France politics
fromThe Local France
2 weeks agoFrance blames Hezbollah for French peacekeeper's death in Lebanon
Hezbollah is believed to be responsible for the attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, resulting in one death and three injuries.
I wanted our future aircraft carrier to follow in the footsteps of General de Gaulle. His life, his destiny. Our new aircraft carrier will be named France Libre. This name honours the memory of the men and women who stood up against barbarity.
A French soldier, Alexandre Lanckbeen, died after being accidentally shot in the head during a drunken evening at a barracks near Paris. The incident occurred on 14 February at the Percy Military Training Hospital in Clamart, where alcohol consumption is prohibited. Soldiers had obtained alcohol and were drinking when a loaded handgun was discharged during a reaction game, striking Lanckbeen. Lanckbeen was taken to hospital but subsequently died from his wounds.
President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday unveiled a new program meant to bolster France's armed forces by training thousands of volunteers aged 18 and 19 starting next year, part of a broader response to concerns over Russia's threat to European nations beyond the war in Ukraine. The young volunteers will serve in uniform for 10 months in France's mainland and oversea territories only, not in military operations abroad, Macron said in a speech at the Varces military base, which is located in the French Alps.