This is Beirut

Macron Calls for 'Strong Action' If Russia Continues to 'Refuse Peace'

This is Beirut, 06/04 19:35 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for "strong action" if Russia continued "to refuse peace," days after a Russian ballistic missile killed nine children in Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown. Despite US and European efforts to secure peace in Ukraine, Russia continued "to murder children and civilians," Macron ...

PSG Win 13th French Title Ahead of Aston Villa Champions League Clash

This is Beirut, 06/04 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Football France PSG Ligue 1

Paris Saint-Germain clinched the Ligue 1 title on Saturday with a 1-0 win at home against Angers as they prepare for a Champions League quarter-final showdown with Aston Villa. PSG needed just a draw in front of their own fans to be confirmed as champions again, having started the day a huge 21 points clear of nearest challengers Monaco with ...

Boualem Sansal’s Speech for Freedom Published in Bookstores

This is Beirut, 04/04 17:45 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Literature Edition Freedom Algeria France Boualem Sansal culture

This speech, given for “the German Publishers and Booksellers Peace Prize” and published in Gallimard’s Tracts collection, was originally delivered in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 2011. "The absence of freedom is a pain that drives one mad over time. It reduces a man to his shadow and his dreams to nightmares," Boualem Sansal declares in ...

Iconic Paris hotel Lutetia Taken over by Mandarin Oriental

This is Beirut, 04/04 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

France Hotel History Heritage Culture Art

Situated in the center of the Left Bank area of the French capital, the Art Deco institution was opened in 1910 and owes its existence to its neighbor Bon Marche, one of the first department stores in the world. Real estate group Alrov, controlled by Alfred Akirov and his family, will retain ownership of the building. Originally baptized with the ...

Avignon 2025 Celebrates Arabic through Theater, Dance and Music

This is Beirut, 03/04 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Theater Festival France Avignon Culture Art

Cape Verdean choreographer Marlene Monteiro Freitas will open the 79th edition of the Festival d’Avignon next July in southeastern France, in a program that gives prominence to Arabic, described as a "language of light" and "knowledge" — one that organizers intend to celebrate in response to the "merchants of hate." This major international ...

Israel says Shares with France 'Common' Goal of Iran Without Nuclear Weapons

This is Beirut, 03/04 12:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Israel Tehran United States France

Israel and France share a "common" goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the Israeli foreign minister said in Paris on Thursday. Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting its enrichment activities were solely for peaceful purposes. "The ...

Military Confrontation 'Almost Inevitable' If Iran Nuclear Talks Fail

This is Beirut, 02/04 19:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

France Iran Jean-Noel Barrot

France's foreign minister warned Wednesday that a military confrontation with Iran would be "almost inevitable" if talks over Tehran's nuclear program failed. "In the event of failure, a military confrontation would appear to be almost inevitable," Jean-Noel Barrot said in parliament, adding that it would severely destabilize the region. Earlier ...

Joan of Arc Reborn Through Sacred Songs and Theater

Marie-Christine Tayah, 01/04 16:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Theater Paris France Culture Art

Joan of Arc died at the stake after being convicted of heresy. At just 13, she claimed to hear divine voices that gave her the mission to drive the English out of France. She went on to liberate the city of Orléans and paved the way for Charles VII to be recognized as the legitimate King of France. Nearly six centuries after her death, Joan’s ...

Political Reactions to Marine Le Pen's Conviction

This is Beirut, 31/03 22:31 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

France Marine Le Pen

Here are various political reactions to Marine Le Pen's conviction on Monday, including a five-year immediate ineligibility sentence in the European parliamentary assistants' case. US President Donald Trump's administration said it was "concerning" to exclude candidates from politics, in response to a French court's ...

Le Pen Denounces Presidential Ban as 'Political Decision' Against Democratic Rights

This is Beirut, 31/03 21:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Marine Le Pen France French Presidential Elections French Judiciary

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen launched a scathing critique of the recent judicial decision that bars her from running in the upcoming French presidential election, calling it a “political decision” that undermines democratic principles. In a fiery interview on the French TV channel TF1 Monday, Le Pen argued that the ruling directly ...

Souad Massi Urges Paris and Algiers to Reconnect

This is Beirut, 30/03 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Concert France Algeria Berlin Music Culture

She is one of the artists who best embodies the deep bond—and tensions—between France and Algeria. Souad Massi says she feels "sad" about the current diplomatic crisis between the two countries, which, according to her, "should talk things through like a couple," as she told AFP in an interview. Performing at the Berlin Philharmonie on ...

Macron Ready to Receive Syrian President Subject to Conditions

This is Beirut, 28/03 19:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Emmanuel Macron Joseph Aoun France Syria Ahmad el-Chareh Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he was ready to receive Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Chareh, provided that the Syrian government opens up to all segments of civil society and commits to ensuring security conditions necessary for the return of Syrian refugees. "A government that represents all components of ...

France