The Latest Breaking News from Radio France Internationale

Fewer babies, more elderly people, rising life expectancy: France has gradually changed and is now at a demographic turning point. For the first time since World War II, there were more deaths than births, according to the national statistics institute Insee.

New Caledonia's pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) announced on Tuesday that it would not attend the meeting on the institutional future of the French archipelago in the South Pacific, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday in Paris.

As protests continue across Iran, authorities are enforcing a near-total digital blackout – cutting internet and phone communications – as rights groups warn that hundreds of demonstrators have been killed. The shutdown is choking the protest movement and limiting what can be seen, verified and reported beyond Iran’s borders.

Hundreds of private-sector doctors have travelled to Brussels in a symbolic protest against French health policy, warning that mounting pressure on private medicine risks undermining patient care and hospital capacity at home.

France has officially launched a new voluntary national military service, opening the door for thousands of young people to sign up for a 10-month, paid stint in uniform, with the first intake set to begin in September.

The European Union on Monday began enforcing stricter limits on PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water, requiring authorities across all member states to test tap water for contamination.

A spate of fatal avalanches has struck the French Alps amid persistently unstable conditions following heavy snowfall. This has prompted renewed warnings from the authorities and stark reminders of the dangers of off-piste skiing during periods of high risk.

France's best female tennis player Lois Boisson on Monday pulled out of the Australian Open citing injury concerns. The 22-year-old world number 35, has not competed officially since September.

French farmers have pressed on with protests on Monday, as Brussels confirmed that EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will sign the long-awaited EU trade deal with Mercosur next weekend.