France News

Firefighters Battle France’s 1st Major Forest Blaze of 2023

PARIS (AP) — France’s government sounded the alarm Monday about the growing risk of forest fires because of climate change, as hundreds of firefighters in the country’s parched south wrestled with their biggest woodland-destroying blaze so far this year. The …

French Police Probe Multiple Cuts of Major Internet Cables

LE PECQ, France (AP) — French police said Friday they’re investigating multiple cuts to fiber-optic cables in France’s second-largest city. Operators said the cables link Marseille to other cities in France and Europe and that internet and phone services were …

Man Detained in Police Probe of Raging Wildfires in France

LA TESTE-DE-BUCH, France (AP) — French investigators probing the suspected deliberate lighting of what has become a raging wildfire in the country’s southwest detained a man for questioning, as firefighters and water-bombing planes on Tuesday fought the ferocious flames fueled …

Drought Ravages Some French Crops, Key Regions Uncertain – Expert

PARIS —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, a technical institute said on …

Vintners Despair After French Wildfire Ravaged Grapevines

LE CANNET-DES-MAURES, France (AP) — After a wildfire blazed through a once-picturesque nature reserve near the French Riviera, winemakers who grow the region’s celebrated crop are taking stock of the damage. Rows of charred grapevines stand next to a vast …

“It’s Terrible”: After Frosts, Champagne Vineyards Hit by Fungus

PARIS — About 20% to 25% of the Champagne vineyard has been damaged by mildew fungus due to heavy rainfall earlier this month, adding to severe losses caused by frosts earlier in the season, Champagne industry lobby CIVC said on …

Insurer AXA Halts Ransomware Crime Reimbursement in France

BOSTON (AP) — In an apparent industry first, the global insurance company AXA said Thursday it will stop writing cyber-insurance policies in France that reimburse customers for extortion payments made to ransomware criminals. AXA, among Europe’s top five insurers, said …

France Clamps Down on Use of Weedkiller Glyphosate in Farming

PARIS — France’s health and environment agency announced restrictions on weedkiller glyphosate in farming, but stopped short of a full ban in the European Union’s top agricultural producer due to a lack of non-chemical alternatives in some areas. The new …

Floods in France, Italy Swept Bodies Out of Cemeteries

BREIL-SUR-ROYA, France — The grim job of searching for flood victims in Alpine villages and on the nearby French and Italian coasts has grown even more gruesome: Along with storm casualties, authorities say corpses from cemeteries have also been found …

A Year After Blaze, Notre Dame Restoration Halted by Virus

PARIS — The Cathedral of Notre Dame stands crippled and alone, locked in a dangerous web of twisted scaffolding one year after a cataclysmic fire gutted its interior, toppled its famous spire and horrified the world. Some of the 40,000 …