Polling booths have closed after the first round of France's municipal elections, considered a litmus test for the presidential elections next year. Provisional results showed the Socialist candidate was leading in Paris, while the far right looked strong in several southern cities, but pollsters said turnout was low.

For east African neighbours Kenya and Somalia, the effects of climate change are worlds apart, with one country suffering drought and the other deadly flooding.

France coach Fabien Galthié hailed four-try hero Louis Bielle-Biarrey after the team's last-gasp 48-46 victory over England earned them back-to-back Six Nations rugby titles.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said Lebanon was ready to engage in "direct talks" with Israel and offered to host negotiations in Paris. This came on the heels of a visit to Beirut by UN chief Antonio Guterres, who also urged for a diplomatic solution the crisis.

President Emmanuel Macron expressed gratitude to the Iraqi prime minister for taking measures to protect French forces, after a drone strike killed a French soldier and injured six others in Iraq's Kurdistan region earlier this week.

A small island in the Gulf has become a flashpoint in the widening war involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Kharg Island handles almost all of Iran’s oil exports – making it a vital economic lifeline for Tehran.

President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel as a violation of international law, while France deploys military forces to protect its interests in the region and defend its allies hit by Iranian reprisals – a balancing act that could prove to be difficult to maintain.

France face England on Saturday night with a chance to clinch a record eighth Six Nations title, after last week’s defeat to Scotland ended their hopes of a Grand Slam.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday as part of a European tour to drum up vital support from allies in the war effort against Russia, amid concerns over the conflict in the Middle East.

The war in the Middle East is sending shockwaves through global energy markets as the tensions spillover into the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil transportation routes. Former French economy minister Eric Lombard tells RFI the situation could trigger a major global economic crisis if it remains blocked.

A French aid worker for the United Nations children’s agency Unicef and two other people were killed in a drone strike on a residential building in the eastern city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Socialist Party took control of Paris in 2001, after 130 years of right-wing dominance, but now the controversial 12-year legacy of Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo has fuelled bids for a change of direction. We look at the six main contenders in the upcoming municipal elections and the issues they're campaigning on.

The Middle East war is creating the biggest oil supply shock in history, the International Energy Agency warned Thursday, as Iran launched a new wave of attacks against Gulf energy targets that sent prices spiking above $100 a barrel.

France, which holds the G7 presidency, said Wednesday that major economies were ready to act to stabilise oil markets as the US-Israeli war with Iran enters its second week and disrupts supply.

Karl Tabouret claimed France's third gold medal of the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milano Cortina in northern Italy on Wednesday when he claimed the men's 10km cross-country race.

France will send 60 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Lebanon, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Wednesday, announcing a larger relief shipment as the country faces growing humanitarian needs.

Even as Washington hints at a quick end to the war with Iran, analysts say Tehran is preparing for a longer strategic struggle.

A French court ruled that former president Nicolas Sarkozy must serve jail time for an illegal funding conviction, a source close to the case said, after his lawyer sought to merge sentences for two separate convictions.

For decades, Mojtaba Khamenei operated in the shadows, building influence inside Iran’s clerical and security circles without ever holding an official post. Chosen as Iran’s supreme leader, the 56-year-old cleric now steps into the most powerful role in the country after his father was killed in US-Israeli air strikes.

Iran has fired missiles towards Israel and several Gulf nations, after the Islamic republic named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, succeeding his late father despite warnings from the United States and Israel that he could become their next targe

A 22-year-old engineering student and his 20-year-old brother have been arrested in France over a "deadly and antisemitic" plot, anti-terror prosecutors said on Sunday.

The stage show Shen Yun draws audiences across the world with its vision of 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation through classical dance and opera. But in an RFI investigation, former dancers and followers of the Falun Gong movement behind the production describe a very different reality – of psychological coercion, untreated injuries and forced labour involving minors.

Polling booths have opened across France for municipal elections – widely seen as a barometer of France's political mood ahead of the high-stakes 2027 presidential race.

What if tackling sky-high energy bills, unaffordable housing and the daily cost of getting to work could also help solve climate change? One of the world’s leading thinkers on urban sustainability says the two challenges share the same solutions – and cities across Europe are already testing them.

Relations between France and the Central African Republic (CAR) have been restored, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Bangui on Friday.

As Parisians prepare to vote in Sunday’s municipal election, outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo's decade-long push to cut vehicle use and expand cycling is under scrutiny as candidates debate whether to build on or roll back policies that have reshaped the French capital’s streets.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has begun a two-day visit to the Central African Republic, the first time France has sent its top diplomat to the country in more than seven years. It signals a thaw in relations between Paris and Bangui after a period of tension.

Iran says no one can exclude it from the World Cup later this year, in response to President Donald Trump's warning that their "life and safety" would be at risk in the US.

Canadian, German and Norwegian leaders will meet in the Norwegian Arctic on Friday to discuss the region's fragile security situation, against the backdrop of a large NATO exercise.

France's balancing act in the Middle East war. Convincing women to run in France's local elections. And the French village where Iran's first supreme leader spent his last months in exile.

France’s top climate advisory body on Thursday called on the government to set out a precise roadmap for phasing out coal, oil and gas, warning that the country's "ambitious" climate targets will need clearer political backing and stronger implementation.

Fuel giant Totalenergies on Thursday announced a ‘cap’ on petrol and diesel prices at its service stations in mainland France for the next three weeks.

