The Latest Breaking News from Gabriel Attal

Ban on loose-fitting dresses worn by some Muslim women provokes row over secularism

France will ban children in state-run schools from wearing loose-fitting, full-length robes known as abayas, worn by some Muslim women. This is the first major announcement from new education minister Gabriel Attal, who spoke to French media on Sunday ahead of the back-to-school season.

As French income tax season opens, the government wants to know what people think should be done with their taxes, and has launched a programme for taxpayers to tell them.

The fuel rebates put in place by the government and TotalEnergies are set to drop by 20 and 10 cents per litre respectively as of Wednesday, 16 November. Queues have formed again in front of certain service stations as motorists seek a last cut-price tankfull.

Nearly three weeks into a strike that has forced filling stations across France to close, an estimated 140,000 demonstrators – according to the organisers – took to the streets of Paris this Sunday in protest against soaring living costs, fuel strikes and climate inaction. Police say participation was far lower.

France’s new government reaffirmed the country’s pledge to lower debt after the COVID-19 pandemic forced President Emmanuel Macron to carry out an unprecedented spending splurge to prevent the economy from crashing.

France has frozen more than 800 million euros ($879.20 million)worth of assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. He provided no details.

French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Friday sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia in reaction to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine were starting to have a "real impact".

There are no plans at this stage for French President Emmanuel Macron to travel to Ukraine, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.