RFI English

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will step down in February, months before her term ends, officials said on Thursday, kicking off a race to succeed her against a turbulent backdrop in the eurozone and key elections in France.

The man being held over the shootings which took place last Friday in the Paris suburbs of Trappes and La Verrière – which left one man dead and several people wounded, including an 11-year-old girl – has said he specifically targeted people of Muslim, African or North African appearance, anti-terrorism investigators revealed on Thursday.

Spanish football club Real Madrid, as well as Spanish league bosses, were on Thursday waiting to see if their apologies had led to a thaw in relations with China following striker Kylian Mbappé's comments about the former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

A judge in the United States has ruled that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte ​could continue their defamation lawsuit against the companies of the American podcaster Candace Owens, but not against Owens herself.

Spain on Thursday began three days of official mourning, after a rail collision south of Madrid on Wednesday killed at least 68 people and injured more than 100.

More than 20 African leaders are in Moscow for a summit that will test Russia's bid to expand its influence on the continent. The two-day Russia-Africa Summit, the third since 2019, comes as Moscow grapples with heavy sanctions over its Ukraine offensive – and as several African governments turn to it for security assistance.

The damage wreaked by climate change on human health is escalating, experts warn, with deaths from heat, drought and other extreme weather rising faster than the world is taking action to limit global warming. Published on Wednesday, a report by medical journal The Lancet calls for climate change to be declared "a global health emergency".

A high-speed train collision south of Madrid killed 64 people and injured scores more on Wednesday, with the toll likely to rise, authorities said in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters this century.

The upper house of the French parliament has toughened a proposed law that would make people who participate in rioting and vandalism liable for up to €10,000, after nationwide protests against failing schools and the cost of living that turned violent in Paris and other cities. Rights groups warn the legislation could undermine the democratic right to protest.

Born in Egypt’s working-class neighbourhoods, mahraganat music is loud and raw, and these days it is practically impossible to escape. But for the artists behind it, mahraganat is more than just party music: they see it as the latest chapter in Egypt’s rich musical history.

The camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ahead of his rival's opposition bloc but still short of a majority on Wednesday after 50 percent of votes were counted in Israel's pivotal general election.

More than 40 French media groups, including Radio France International, have called on Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) to allow them to work freely after journalists were allegedly subjected to rough treatment at a party congress last weekend.

An Iraqi court has sentenced seven French nationals to prison for belonging to the Islamic State armed group, handing down the first verdicts in proceedings involving French detainees transferred from Syria last year.

Somalia’s government and Al-Shabaab militants have issued sharply conflicting accounts of deadly fighting near the southern city of Leego, with both sides claiming to have inflicted heavy losses during a battle on Monday.

Just over a month after new head coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed him as captain and the driving force of the France team, Kylian Mbappé found himself on the back foot, apologising for comments about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong that cost him several sponsorship deals in China.

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi on Tuesday praised head coach Luis Enrique and his squad after the club retained the Ballon d’Or Club of the Year award.

Patients in France are increasingly rejecting the "glitter" of the annual breast cancer awareness campaign of Pink October. They say celebrations and cosmetic tie-ins can feel far removed from the reality of treatment and act as a smokescreen for political inaction and the dangers of environmental and workplace exposure to carcinogens. 

France’s government has promised to replace Parcoursup, the university admissions platform, and to invest in schools and student support, offering a package of concessions aimed at defusing weeks of protests over education and the rising cost of living.

Polls opened in Israel on Tuesday in the country’s first election since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a close contest after three years of war and deepening political divisions.

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday gave his full support to security forces as France prepared for a third consecutive weekend of protests over the poor state of schools and the rising cost of living.