World News by Wild Rose

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said on Monday he had filed a defamation lawsuit against investigative website Mediapart over a report alleging he ​made antisemitic remarks ‌in private messages over a decade ago, saying the story was an effort to "destabilise" campaigning ahead ⁠of next year's election. The 31-year-old leads the far-right National Rally party which is seeking to clear its racist image. The party's candidate, ‌Marine Le Pen, is leading polls for the April presidential election. FRANCE 24's Antonia Kerrigan reports.

Jordan Bardella, a key ally of French far-right presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen, on Tuesday said allegations he made antisemitic comments in 2013 marked part of a "total war" against their party ahead of the 2027 polls. Bardella, a savvy user of social media who projects a clean-cut image, has been a key player in Le Pen's project of "de-demonisation" to make the National Rally into an electable force. FRANCE 24's French Politics Editor Marc Perelman tells us more.

Following their victory in Turkey, France won away at Belgium (1-0). Thanks to this victory, Les Bleus are now at the top of Group A.

Mediapart's explosive report comes a day after France's National Rally party secures a record number of Senate seats.

A 10-year-old child and two women died on Monday on the treacherous and illegal migration route across the English Channel from France, apparently trampled to death on a packed boat, French authorities said. The dinghy left the area of Sangatte in northern France at around 5.15am carrying 105 people, local prefect François Xavier Lauch said. The boat ran into difficulty with its passengers asking for help, authorities said. They called rescue services at around 8am when they were some six...

Marine Le Pen, France's far-right National Rally party candidate, widened her lead in the second round of the 2027 presidential elections against both centre-right Édouard Philippe and hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon, according to a new poll released Monday.

France's maritime police ‌‌said ​they received a distress ​call from an inflatable dinghy carrying 105 people.

French prosecutors have sought a two-year prison sentence for former culture minister Rachida Dati, to be served at home with an electronic tag, in a corruption case involving charges of lobbying for Renault-Nissan when she was a European lawmaker. The high-profile case centres on a contract signed in 2009 between Dati, who previously served as justice minister, and fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn, then head of Renault-Nissan.

France's far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies emerged from polls with a record 14 seats in the right-wing dominated Senate on Sunday, effectively quadrupling its number in the 348-seat chamber just months before a presidential election.

Pope Leo on Monday warned that relations between nations were becoming "increasingly uncivilised" with people boasting of "lies and deceit", and urged Europe to help "break this cycle"as he wrapped up what France 24's Angela Diffley says has been a "hugely successful" visit to France with a speech in Metz.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe must rediscover the “courage of its founders” and not give in to the “resurgence of nationalism" as he delivered an address alongside Pope Leo XIV in Metz on the last day of the pontiff's visit to France.

Pope Leo on Monday arrived in Metz to speak on the future of Europe on the final day of his visit to France. Metz, a northeastern city that repeatedly changed hands between France and Germany in past conflicts, is closely associated with Robert Schuman, considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union, who is buried just outside Metz. France 24’s Luke Shrago in Metz and Douglas Herbert in the studio take a look at what’s on the agenda.

France face Belgium on Matchday 2 of the Nations League. With Kylian Mbappé out due to injury, Ousmane Dembélé will serve as captain if he starts.

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and its allies won enough seats in France's Senate to form a parliamentary group in the upper house for the first time in the party's history Sunday, securing 14 seats out of 348. Half the upper house is elected through indirect voting every three years, with senators in the right-wing dominated chamber serving for six years.

Pope Leo XIV continued his visit to France in Lourdes, at the major Catholic pilgrimage site in the foothills of the Pyrenees, where he celebrated mass before around 150,000 people. Hendro Munstermann, a Vatican correspondent for the Dutch newspaper Nederland Dagblad, joins us from Lourdes to share his impressions and tell us more about the Pope’s visit.

Pope Leo XIV is visiting the pilgrimage town of Lourdes this weekend as part of his four-day trip to France, the first official papal state visit to the country in 18 years. He is expected to hold an open-air Mass this morning at the Lourdes Sanctuary and will meet privately in the afternoon with victims of clergy sexual abuse. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.

After two days in Paris where he drew hundreds of thousands of worshippers, Pope Leo XIV will continue his visit to France on Sunday in the southwestern pilgrimage town of Lourdes with a private meeting with victims of clergy sexual abuse. The pope's four-day trip is the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades.

Pope Leo XIV drew huge crowds on the first Papal visit to France in 18 years.

Thousands gather in Paris as the pope warns against a 'paradise of machines' at the Elysee Palace.

The BBC's Hugh Schofield looks at why the visit is met with enthusiasm the Church attributes to growing spirituality among the French.

Pope Leo XIV has declined a state dinner, the Legion of Honour and a private meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, keeping his four-day France visit centred on its apostolic mission despite official talks at the Élysée. While the Vatican cited scheduling reasons, some observers see a desire to emphasise the trip's spiritual focus, even as the pontiff is set to address European security and peace during his stop in Metz.

France is sending military to protect key Yanbu oil terminal; Pakistan and Turkiye to hold military talks with Riyadh.

Pope Leo XIV on Friday arrives in France for a four-day visit – his fifth Apostolic journey since becoming pontiff last year – during which he hopes to repair the Catholic Church’s standing after sexual abuse scandals while also addressing issues such as the need to regulate AI. FRANCE 24 guides you through his visit.

First papal state visit to country in 18 years comes as church confronts contentious issues.

President Emmanuel Macron said France would send troops to defend an oil plant in Saudi Arabia as the Iran-backed Houthi militia took responsibility for new attacks on the kingdom. Macron said in a television interview Thursday with TF1 and France 2 that he would send soldiers and military support to help protect the Saudi port of Yanbu. Saudi Arabia came under attack from the Houthi militia on Thursday, with the kingdom saying it intercepted missiles fired towards the Red Sea port of Yanbu and...

Djibouti · GEOPOLITICS Key Facts —The context The Red Sea port of Yanbu is Saudi Arabia’s main oil outlet while war largely shuts the Strait of Hormuz. —What happened President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, Sept. 24, that France will send soldiers, radars and defence systems to Yanbu. —France’s military Global Firepower ranks France sixth […] The post France to Send Troops to Protect Saudi Red Sea Oil Port appeared first on The Rio Times.

Pope Leo XIV flies to France on Friday for the Vatican's first state visit to the European nation in 18 years, with artificial intelligence and young believers near the top of his agenda. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte will be on the tarmac to greet the 71-year-old pope. 

Saudi Arabia intercepted Houthi ballistic missiles on Thursday after warning several regions, including Mecca, of possible attacks. France said it would send military assets to help protect the Saudi oil terminal at Yanbu. The strikes came amid renewed fighting in Yemen that has killed dozens, according to sources cited by AFP.

The Vatican’s recent excommunication of followers of a Catholic splinter sect, the Society of Saint Pius X, has revived a longstanding feud within the Roman Catholic Church ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s state visit to France. The ultra-conservative group has established an extensive network of schools and has attracted thousands of followers in France.