France & the Riviera: Latest News and Information

The Sea and Coast The beaches, the ports, the Mediterranean, the boats and yachts.
Towns and Villages The places where we live and work. Seen up close or from afar.
Views and Panoramas The Riviera countryside at its best and worst, from the mountains to the sea.
A Closer Look An inside look. An outside view.
Camargue Salt flats, vast sand dunes, flamingos, Camargue horses and bulls.

Way of Life Riviera life from day to day, at work or play.

Day to Day Daily life on the Riviera.
Food and Drink Market to kitchen and bar to restaurant.
Travel and Transport Getting to, from and around the Riviera.
Serious Stuff The Riviera isn't just sunshine and food. Reality check!

People We Know Deciders, expats and our French hosts. The faces behind the names.

The Deciders From business to politics, they influence our lives... here's what they look like.
The Anglophones People in the Anglophone community: British, American, Scandinavian, Dutch, and the New Worlders.
Our French Hosts Here are the people whose country it is...

More Other albums that don’t fit into any of the other categories.

Odds and Ends From the mundane to the bizarre. Unclassifiable images.
Riviera Reporting The Riviera Reporter. Production, layout, distribution, interviewing...
Picture This! Images to illustrate our regular photography column.

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Latest News and Information

The latest local and international news and information for expats in France, the French Riviera and the Côte d’Azur.

Cannes screens last testament of filmmaker killed in Ukraine’s Mariupol “Mariupolis 2”, a raw portrayal of Ukrainian civilians’ struggle for survival, was completed after the death of Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravičius. FRANCE 24 spoke to his partner and co-director, Hanna Bilobrova, about the film’s message and the importance of screening it in Cannes.

Social and minorities historian Pap Ndiaye is Macron’s surprise education pick Pap Ndiaye, a historian specialising in minorities who currently heads the museum of the history of immigration in Paris, is President Emmanuel Macron's surprise choice to head the French education ministry.

Macron and newly appointed PM Borne name reshuffled cabinet French President Emmanuel Macron named new foreign and defence ministers on Friday as part of a government re-shuffle intended to create fresh momentum ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

Being LGBTI+ in France: The fight for equality continues In France, coming out of the closet and living openly as a member of the LGBTI+ community can be a significant psychological, emotional and social challenge. Until just 40 years ago, it was also a legal one. In 1982, the age of consent was lowered from 21 to 18 for homosexuals Read More

The Local

Profile: The historian and minorities expert heading up France's education ministry Pap Ndiaye, a historian specialising in minorities who currently heads the museum of the history of immigration in Paris, is President Emmanuel Macron's surprise choice to head the French education ministry.

The Local

Who's who in France's new government? The new French government has been announced in the first major shake-up since Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a second term as president at the end of April. Here's a guide to the new (and familiar) faces.

The Local

Paris to set up fanzone for Liverpool fans 'in east of city' Between 50,000 and 60,000 Liverpool are expected to descend on Paris for the Champions League final against Spanish giants Real Madrid next Saturday and reports say that authorities in the city have taken steps to accommodate them.

Macron revamps cabinet under new PM Élisabeth Borne The Élysée Palace unveiled a revamped cabinet under new Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, a month after President Emmanuel Macron’s re-election and a month before France’s crucial parliamentary polls. Macron drafted in Catherine Colonna, French ambassador to the UK, as his new foreign minister – while keeping Bruno Le Maire as Read More

The Local

French Expression of the Day: La Première ministre A brand new coinage in the French language that reflects the changing times.

The Local

Fête des Voisins: All you need to know about 'neighbours day' in France How the discovery of a woman's dead body brought neighbours in France closer together - at least for one day each year.

The Local

Parents and child drown after freak wave hits French coast Two parents and their child died in western France after a powerful wave swept them out to sea as they were fishing on a dyke in Brittany, authorities said on Friday.

Paris attacks trial: 'We are here for the dead' survivor tells court This has been a particularly difficult week at the Paris terror trial, where the survivor of the Bataclan attack, and the families of victims have come to give their version of 13 November 2015. There have been tears and courage. There has been the unfailingly benevolent attention of court president, Read More

French MP candidates forced to stand down following assault allegations The #MeToo anti-sexual harassment movement is reshaping France's sexist political culture, with several politicians running for parliament in upcoming elections forced to stand down over alleged violence against women.

French government moves to block 'burkinis' in public swimming pools France's interior minister says that he will seek to overturn a rule change in the city of Grenoble that would allow women to wear burkinis in state-run swimming pools.

