Latest news with #FrenchOfficials
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
French intelligence claims China trying to foil global sale of Rafale jets
French military and intelligence officials claim China has deployed its embassies to spread doubts about the performance of French-made Rafale jets following the aerial combat between India and Pakistan in May. The Associated Press news agency, quoting French officials, reported on Sunday that Beijing is working to harm the reputation and sales of France's flagship fighter aircraft. French officials say they have found that the Chinese embassies are trying to undermine Rafale sales by persuading countries that have already ordered the jets, notably Indonesia, not to buy them and instead choose Chinese-made fighters. The AP report said the findings were shared by a French military official on condition that they should not be named. Four days of India-Pakistan clashes in May were the most serious confrontation in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, which included air combat involving dozens of aircraft from both sides. Military officials and researchers have since been digging for details of how Pakistan's Chinese-made military hardware – particularly warplanes and air-combat missiles – fared against weaponry that India used in air strikes on Pakistani targets, notably French-made Rafale fighters. Sales of Rafales and other armaments are big business for the French defence industry and help Paris to strengthen ties with other nations, including in Asia, where China is becoming the dominant regional power. India confirms losses Pakistan says its air force downed five Indian planes during the fighting, including three Rafales. French officials say that prompted questions about their performance from countries that have bought the fighter from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation. India acknowledged aircraft losses but did not say how many. French air force chief General Jerome Bellanger said he has seen evidence pointing to just three aircraft losses – a Rafale, a Russian-made Sukhoi and a Mirage 2000, which is an earlier generation French-made jet. It was the first known combat loss of a Rafale, which France has sold to eight countries. 'Of course, all those, the nations that bought Rafales, asked themselves questions,' Bellanger said. French officials have been battling to protect the plane from reputational damage, pushing back against what they allege was a concerted campaign of Rafale-bashing and disinformation online from Pakistan and its ally, China. They say the campaign included viral posts on social media, manipulated imagery showing supposed Rafale debris, AI-generated content and video-game depictions to simulate supposed combat. More than 1,000 social media accounts newly created as the India-Pakistan clashes erupted also spread a narrative of Chinese technological superiority, according to French researchers who specialise in online disinformation. French claims Military officials in France say they have not been able to link the online Rafale-bashing directly to the Chinese government. But the French intelligence service said Chinese embassy defence attaches echoed the same narrative in meetings they held with security and defence officials from other countries, arguing that Indian Rafale jets performed poorly and promoting Chinese-made weaponry. The defence attaches focused their lobbying on countries that have ordered Rafales and other potential customer nations that are considering purchases, the intelligence service said. It said French officials learned of the meetings from nations that were approached. The French Ministry for Armed Forces said the Rafale was targeted by 'a vast campaign of disinformation' that 'sought to promote the superiority of alternative equipment, notably of Chinese design'. 'The Rafale was not randomly targeted. It is a highly capable fighter jet, exported abroad and deployed in a high-visibility theatre,' the French ministry wrote on its website. Asked by AP to comment on the alleged effort to dent Rafale's appeal, the Ministry of National Defence in Beijing said: 'The relevant claims are pure groundless rumours and slander. China has consistently maintained a prudent and responsible approach to military exports, playing a constructive role in regional and global peace and stability.' Dassault Aviation has sold 533 Rafales, including 323 exported to Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Indonesia. Indonesia has ordered 42 planes and is considering buying more.
