PARIS -- PARIS (AP) — France’s latest political crisis eased — for now — when Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two consecutive no-confidence votes on Thursday, averting another government collapse and giving President Emmanuel Macron a respite before an even tougher fight over the national budget.

France’s welfare state is in desperate need of reform, but Macron is obsessing over Marine Le Pen.

France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy arrives for the verdict in his appeal trial in the so-called Bygmalion case, at the courthouse, in Paris, on February 14, 2024. — File photo by Agence

PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 04: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex attends the Balenciaga Womenswear Spring/Summer 2026 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 04, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga)

The routes for the 2026 Tour de France and 2026 Tour de France Femmes will be presented in Paris next week on Tuesday, October 23. The race directors of the biggest races of the men's and women's calendars, Christian Prudhomme and Marion Rousse, will be on hand to show off the routes for next summer's races.

An Algerian woman went on trial in France Friday (Oct 17) accused of raping, torturing and murdering a 12-year-old girl in Paris in a case that horrified the country.

France and Britain, in coordination with the United States, are working to finalise a U. Security Council resolution in the coming days that would lay the foundation for a future international force in Gaza,