrapped around this thread, as well.)
Then there’s a storm.
The French actors playing themselves are not well known here — Casta may be more familiar as a ’90s supermodel, for those who are familiar with that sort of thing — but Americans have been given the gift of cameos from Eva Longoria and an uncredited George Clooney who takes a comically unproductive lunch meeting with Andrea, crashed, in more than one sense, by Noémie.
Though the series finale made for a satisfying ending, there was already talk then of another season or a film. Still, “The Movie” arrives seemingly out of left field, as sort of a happy surprise. It doesn’t betray its legacy. We know from the supermarket magazines and internet scandal sites that some actors are seemingly as crazy as these actors pretend to be. But somehow movies get made. Most every show business satire is also a show business celebration. There’s no business like it.
FFF aligns position with of other European federations, such as Belgium, England, Italy, Scotland, and Sweden.
Published On 10 Sep 202610 Sep 2026
The French Football Federation is withdrawing its support for Gianni Infantino’s re-election bid as FIFA chief next year, FFF President Philippe Diallo has said, saying trust in the head of world football’s governing body had been broken.
The decision was taken unanimously by the FFF’s executive committee, Diallo said on Thursday.
“The trust placed in the FIFA president has been broken,” Diallo told reporters. “The way in which we envisage the running of world football no longer corresponds with the way it is being conducted.”
Infantino, who is seeking another term as FIFA president, has faced mounting criticism since his failed proposal to sell a 20 percent stake in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors was abandoned in July following widespread opposition from football’s regional confederations.
Diallo said France had initially backed Infantino’s candidacy at the end of June, when he was the only declared candidate, but that subsequent events had fundamentally changed the circumstances.
“The conditions for our support for his candidacy were no longer there,” he said.
Diallo added that the proposed stake sale, which emerged without what he described as proper consultation or information being provided to federations, had raised serious questions over FIFA’s governance and decision-making.
Several European federations, including England’s and Italy’s, have withdrawn their backing for Infantino since the collapse of his proposal.
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and North America’s CONCACAF have called for change at the top of FIFA and are seeking a credible alternative before the March election.
Diallo said France’s decision formed part of a broader movement within UEFA and beyond and that discussions would now focus on governance reform and finding a candidate capable of defeating Infantino.
“It is not enough simply to criticise if you want things to move forward. You also have to make proposals,” Diallo said.
He added that UEFA would need to define a platform for the next FIFA leadership cycle and, when the time came, choose a candidate for the election.
“We will need to be ready by then to put forward a candidacy capable of winning the FIFA presidency,” Diallo said.
Infantino still has the support of South America’s CONMEBOL and Africa’s CAF.
The FIFA presidential election will take place in Rabat on March 18, 2027, with the deadline for candidacies on November 18.
