This French Life

News stops: France gets tough deficit targets; Body of young woman found inside snow machine

A LOOK at some of the news headlines from France.

EU sets France tough new deficit targets, Sapin says can be reached
The European Union has tightened targets for the reduction of France’s budget deficit two days after extending the deadline to reduce it to below three per cent for another two years. Finance Minister Michel Sapin described the new requirements as “demanding” but said they will be reached.

Body of young woman found inside snow machine at French ski resort
French police say the body of a young woman has been found inside a machine that scoops and sucks up snow at a ski resort in the Pyrenees.

Non-residents’ CSG ruled illegal
FRANCE’S policy of levying the 15.5% social contributions on income from non-residents renting out or selling French homes has been deemed illegal by the European Court.

American WWII vets awarded Legion of Honor by France
Five American World War II veterans received France's highest honor Friday during a moving ceremony aboard a French naval vessel moored in Florida.

The five, ages 89 to 93, were awarded the Legion of Honor for their contributions to the liberation of different regions of France.

Stolen Picasso posted as a cheap Christmas present
A painting by Pablo Picasso stolen from the Pompidou Centre in Paris has been found by a US customs official after it was posted across the Atlantic disguised as a cheap Christmas present.

Devon councillor living in France urged to quit

A Devon councillor who moved to live across the English Channel in France is facing calls to resign.

Conservative Eve Barisic lives in Roscoff, a commute of more than 150 miles (240km) by ferry and road to her ward in Newton Abbot.

Labour parliamentary candidate Roy Freer called it an "insult to the people of Newton Abbot and to democracy".

Ms Barisic, who moved seven months ago, asked to be judged on her performance.

Ageing French rockers slammed for jobless jibe at young

A music video by a group of mostly middle-aged French stars telling the young to “get moving” if they wish to succeed has triggered a bitter generational row in a country grappling with record-high youth unemployment.

The row underlined the anger felt by France’s young, facing unemployment rates upwards of 25 percent and increasingly shut out of a jobs market where permanent contracts are jealously guarded.

Penned by Grammy-winning singer Jean-Jacques Goldman and sung by a star-studded charity music collective called “Les Enfoirés” (roughly translated as “The Bastards” or "The Tossers"), the song “Your Whole Life” prompted a tirade of angry Twitter and blog comments.

News stops: Hostage appeal in Yemen; Airbnb friends with Paris; Eiffel Tower power

A LOOK over some of the news headlines from France.

Father of French woman abducted in Yemen appeals to kidnapper
The father of a French woman taken hostage in Yemen on Thursday called on her kidnappers "to show their humanity" and release her free along with the Yemenite woman taken at the same time.

Paris attacks: Coulibaly siege video transcript emerges
Details have emerged of footage filmed by Paris gunman Amedy Coulibaly during a bloody rampage inside a Jewish supermarket, a French website says.

Airbnb vows to comply with Paris lodgings tax
The city of Paris appeared to have buried the hatchet with Airbnb on Thursday after the short-term rental website promised to comply with city regulations to start collecting a lodgings tax. Paris is the No. 1 destination for Airbnb users.

Two wind turbines on Paris Eiffel Tower
Two wind turbines were installed on the second level of the Eiffel Tower at a height of 127 metres, the Paris monument’s operating company SETE announced on Thursday.

The #EiffelTower now has its very own wind turbines : http://t.co/BU92WfAxre (via @Slate) #WeLoveParis pic.twitter.com/qmUf02vxwI

— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) February 26, 2015

Madonna attacks intolerance and says Europe ‘feels like Nazi Germany’

Madonna has lashed out at intolerance in Europe, saying it is now so high in France and across the continent that “it feels like Nazi Germany”.

Speaking to French radio station Europe 1 in an interview to be aired on Friday morning, Madonna said “antisemitism is at an all-time high” in France and elsewhere in Europe, and likened the atmosphere to the period when German fascism was on the ascent.

“We’re living in crazy times,” the 56-year-old singer said, calling the situation “scary,” and lamenting what she described as France’s lost tradition of welcoming diversity and honouring freedom.

France unveils reforms to tackle Muslim radicalisation

France set out a package of reforms on Wednesday aimed at better integrating Muslims and preventing radicalisation in the wake of the recent jihadist attacks in Paris.

It outlined plans to set up a "dialogue forum", tapping leading associations, intellectuals and other notable figures from the Muslim community for regular talks with the government.

