France Archives - Defence Monitor

15 Sep

France willing to help Egypt attract foreign investment: FM

Cairo, Sep 15, France is willing to help Egypt solve its debt problems and attract foreign investments, said visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Egypt. Colonna made the remarks on Thursday in a joint press conference in the capital Cairo with her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, Xinhua news agency reported. France is aware of the difficult economic conditions Egypt is going through and is willing to help Cairo in its talks with international financial institutions, the French Foreign Minister told reporters. Egypt's foreign debt reached $165.3 billion by the end of March 2023, registering a 4.8-per cent increase from…

29 Jul

Lower energy & food prices drive inflation down in France

Paris, July 29, The year-on-year consumer price index (CPI) in France was 4.3 per cent in July, thus continuing a slow but steady downward trend in inflation, according to a preliminary report released by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). In June, the year-on-year CPI stood at 4.5 per cent, making it the first time that the country's inflation stayed below the 5 per cent benchmark since April 2022, reports Xinhua news agency. The INSEE contributes the downward trend in inflation to lower energy prices and a slower increase in the prices of food products (for the…

23 Jul

Space Activity Bill, revised FDI policy top wishlist of private players

Chennai, July 23, Experts say that a revised policy on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the space sector, coming out with the Space Activity Bill, encouraging upstream industries are some of the big moves that await the Indian space sector. Two years after opening up the space sector for private players, the Indian government recently came out with the sectoral policy. According to industry experts, apart from the policy, the Space Activity Bill and a revised FDI policy should be announced. “The next move should be to create a strong upstream industry in India. This is essential for the start-ups…

14 Jul

PM Modi to be guest of honour at Bastille Day parade in Paris

New Delhi, July 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to France, will be the guest of honour at the Bastille Day parade in Paris on Friday. Modi will also meet the Indian tri-service contingent, which is participating in the parade, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron. Later in the day, the Prime Minister will attend a lunch hosted by President of French National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet. Thereafter, he will meet various thought leaders. Late in the evening, Modi will attend the ceremonial reception at the Elysee Palace, which will be followed by delegation level…

02 Jul

France unrest continues after fatal police shooting of teen: 719 arrested overnight

Paris, July 2, At least 719 people were arrested overnight across France as violent protests against the police killing of a teenager continued for a fifth straight night, down from over a 1,000 the previous night, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced. Although Paris region was calmer, Nice and Strasbourg witnessed more disturbances while Marseille city saw worst clashes where the police used teargas to control crowd. Rioters rammed Paris suburb L'Hay-les-Roses mayor Vincent Jeanbrun's home and fired rockets at his wife and small children, BBC reported quoting police. In a statement, Mayor Jeanbrun said: "It was an attempt at murder…

19 May

Zelensky to attend Japan G7 summit in person

Kiev, May 19 (IANS) Ukrainian government officials have confirmed that President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the ongoing G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in person, marking his first trip to Asia since Russia launched its full scale invasion in February 2022. In a live TV address to the nation, Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, said: "Who would doubt that our President would be present there? We are confident that our President will be where he needs to be, anywhere in the world, to address the sustainability of our country. "Very important things will be…

03 Feb

France, Israel agree to deepen strategic partnership

Paris, Feb 3 (IANS) French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries and strengthen bilateral relationship in all areas, the Elysee said in a statement on Friday. During a working dinner on Thursday night, Macron said Netanyahu choosing France as his first visit outside the Middle East since his appointment as Israeli Prime Minister shows the "closeness" between the two countries and the two people, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement. The two leaders hailed the quality of bilateral relations and exchanged views over issues of mutual…

08 Jul

Japan urges Iran to keep to nuclear deal

Tokyo: Japan on Monday urged Iran to follow its commitments under a 2015 nuclear agreement with major powers and refrain from taking further actions to undermine it, after Tehran said it had started enriching uranium above the limit set by the deal. "We are deeply concerned about Iran's announcement" on Sunday, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura said at a news conference here. "We strongly urge Iran to abide by the nuclear agreement, immediately return to its commitments and refrain from taking steps that would damage the accord."Japan, which has built amicable ties with Iran, has supported the nuclear deal as…

21 Jun

India to launch 31 satellites on Friday

Chennai: India on Friday will launch its earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 series weighing 712 kg and 30 co-passenger satellites (29 foreign, one Indian) with its rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the Indian space agency said on Tuesday. According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the PSLV rocket's XL variant is expected to lift off on Friday morning at 9.29 a.m. from the Sriharikota rocket port.The 30 satellites will together weigh 243 kg and the total weight of all the 31 satellites, including Cartosat, is about 955 kg, ISRO said.The rocket will sling the satellites into a 505 km polar sun…