With production in the Gulf countries at a standstill and gas prices rising, the war in the Middle East is disrupting the supply of fertilisers and posing risks for food security.

Cocaine trafficking through West Africa is increasing and is fuelling corruption in some countries, sometimes reaching the highest levels of government, a report this week warns. At least 30 percent of cocaine bound for Europe now passes through the region, while growing volumes of the drug are also being consumed locally, including in the form of crack.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique warned his players to maintain their poise during the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea in Paris on Wednesday night.

A foreign disinformation campaign has targeted two candidates running in France’s local elections this weekend, a government agency and a security source said Tuesday. It is the third foreign attack targeting public figures in recent days.

Authorities in the Central African Republic announced on Tuesday the arrest of a French aid worker employed by the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), who is accused of “threatening security”. The arrest comes just days ahead of a visit to the country by the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot.

Iran on Monday accused European countries including France of creating the conditions that led to the United States and Israel attacking the Islamic republic and triggering a war. Meanwhile, the price of gas is soaring, and attacks on Iran’s oil infrastructure continue.

France goes to the polls on 15 and 22 March to elect 34,875 mayors, in a vote seen as a key test ahead of next year's presidential election. The two-round ballot will measure the strength of the far-right National Rally (RN) and showcase what types of alliances could emerge in a fragmented landscape.

Nearly 12 years after Air Algérie Flight AH5017 crashed in Mali, as it travelled from Burkina Faso to Algeria, the Paris Correctional Court will hear the case against Spanish airline Swiftair from Monday.

In her animated film Dandelion's Odyssey, Japanese director Momoko Seto explores the theme of migration – something seen across the natural world, as well as among human beings. Using detailed scientific imagery and a multi-layered soundtrack in place of dialogue, the film’s message is one of resilience.

Congo-Brazzaville holds elections Sunday in a vote expected to extend 82-year-old President Denis Sassou Nguesso's more than four decades in power in the oil-rich central African country. Observers say voter turnout could reach a record low.

The Turkish government is warning the United States and Israel against involving Iran’s Kurdish minority in the war against the Iranian regime. Home to millions of Kurds, Turkey fears any such move could destabilise its ongoing peace process with Kurdish militants calling for an autonomous state.

In the running alongside nine other candidates from the African continent, OPA's fusion of afrobeats, soul, jazz and traditional Beninese sounds won over both the public vote and the jury for the annual 'Prix Découvertes', headed up by Franco-Senegalese rap star MC Solaar.

Hundreds of thousands have been displaced in Lebanon as Israel orders swathes of the country to evacuate amid its bombing campaign against Hezbollah in the south. As the humanitarian crisis worsens, local NGOs are doing what they can to help.

The Chadian government has responded to accusations of repression by its security services, voiced by civil society organisations at the United Nations earlier this month, telling RFI that alleged abuses are referred to the courts.

Brest, the once sleepy port city at the far western tip of France, is facing a rise in drug trafficking – and as a result, shootings, stray bullets and open street dealing have become a part of life in the city of 140,000 people, and are reshaping the political debate ahead of France's local elections.

A French soldier has been killed and several wounded in an attack in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan, President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed, describing the attack as "unacceptable". It is France's first military death in the Middle East war.

Para skier Ralf Etienne, who lost his leg in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, will on Friday become the first person from the country to compete at a Winter Paralympic Games. He told RFI it's a chance to showcase his home nation's strength and resilience on the world stage.

Legendary American actress and singer Barbra Streisand will receive an honorary Palme d'Or award at this year's Cannes Film Festival in May, joining New Zealand director Peter Jackson in taking the French festival's top accolade.

Senegal's parliament on Thursday voted in favour of a new law that doubles the maximum penalty for same-sex relations to 10 years in prison. MPs also backed a move to hand jail terms of between three and seven years to people who promote or finance same-sex relationships.

Nearly 20,000 French nationals have been repatriated from the Middle East since the war erupted on 28 February, government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice on Wednesday night as holders Paris Saint-Germain obliterated Chelsea 5-2 at the Parc des Princes to take command of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Residents have begun fleeing the regional capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region amid fears of a return to open conflict, as tensions that have been building for weeks show no sign of easing. The prospect of renewed fighting has revived memories of the devastating war that gripped the area between 2020 and 2022.

Morocco has become the largest importer of major weapons in Africa, with purchases rising over the past five years as the country continues to modernise its military, a report has found. The increase comes amid strains with neighbouring Algeria.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged European countries to expand the use of civilian nuclear power to secure the continent’s energy independence, warning that the war in the Middle East has exposed Europe’s vulnerability.

French artificial intelligence start-up AMI said on Tuesday it had raised $1 billion (€890 billion) to develop AI systems designed to understand the physical world “in the way animals and humans do”, rather than relying on language-based models such as ChatGPT. The company expects to produce “fairly universal intelligent systems” within five years.

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday warned that an attack on Cyprus was an attack on all of Europe and said France and its allies were preparing a "defensive" mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the Middle East war entered its second week.

France is set to carry out a blitz of petrol station inspections this week after a sharp rise in fuel prices sparked political anger and fears that retailers could exploit tensions in the Middle East.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across the world Sunday to mark International Women's Day and, in some cases, denounce the war in the Middle East.