Tensions in the town of Cap d’Agde, which is known as France’s “Naked City” thanks to its large nudist population, have risen after locals complained that the nudist quarter had been overrun by raunchy hotels and that children...

The French president told the leaders of 12 former colonies: “There are debts which are never extinguished. It was time to recognise that.” Hundreds of thousands of Africans served France in two world wars and the Algerian war of...

Many French trains stood still, schoolchildren played instead of studied and post offices were shuttered as workers nationwide went on strike Thursday to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to raise the retirement age to 62 years...

France will raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 in 2018 in an effort to get the country’s spiraling public finances under control, the labor minister said Wednesday. Eric Woerth called the measure – already strongly opposed by the opposition...

The vertically challenged French president is said to have banned statuesque bodyguards despite their added value of being able to spot potential attackers in a crowd. A police source told Le Parisien that “there’s no point recruiting...

There’s a growing debate in France about eating viande chevaline — and neither side is horsing around. Because what’s at, er, “steak” in the dispute is whether France’s 200-year tradition of consuming horsemeat will...

An all-singing and all-dancing video by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s centre-right political party has become the mocking buzz of the month on French-language websites. The three-minute clip, in which several cabinet ministers and a former prime...

Are European societies anti-Islam? That’s a question more people are asking in the wake of Switzerland’s referendum to ban the building of minarets in the Alpine country. Almost 6 out of 10 Swiss voters supported the ban — charges of...

The rule banning women from dressing like men – namely by wearing trousers - was first introduced in 1800 by Paris’ police chief and has survived repeated attempts to repeal it. The 1800 rule stipulated than any Parisienne wishing to dress like...

Bike-sharing programs are gaining momentum throughout Europe and even in car-loving US cities, but vandals and thieves are doing a bang-up job of chipping away at that momentum, and adding cost to the programs—especially Paris’ Velib scheme, as...