New York Times
23-06-2025
- New York Times
Nearly 150 Report Being Jabbed With Needles at French Music Festival
French officials said Sunday that 145 people across the country, including 13 in Paris, reported that they had been stabbed with needles at an annual nationwide music festival on Saturday. Twelve people were arrested in connection with the stabbings. 'Some victims were taken to the hospital for toxicological tests,' the ministry said. French officials did not provide any details about the people who were arrested or about what substances the syringes may have contained. While the number of victims was small compared with the millions of people who attended Fête de la Musique events across France, the reports were among a number of alarming episodes in recent years in which people have reported being injected without their knowledge or consent in crowded spaces like clubs or bars. A British Parliament report, published in 2022 after a sudden increase in spiking incidents, said there had been more than 1,000 cases of needle attacks in the country between September 2021 and the end of December 2022. The report, which surveyed more than 3,000 victims and witnesses, cited police data showing that about 90 percent of needle spiking incidents occurred during the evening in venues like pubs and nightclubs, though some also happened at festivals and house parties. The report noted that there was not enough information to determine the overall prevalence of needle spiking and that there could be many more attacks that are not reported. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Spirit of willing and quiet resolve land UK-EU deal, but not without late wrangles
For weeks, Keir Starmer had stayed tight-lipped about what he was putting on the table in his negotiations as part of the UK-EU deal, saying in line with Brussels: 'Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.' But then just days before Monday's summit, the prime minister appeared to make a concession and pave the way for a youth mobility scheme, telling the Times in an interview: 'Youth mobility is not freedom of movement.' People close to the talks say French officials seized this as their moment to push much harder on fishing rights, arguing for indefinite quotas rather than the four-year ones which British officials thought had been accepted. The talks lasted until about 2am on Monday morning, when the prime minister finally signed off on a deal which included 12-year-long quotas instead. 'There was a last-minute wrangle over fish which went right up to the wire on Sunday night,' said one British government source. A European official added: 'The UK's final offer had been four years, but even by Sunday night we were yet to square the circle.' Anand Menon, the director of the UK in a Changing Europe thinktank, said: 'The EU has used the fact that we were the demandeur to leverage what they have long wanted. The French will be absolutely chuffed, there is no doubt that we had to concede on that.' It was a big last-minute concession by Starmer, but one which allowed him to stand up about 12 hours later and declare: 'Britain is back on the world stage.' Despite his best efforts to restore order to Britain's international relations, the final 48 hours of the prime minister's first big negotiation with Brussels ended in much the same way those of his predecessors did – with frantic phone calls and late-night concessions. Both sides however say the trouble was worth it, bringing certainty to businesses on both sides of the Channel and reinforcing the UK's position as a trusted external partner to the EU. Starmer's aim from the beginning had been to show that EU negotiations could be done differently – quietly and without what he calls 'megaphone diplomacy'. It was an approach that infuriated some. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, accused the prime minister on Monday of conducting 'secret negotiations away from parliament, the media and the public'. But British officials say that this veil of secrecy was essential to agreeing such a complex deal which could have tripped on any one detail, and nearly did so at the 11th hour. But if Starmer's public position was emollient, behind the scenes, negotiators say the UK was demanding a lot from its European partners. 'Britain came to these talks with 50 different demands,' said one European source. 