The Latest Breaking News from Radio France Internationale

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen is in New Caledonia, offering a 'new method' for resolving long-standing tensions with the French mainland, as President Emmanuel Macron is preparing a broader push to revive dialogue between loyalists and separatists in the Pacific overseas territory.

France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be accessed by children, including beaches, parks and bus stops, the health and family minister has announced, ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Saturday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has received one of Europe’s highest honours for her role in steering the European Union through turbulent times. In her acceptance speech she called for a more self-reliant Europe in the face of 'imperial ambitions'.

The European Union and six of its member states have ratified the treaty to protect the high seas, 10 days ahead of France hosting the UN Ocean Conference in Nice. However, the treaty is still far short of the 60 ratifications required for it to come into force.

A cholera outbreak in Sudan's capital has killed 70 people in two days, health officials said, as Khartoum battles a fast-spreading epidemic amid a collapse of basic services.

An administrative court in the southern French city of Toulouse on Wednesday ruled that construction work on the Toulouse-Castres motorway can resume from mid-June, after a three-month shutdown. The project has been heavily contested by environmentalists for the last two years.

Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong'o has died, his daughter announced on Wednesday evening. With his focus on post-colonial identity, he was considered one of East Africa's greatest literary figures.

The European Union and China must "take on global climate leadership" in the wake of US President Donald Trump's return to the White House, a French government source ahead of a top French official's visit to Beijing on Thursday.

Diesel engines fitted with illegal software to cheat pollution tests have caused 16,000 deaths in France since 2009, according to the first study to calculate the human cost of the "Dieselgate" scandal that exposed widespread fraud by car manufacturers.