France and Germany are moving closer, after months of talks, to a deal on easing the ban on new combustion-engine car sales after 2035. The compromi...
France
What is happening there and why it matters.
So it makes sense
France is the euro area’s second largest economy after Germany and the Union’s only nuclear power — it generates most of its electricity from nuclear plants, which gives it a different position in European energy debates. It is also a country where politics happens in the streets as much as in parliament: protest, strike and blockade are a normal continuation of a dispute there, not a breakdown of it. The summer of 2026 showed what troubles the country most — heatwaves with more than 2,000 excess deaths, wildfires and a drought that forced the state to send farmers hundreds of millions of euros and temporarily relax the rules for protected-origin cheeses.
- Who governs
- The president is Emmanuel Macron, serving his second and final term — the constitution bars a third, so he leaves in 2027. The prime minister is Sébastien Lecornu. His government survived a no-confidence vote in July 2026 brought by the Greens over its handling of the June heatwaves. On the budget the cabinet is trying to keep the deficit as close to 5 % of GDP as it can — in French politics public debt is the issue that brings governments down.
- Who opposes
- The polls have long been led by the National Rally (RN) — Marine Le Pen stands at around 35 % and in August 2026 broke with Jordan Bardella’s line by confirming she wants to return the retirement age to 62. The radical left is led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is courting an alliance with the Greens’ Marine Tondelier. To the centre-right stands Bruno Retailleau (Republicans), in the centre former prime ministers Gabriel Attal and Édouard Philippe, and on the centre-left MEP Raphaël Glucksmann. Glucksmann won the social-democratic left primary on 11 October 2026 in the first round with 66% of the vote and became the PS candidate; Mélenchon stayed out, so the left is not united.
- Next election
- Presidential election in 2027. Raphaël Glucksmann won the social-democratic left primary on 11 October 2026 in the first round with 66% of the vote.
Context verified 12. 10. 2026. We update it when the government changes or an election comes — the news below is live.
What French media say about themselves
last 4. 10. at 08:07-
Thousands of people in Eure protested against pesticides in front of the Syngenta plant — This is part of a worldwide mobilization against the Syngenta group.
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The appeals court will rule in the MoDem and Bayrou case on 17 December — Bayrou's defense described the charge as "empty".
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Strike paralyzes Corsica Linea; ships to Korziku are stopped until Monday — The company has suspended operations; shops on the island already report empty shelves.
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The Štátna rada confirmed Auchan's plan to cut 2,400 jobs — The massive layoffs have thus passed judicial review.
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Prisons in France hold a record 90,020 prisoners as of 1 September — Prison overcrowding surpassed the previous maximum.
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2027 budget: Bercy reports €10bn in company efforts, while the real figure should be €20bn — Moody's and Barclays expressed doubts after Prime Minister Lecornu presented the proposal.
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Lycée blockades: 735 schools disrupted, government speeds up the "casseurs-payeurs" law — A school in Metz burned down; according to BFMTV, investigators favor a deliberate act.
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Le Penová insists on trusting Bardella; 39 newsrooms condemned her attack on Mediapart — Mediapart published antisemitic texts attributed to the RN leader; the party rejects the accusations.
How the neighbours see it
mentions of the country in media of surrounding states-
German newspaper looks at Mediapart and the Bardella case — Mediapart published an investigation into the head of the RN.
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France handed Italy new documents on the Ustica plane crash — A Roman judge did not close the investigation and ordered further steps.
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Interest on French debt highest since 2011, Spanish, Italian and German outlets report — An Italian newspaper recalls 50 years of deficits and debt at 119% of GDP.
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Abroad: more than 5,000 people were arrested during school protests in France, 85% of them minors — The Italian press also highlighted the closure of 400 lycées.
What happened
14 reports over 14 days in 13 eventsHackers heated up freezers in hundreds of French supermarkets, Albert Heijn has no fresh food. The Dutch NCSC, however, does not link the two incidents.
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