Much of the focus will be on the training of Muslim preachers, trying to "encourage the emergence of a generation of imams fully engaged in the Republic", an interior ministry source said.

Radicalisation in prisons is also central to the reform efforts.

New €20 banknote unveiled by Mario Draghi

THE ECB’s President Mario Draghi unveiled the new €20 banknote today at the ECB’s headquarters in Frankfurt and announced that it would enter into circulation on 25 November 2015.

The new note includes an innovative security feature in the form of a “portrait window” set in the hologram. When the banknote is held against the light, the window becomes transparent and reveals a portrait of the mythological figure Europa, visible on both sides of the note.

The new €20 banknote, like the new €5 and €10 notes, also includes an “emerald number” and a portrait of Europa in the watermark.

President Draghi said: "The portrait window is a real innovation in banknote technology. It is the outcome of the Eurosystem’s work to ensure that the euro notes continue to be resilient against counterfeiting.

"This will reinforce the trust that the 338 million citizens across the euro area place in their banknotes."

The new €20 note is the third in the Europa series that is gradually replacing the original series of euro banknotes introduced in 2002. The Europa series €5 banknote was issued in May 2013, and the €10 note in September 2014.

The €20 banknote unveiled today will be followed, over time, by new versions of the €50, €100, €200 and €500 notes.

News stops: Pound rises against euro; Muslim leaders boycott Jewish event; Rail boost

A LOOK over the headlines from France.

British Pound at Seven Year High versus Euro
The pound strengthened to a seven-year high versus the euro before Bank of England officials including Governor Mark Carney testify to lawmakers on the central bank’s latest economic forecasts.

At the Inflation Report press conference on Feb. 12, Carney presented projections that showed the rate of inflation dropping below zero in coming months.

Minutes from the central bank’s February meeting released on Feb. 18 showed that officials saw consumer prices rising “fairly sharply” next year. The same day, 10-year government bond yields reached the highest level this year and sterling touched a six-week high versus the dollar.

French Muslim leaders boycott Jewish event in Paris
French President François Hollande outlined a plan to fight anti-Semitism Monday at a Jewish council event that was boycotted by Muslim leaders after the council's president said young Muslims were behind "all" the violent crime in France.

Speaking at the annual dinner of the Jewish umbrella group, Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (CRIF) -- a major event on the French political calendar -- Hollande called for “faster and more effective sanctions” against racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia. The French president’s comments came as his government prepares to unveil a plan to fight hate crimes next month.

France seizes passports of six alleged jihadis with plans to join fight in Syria
Authorities in France have seized the passports of six alleged French jihadis who were planning to depart to fight in Syria, the country’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, said on Monday.

It was the first use of a key measure in an anti-terrorism bill passed by parliament in November, which empowers authorities to seize passports and identity cards of those suspected of imminent departure abroad to wage jihad.

Record investment in French rail infrastructure
France’s new combined infrastructure manager, SNCF Réseau, is to invest a record €4.9 billion in enhancing and maintaining the national rail network in 2015.

Announcing its annual results, SNCF Réseau said it planned to recruit 2,000 new employees to meet the demand for maintenance work.

Drones spotted flying over Paris landmarks

At least five drones were spotted flying over central Paris landmarks during the night and police were unable to catch the operators, sources close to the probe said on Tuesday.

The country has been hit by a series of mysterious drone overflights at nuclear plants and more recently over the presidential palace, and the fresh sightings come at a time of heightened security following last month's jihadist attacks that left 17 people dead.

The first drone sighting was near the US embassy in the French capital just after midnight, prompting police to follow the unmanned aircraft which continued on towards the Invalides military museum.

New Charlie Hebdo issue marks return to business as usual

More than a month after two gunmen attacked French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo’s offices in Paris, killing 12 people, the newspaper’s newest issue is due to be released on Wednesday as it resumes publication.

The paper rushed out a “survivors’ issue” the week after the shooting, which took place on January 7. Since then, however, Charlie Hebdo has been absent from newsstands.

"We needed a break, a rest... There were those who needed to work again straight away, like me, and those who wanted to take more time," says Gérard Biard, the publication’s new chief editor. "So we reached a compromise, and agreed on February 25... to start off again on a weekly basis."

If the cover of Charlie Hebdo’s next issue says anything, it’s that it will be business as usual at the publication. It features an illustration of a range of political and religious figures, including former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, a jihadist and the pope, as a pack of rabid dogs over the headline, “… Here we go again!”