Cannes war films delve into France’s painful colonial legacies The Cannes Film Festival explored the devastating human cost of war and colonisation in Philippe Faucon’s Algerian War film “Les Harkis” and the Omar Sy-starring “Father and Soldier”, whose director Mathieu Vadepied sat down for an interview with FRANCE 24.

New French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, daughter of a stateless Auschwitz survivor French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne's childhood was marked by the suicide of her father in 1972, when she was just 11 years old. Joseph Borne, whose original name was Bornstein, was a Jewish resistance fighter of Polish origin who survived the hell of Auschwitz but never quite recovered from the experience. Read More

Podcast: France's female PM, protecting Marseille's Calanques, Battle of Rocroi Does France's new female Prime Minister mark a victory for feminism? Marseille's creeks (Calanques), faced with degradation, limit visitors. The battle in 1643 that shifted influence in Europe from Spain to France.

France's crop yields will be 'very poor' due to unprecedented drought Extremely dry weather has caused severe damage to grain crops in some parts of France and substantial rain will be needed by early June to allow those in large producing regions to pull through, an agricultural institute said on Thursday.

Candidate for MP from Macron's party withdraws amid domestic violence scandal IN THE PAPERS – Thursday, May 19, 2022: Papers in Spain brace for the first visit of former king Juan Carlos since he went into exile amid investigations of tax evasion. In France, a parliamentary candidate from Emmanuel Macron's party who was convicted of domestic violence has been forced to withdraw after Read More

Eleven members of French ultra-right Patriot Vengeance group taken into custody Eleven people from the ultra-right wing group "Patriot Vengeance" have been arrested and placed in police custody on suspicion of planning to carry out violent attacks.

Bataclan survivors continue their litany of fear, grief and incomprehension Another day of evidence from those who escaped the Bataclan massacre. The Paris attacks trial heard the continuing litany of shock, suffering and guilt. With merciful moments of courage, generosity and hope.

Reuters

@Reuters

Tom Cruise returns to the #Cannes2022 Film Festival after 30 years https://t.co/e0gJUXm3mq https://t.co/HGyL0h3Hng The Riviera Reporter Retweeted

US to fly in baby formula on military contracted planes to ease shortage

FRANCE 24

@FRANCE24

US to fly in baby formula on military contracted planes to ease shortage https://t.co/jyu0FuG10L https://t.co/npn2Wv6LbN The Riviera Reporter Retweeted

The Associated Press

@AP

A Chicago mother has been charged with child endangerment after a gun in her second grader's backpack accidentally discharged at school, injuring a 7-year-old classmate, police said. https://t.co/zODDYs2tx1 The Riviera Reporter Retweeted

Southern France swelters under record high temperatures for May Several southern French towns sizzled in record high temperatures for May on Wednesday, while the month as whole is on track to be the hottest since records began, the national weather service said.

Cannes 2022: Legendary US director Rob Reiner on his first film 'This is Spinal Tap' He's the legendary director of "Stand By Me", "Misery", "When Harry Met Sally" and "A Few Good Men". Eve Jackson talks to Rob Reiner about having one of the longest, and most golden, runs in history with his first seven films becoming cult classics. The filmmaker is at the Cannes Film Festival Read More

Can Macron renew himself? New term begins with change of French prime minister After becoming the first French president in two decades to win re-election, Emmanuel Macron now has to convince enough voters to once again give him a mandate in next month's legislative elections. A centrist who this time has to face an unusually united left, Macron has to persuade the electorate Read More

‘Last Hollywood star of his kind’: Tom Cruise jets into Cannes for ‘Top Gun’ sequel Tom Cruise touched down in Cannes on Wednesday to launch "Top Gun: Maverick", making his first appearance in three decades at the world's premier film festival and cementing his status as a champion of the big screen.

'Crimes against humanity' charge upheld over Lafarge collusion with IS in Syria A Paris court of appeal has upheld the indictment of French cement group Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity concerning its activities in Syria at the height of the country's civil war.

Sketch breaks Michelangelo record, selling at auction for €23 million A recently rediscovered sketch by Michelangelo, the artist's first known nude, sold at auction at Christie's in Paris on Wednesday for 23 million euros ($24 million), a record for one of the Italian master's drawings.

Ukraine's Zelensky asks filmmakers 'not to be silent' in emotional Cannes speech In a surprise speech during the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged filmmakers "not to be silent" over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia expels dozens of European diplomats in retaliatory move Russia on Wednesday announced the expulsion of 85 French, Spanish and Italian diplomats in retaliation for moves by France to expel 41 Russians in April, in the wake of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.