'This deal benefits everybody, but it would be wrong to suggest the UK did not get a lot of what it wanted.' For months the detailed negotiations have been led by Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister who is close to Starmer and whose office is linked to Downing Street by a corridor at the back of Whitehall. Others in the cabinet have taken the lead on different aspects of the deal, however, such as the foreign secretary, David Lammy, and the defence secretary, John Healey, on the defence and security pact. Healey said: 'Back in July, you didn't have the UK leading the coalition of the willing [in support of Ukraine]. You didn't have the Trinity House agreement [between Britain and Germany]. You didn't have the prospect of an EU-UK defence agreement. All things are part of strengthening British security.' The harder elements to agree however were on a future youth mobility scheme as well as how long both the agricultural trade pact and the fishing deal should last. The UK ideally wanted a one-year fishing agreement and an indefinite agricultural one. Officials thought they could secure such a deal by offering up a youth mobility scheme, which is badly wanted in many European capitals. But when Starmer appeared to give way on the mobility scheme, it allowed the French to make a new demand: if the agricultural trade deal was to be indefinite, then the fishing quotas should be too. If one was to be time-limited, both should be. With the two sides at a standoff, EU ambassadors met three time within five days in an effort to avert diplomatic disaster. When they met at 2.30pm on Sunday, the text was still not agreed. Over a long and exhausting day of negotiations, officials worked until the early hours trying to untangle the last-minute disagreement. In the Cabinet Office, Thomas-Symonds and his team ordered a Nando's takeaway while they made repeated calls to European capitals and back to Downing Street. The cross-continental phone calls irritated some in Brussels, who felt that Britain was trying to play 'divide and conquer' with European capitals much as they felt Boris Johnson had done in the past. Also causing irritation was a press release which Downing Street issued on Saturday stating baldly: 'This week, the prime minister will strike yet another deal that will deliver in the national interest of this country.' Even as the negotiations continued, European leaders began landing in London on Sunday evening. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, arrived at about 7.30 – her flight having been tracked minute-by-minute by some junior British officials. Kaja Kallas, the high representative for foreign affairs, landed two hours later. At 10.30pm, the British sent their final substantive proposals, including, crucially, the concession on fishing quotas. Even then, talks went on for another four hours as officials argued, in the words of one, 'over commas'. None of the last-minute tensions were apparent on Monday lunchtime, however, as Starmer and several of his cabinet presented the deal at a chummy press conference in central London. The delegations had originally sat separately but at the suggestion of Maroš Šefčovič, the EU trade commissioner, they all swapped places so they could sit among each other. 'That's what this deal is all about,' Starmer told the press conference. 'Building the relationships we choose, with the partners we choose and closing deals in the national interest.' Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning, Kallas had a slightly different take: 'Any deal means making compromises on both sides. If both parties are not entirely happy, that means it's a good deal.'
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
France to respond firmly after Algeria expels more officials
PARIS, May 12 (Reuters) - France will respond to Algeria's "unjustified" decision to expel 15 French officials, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday, as relations between the countries worsened further. France's ties with its former colony have long been complicated, but took a turn for the worse last year when President Emmanuel Macron angered Algeria by backing Morocco's position over the disputed Western Sahara region. There had been a short-lived thaw in tensions last month after Barrot visited Algiers, but a week later tit for tat diplomatic expulsions once again strained ties. Algeria's press agency APS reported on Monday that France's charge d'affaires had been informed that 15 French diplomatic agents were in irregular positions and would be expelled. "The departure of agents on temporary missions is unjustified and as I did last month, we will respond immediately and in a strong and proportionate manner," Barrot told reporters in Normandy. France in mid-April recalled its ambassador to Algiers for consultations and expelled 12 agents serving in the Algerian consular and diplomatic network in France after Algiers had expelled 12 French diplomatic staff. A poor relationship has major security, economic and social repercussions. Trade is extensive and around 10% of France's 68 million population has links to Algeria, according to French officials. "This is a decision that I regret because it is not in the interests of Algeria, nor in the interests of France," Barrot said, declining to give further details on the response from Paris.
