France
Protesting pupils blockade French high schools again, testing a weekslong movement
PARIS | Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in cities across France on Tuesday in support of protests by school pupils demanding more education funding, increasing pressure on the government of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. As pupils again blockaded high schools, large crowds waving flags and placards gathered in Marseille, Strasbourg and other cities. The […]
Pope blasts assisted dying as ‘false compassion’ at French shrine known for miraculous cures
LOURDES, France | Pope Leo XIV on Sunday condemned the legalization of medically assisted death as immoral “false compassion,” reaffirming Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life during a visit to Lourdes, the French shrine associated with miraculous healings. On the third day of his visit to France, Leo again waded into the end-of-life debate […]
Pope warns a ‘paradise of machines’ could undermine humanity as he opens France trip
PARIS | Pope Leo XIV warned Friday that a “paradise of machines” risked undermining humanity as he opened a trip to France by posing fundamental questions about what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence, a nuclear arms race and other threats to life itself. Leo raised existential concerns about scientific […]
An artist captures how summer’s heat waves hit Paris and its homeless so hard
PARIS | As Paris emerges from months of oppressive heat, cooler autumn temperatures are welcomed back like a long-lost friend. But images of France’s hottest summer remain etched in memories — and in the artwork of illustrator Marina Antonova. Paris is admired worldwide for aesthetic beauty, but the city kept hitting the news for another […]
Metropolitan Museum of Art cancels planned Met Gala exhibit on fashion designer John Galliano
NEW YORK | The Metropolitan Museum of Art is canceling its planned exhibit honoring British designer John Galliano, which had led to severe backlash in the Jewish community and beyond because of the designer’s past antisemitic and racist statements. The museum said Monday that the exhibit, which had been planned as the May 2027 spring […]
A tornado tears through a village in southern France, injuring 39 and wrecking 300 homes
PARIS | A tornado ripped through a small village in southern France, damaging about 300 homes, destroying several cars and injuring dozens of people, authorities said Tuesday. The tornado struck Pomas, a village of about 1,000 people, on Monday and rescue teams were continuing their search through ruins on Tuesday, though no people were immediately […]
UK and France prepare for another heat wave as western Europe sets new temperature record
PARIS | The U.K. and France are bracing for the fifth heat wave of the season, adding to an intense stretch of hot weather that has repeatedly sent temperatures soaring across Europe since May. National weather agency Météo-France is warning about temperatures approaching 40 C (104 F) from Tuesday onward in southeastern France. And in […]
Climate change created conditions for Canada fires, scientists say, as Trump blames mismanagement
Human-caused climate change doubled the likelihood of the tinderbox weather conditions that sparked Canada’s massive summer wildfires and in turn angered U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a study released Thursday. And fire and climate scientists said Trump, who has talked about punishing Canada for poor fire management and sending days of choking smoke across […]
Europe heat wave puts all major Italian cities on red alert as Austria sets heat record
ROME | Italy placed all of its major cities under the highest heat alert Thursday as a blistering heat wave gripped Europe, setting a national temperature record in Austria, fueling wildfires in France and disrupting energy and transport systems across the continent. The extreme weather has pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in […]
Dry, hot summers are putting Dutch dikes at risk and threatening German river trade
WADDINXVEEN, Netherlands | Jeroen Wouda and Dirk Boom walk slowly along a Dutch dike, prodding at the bone dry surface with metal rods and scanning the parched grass for patches of green that could give away the location of a leak. In a scene that brings to mind the fictional Dutch boy who heroically plugs […]