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The French president Emmanuel Macron has announced a curfew during which everyone must be at home between 9pm and 6am for the Paris region, as well as the cities of Rouen, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille and Toulouse. The curfew will begin on Saturday and will last for four weeks, he said.

The call is out for protesters to gather tomorrow (Saturday December 29th) in cities across France with limited numbers expressing their support on social media. Lille, Lyon, Toulouse and Paris are listed as site for protest tomorrow with prominent figures in the Yellow Vests movement joining a protest in Marseille. But there is greater interest in a gathering on the Champs-Elysees on New Years Eve for a "festive and non violent" Yellow Vests event. The city of Paris is going ahead with its planned light shows on New Year's Eve with lights projected onto the Arc de Triomphe. Police intend...

Seven mayors from France called on President Emmanuel Macron to step in and help them deal with the flow of (illegal) immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. French daily Le Monde published a letter written by the mayors of Strasbourg, Grenoble, Rennes, Nantes, Toulouse, Lille, and Bordeaux. In the letter, the mayors say that they are forced to take in "several thousand" refugees every month. This tsunami is creating massive social problems, they go on to explain. They feel that they're "backed up against a wall" and "completely saturated." The mayors want Macron to establish a "solidarity network" between...

France’s highest administrative court on Monday rejected the government’s appeal against an order to provide water and sanitation facilities for hundreds of migrants sleeping rough in the northern port of Calais. In a written decision seen by AFP, the Council of State said the state’s failure to provide for the migrants’ basic needs “exposed them to inhuman and degrading treatment, dealing a serious and clearly illegal blow to a basic right.” […] The court upheld a June 26 order by a court in the northern city of Lille for the state to supply the migrants with running water, toilets and...

At least three people have been injured after a shooting near a metro station in Lille, France. - A 14-year-old boy is among those hurt, reportedly being shot in the leg. - Another victim was hit in the neck. According to local media, witnesses heard at least five shots and a heavy police presence is at the scene. It is unclear if the gunman has been apprehended. The attack took place at 9.40pm local time Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/world/2017/03/25/09/24/shots-fired-in-lille-france#VcbIl6Y9ByUeLek4.99

For centuries, the northern French town of Lille has been home to an autumn flea market — as famous for its party atmosphere as for its wealth of secondhand goods. Last year, more than 2 million people came to the weekend festival to gulp down oysters, drink all night and haggle over goods. But La Braderie de Lille has been called off this year. After recent terrorist attacks in France, authorities say it is impossible to ensure security, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.