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The Independent
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
India-Pakistan latest: Pakistan says it has killed up to 50 Indian soldiers in retaliation for Kashmir strikes
Pakistan claims it has killed '40-50 soldiers' by shelling Indian military installations along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, in retaliation for Wednesday's pre-dawn airstrikes by India. At least 12 civilians and an Indian soldier were killed in heavy shelling in India's Poonch district, which forced locals to flee the border villages, the Indian police said. Pakistan and India also said they had both shot down projectiles fired at each other's military installations on Thursday. Pakistan said it downed 25 Indian kamikaze drones, while India said it shot down 15 missiles. It comes a day after Islamabad vowed to avenge the death of 31 civilians in Indian airstrikes. India said the strikes killed 100 'terrorists' as a retaliation for a massacre of tourists in Kashmir last month. Also on Thursday, French officials said at least one Indian-owned Rafale fighter jet was shot down during Wednesday's 'Operation Sindoor'. The Independent spoke to witnesses at the site of one crashed jet, who described a huge explosion lighting up the night sky, though Indian officials have refused to acknowledge that any planes were downed. US directs consulate staff in Pakistan to shelter in place The US Consulate General in Lahore, Pakistan, has just now directed its staff to shelter in place amid reports of drone explosions, downed drones and possible airspace incursions, the state department said. The consulate has also received initial reports that authorities may be evacuating some areas adjacent to Lahore's main airport, it added. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 11:14 India 'neutralised' Pakistan attempts to 'engage' military targets, defence ministry says India has claimed it "neutralised" attempts by Pakistan to "engage" several military targets in its northern and western regions on Wednesday, the Indian defence ministry said in a statement. It said Indian armed forces also targeted air defence radars and systems at several locations in Pakistan on Thursday. 8 May 2025 10:56 Pakistan claims to have killed dozens of Indian soldiers Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar has claimed that Pakistan has targeted and destroyed Indian military installations along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border in Kashmir, and alleged that '40-50 Indian soldiers' were killed. Tarar said in an earlier interview with Sky News that India was the 'aggressor' and vowed retaliation. India has not responded to Pakistan's claims of dozens of soldiers' deaths. Earlier, Indian media reported that one soldier was killed in the cross-border shelling across the Line of Control, besides 12 civilians. Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 10:41 India and Pakistan: A history scarred by bloody conflicts since 1947 partition India launched strikes on Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday, an assault its neighbour called a 'blatant act of war' as tension spirals between the nuclear-armed rivals after a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir last week. India said its Operation Sindoor struck nine Pakistani sites on Wednesday that provided 'terrorist infrastructure' and from which attacks against it were orchestrated. Its military spokesperson said the sites were completely destroyed. Sindoor, which refers to the red vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women, is an apparent reference to the widows left by the 22 April attack that killed 26 men, most of them Hindu. Tensions rise between the two nations as India launches several strikes - AP Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 10:40 Indian defence minister says army will retaliate if provoked During an all-party meeting, India's defence minister Rajnath Singh reiterated that India does not want further escalation but reportedly said that the country will retaliate if provoked. NDTV, citing sources, said that the defence minister also said that around 100 'terrorists' were killed in India's 25-minute missile barrage early on Wednesday, across nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president, told ANI that the government said 'they cannot share a few things which are confidential in the interest of national security. We [all parties] said we stand with the government'. Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 10:26 Pakistan says it has shot down 25 Indian drones Pakistan's military has claimed that it shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones sent by India that violated its airspace. Earlier, the Pakistan army had claimed it shot down 12 Indian drones. Spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that India sent Israeli Harop drones to multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and their debris is being collected. 'Indian drones continue to be sent into Pakistan airspace...(India) will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression,' he said. India has not yet responded to Pakistan's claim. Maroosha Muzaffar8 May 2025 09:56 In pics: Locals flee border villages after heavy shelling Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 09:24 China denies knowledge of jets being used by Pakistan China's foreign ministry this morning said it was "not familiar with the matter" when asked whether Chinese jets were involved in the India-Pakistan conflict after India hit Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir with missiles yesterday. Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, told parliament that Chinese J-10C jets were used to shoot down five Indian fighter jets along the border, which included French-made Rafale. The Indian government has not verified the claims of its jets being shot down. Mr Dar said the ministry kept Beijing informed about the military action soon after the Indian airstrikes began. The minister also held a meeting with China's ambassador Jiang Zaidong later in the day. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 09:15 India sent Israel-made Harop suicide drones over Pakistani cities, says Pakistan military Pakistan shot down 12 drones from India that violated its airspace, the military said this morning, a day after Indian strikes on multiple targets in the country fanned fears of a larger military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. India sent Israeli Harop drones to multiple locations, including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore, and their debris is being collected, Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said. "Indian drones continue to be sent into Pakistan airspace...(India) will continue to pay dearly for this naked aggression," he said. He added that one civilian was killed and at least four personnel of the Pakistan army sustained injuries when a 13th Indian drone 'managed to engage in a military target near Lahore partially'. 'Four men of Pakistan army have been injured in this attack near Lahore with partial damage to an equipment has occurred." Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 May 2025 08:45
