Accessibility links
France France
Stories About

France

Tuesday

Kim Kardashian arrives at the fourth annual Academy Museum Gala on Oct. 19, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

Kim Kardashian arrives at the fourth annual Academy Museum Gala on Oct. 19, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Europe

A trial of suspects accused of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint begins in Paris

In 2016, thieves robbed Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in Paris and made away with about $10 million in jewelry. The suspects, whom the French press have dubbed "grandpa robbers," are now on trial.

Trial begins in Paris over jewelry heist that targeted Kim Kardashian

Listen · 2:20
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5379987/nx-s1-5441454-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Spectators roam inside the Madrid Open tennis tournament venue during a general blackout in Madrid on April 28.

Spectators roam inside the Madrid Open tennis tournament venue during a general blackout in Madrid on April 28. Manu Fernandez/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Manu Fernandez/AP

World

Spain and Portugal begin recovering from a massive blackout. Here's what to know

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said a nationwide blackout of this scale had never happened before in Spain. He added that the underlying cause remains unclear.

SPAIN PORTUGAL POWER OUTAGE

Listen · 3:49
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-63175/nx-s1-5441022-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Secretary of State Marco Rubio before a meeting with the French foreign minister in Paris on Thursday to discuss steps toward a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio before a meeting with the French foreign minister in Paris on Thursday to discuss steps toward a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Julien de Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine invasion — explained

Trump may abandon Ukraine peace talks 'within days,' Rubio warns

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the U.S. would walk away from efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine if progress isn't made within days.

U.S. will walk away from Ukraine peace efforts if progress not made soon, Rubio says

Listen · 1:50
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5369279/nx-s1-5431094-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio next to special envoy Steve Witkoff (center) and France's foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, before a meeting at the Élysée presidential palace in Paris on Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron (left) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio next to special envoy Steve Witkoff (center) and France's foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, before a meeting at the Élysée presidential palace in Paris on Thursday. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine invasion — explained

Rubio leads a U.S. team for Paris talks as Macron seeks unity on Ukraine

France hosted top diplomats from the U.S., Germany, the U.K. and Ukraine to discuss efforts toward a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Monday

Monday

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at a Paris court expected to deliver a verdict in an embezzlement case that could shake up French politics and derail far-right leader Marine Le Pen's career Monday, March 31, 2025 in Paris.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at a Paris court expected to deliver a verdict in an embezzlement case that could shake up French politics and derail far-right leader Marine Le Pen's career Monday, March 31, 2025 in Paris. Thibault Camus/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Thibault Camus/AP

Europe

French court bars far-right leader Marine Le Pen from public office for embezzlement

A French court found Marine Le Pen guilty on Monday in an embezzlement case and barred her from seeking public office for five years, with immediate effect. Le Pen's lawyer said she would appeal.

Friday

From left: Liberty Enlightening the World, Bill Skarsgård, Sunita Williams (before her ISS sojourn).

From left: Liberty Enlightening the World, Bill Skarsgård, Sunita Williams (before her ISS sojourn). Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The NPR news quiz

What's trending in the world of soap operas? Find out in the quiz

This week also saw a highly undramatic object cause drama and the happily undramatic return of the two NASA astronauts who had an unexpected stay on the International Space Station.

Tuesday

The Statue of Liberty pictured against a blue sky.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the U.S. in the 1880s, celebrating their friendship and the anniversary of U.S. independence. Pamela Smith/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Pamela Smith/AP

Politics

Does the U.S. deserve the Statue of Liberty? Not anymore, one French politician says

A French politician suggested the two countries no longer share the values that inspired the gift more than a century ago. The White House sharply rejected his request, which he described as symbolic.

Monday

Activists hold posters during a women's rights demonstration, Dec. 14, 2024 in Avignon, southern France, where the trial of dozens of men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband is taking place.

Activists hold posters during a women's rights demonstration, Dec. 14, 2024 in Avignon, southern France, where the trial of dozens of men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband is taking place. Aurelien Morissard/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Aurelien Morissard/AP

World

A French surgeon is on trial accused of raping or abusing 299 people, mostly children

The trial comes as French activists are pushing to lift taboos that surround sexual abuse. The most prominent case was that of Gisèle Pélicot, who was raped by her now ex-husband and dozens of others.

Friday

A room inside the European Court of Human Rights, located in Strasbourg, eastern France.

The European Court of Human Rights, located in Strasbourg, eastern France, said the French woman should not be at blame for her divorce because she refused sexual relations with her husband. Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

The Brief

French woman who refused sex with husband not to blame for divorce, rights court says

Europe's top human rights court ruled the woman's right to respect for private and family life had been violated when French courts found her solely at fault for her divorce because she withheld sex.

Tuesday

Thursday

Gisèle Pelicot arrives at the courthouse in Avignon, France, on Dec. 19, 2024, in advance of the verdict being read out from the trial of her ex-husband and more than four dozen other men 50 who were found guilty of aggravated rape against her.

Gisèle Pelicot arrives at the courthouse in Avignon, France, on Dec. 19, 2024, in advance of the verdict being read out from the trial of her ex-husband and more than four dozen other men 50 who were found guilty of aggravated rape against her. Clement Mahoudeau/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Clement Mahoudeau/AFP via Getty Images

Europe

Dozens of men are found guilty in mass rape case of French woman drugged by her husband

A French court found dozens of men guilty of raping Gisèle Pelicot, whose then-husband repeatedly drugged her unconscious over the course of a decade. Her ex-husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Dozens of men found guilty of raping a woman in France who was drugged to sleep

Listen · 3:36
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5232766/nx-s1-5298777-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

This photo provided Dec.15, 2024 by the Civil Security shows rescue workers clearing an area in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, after Cyclone Chido caused extensive damage with reports of several fatalities.

This photo provided Dec.15, 2024 by the Civil Security shows rescue workers clearing an area in the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, after Cyclone Chido caused extensive damage with reports of several fatalities. AP/UIISC7/Securite civile hide caption

toggle caption
AP/UIISC7/Securite civile

World

France rushes help to Mayotte, where hundreds are feared dead from Cyclone Chido

France was rushing help by ship and military aircraft to its poor overseas territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean on Monday after the island was shattered by its worst storm in nearly a century.