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Le Monde

March 2026

'France and Japan need a reciprocal access agreement to strengthen their military cooperation'

In the Economist Intelligence Unit's ranking, which has been published since 2006, Japan has always ranked higher than France, except in 2019

Italy to miss third straight World Cup after shoot-out defeat to Bosnia

Italy will miss out on a third straight World Cup after falling to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the breathless qualification play-off final on Tuesday, March 31, with the Azzurri blowing their chance to reach this summer's tournament in North America with a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat

Haiti gang attacks kill at least 70 people over the weekend, says UN

The attack late Saturday into Sunday happened in Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite, a town in central Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas

France eyes ban on social media for under-15s

President Emmanuel Macron is hoping France will become one of the first European Union countries to ban social media for under-15s, following similar moves in Australia and Indonesia

France has not banned all military overflights to Israel and the Middle East

Currently, fighter jets and logistics aircraft flying over French airspace must first obtain authorization known as "diplomatic overflight clearance." Each flight is reviewed on a case-by-case basis

US aircraft are authorized to fly over French territory in accordance with international rules governing the overflight of state aircraft,
Military support aircraft (not combat aircraft) may be stationed at French military bases as part of a routine procedure, but these aircraft are not participating in combat operations in Iran,

UNRWA chief calls for probe into killing of agency staff in Gaza war

Philippe LazzariniuNRWA head
I believe that we ​need to have a panel — a high-level panel ​of experts to look into the killing ⁠of our staff,
Philippe LazzariniuNRWA head
There have been other UN colleagues who have been also killed."... And we have to look also at the extraordinary, large-scale destruction of the agency, of UN premises in Gaza,
The more time goes, the more difficult the task for the commission will be in the future."
Many others have sustained life-changing injuries or have been arbitrarily detained and tortured,

Ukraine strikes Russia's lifeblood by targeting oil ports

For the third time in less than a week, on Sunday, March 29, they targeted Ust-Luga, the largest export complex on the Baltic Sea

EU launches probe into French aid for new nuclear reactors

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether public support that France plans to grant for the construction and operation of six new nuclear reactors is in line with EU state aid rules,
France's new nuclear energy sector will, in the coming years, be a major contributor to EU-generated electricity,

Thieves steal Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse masterpieces from Italian museum

Renoir's painting, for example, is very beautiful, but, within the context of the foundation as a whole, it isn't among the most important works,
Art thefts can indeed be carried out for the purpose of extortion,

Australia investigates tech giants over breaches of social media ban for under-16s

Australia is investigating Facebook, TikTok and YouTube for possible breaches of the country's under-16 social media ban, accusing the big tech companies on Tuesday, March 31, of "failing to obey" the world-leading laws

Anika Wellscommunications Minister
The kinds of tactics we’re seeing deployed by social media platforms to undermine Australia’s world-leading law are right out of the big tech playbook,
None of this is impossible. None of this is even difficult for big tech who are innovative billion dollar companies. What this update shows is unacceptable,

'With God's help, we will kill our enemies': Israel introduces the death penalty for Palestinians accused of 'terrorist' murder

The only circumstance under which the death penalty would be imposed would be for a crime whose intent is to erase the State of Israel, which is most likely to apply exclusively to Palestinian defendants,

In Argentina, a judge partially suspends President Javier Milei's labor reform

Judge Raul Ojeda ordered the provisional suspension of some 80 of the law's 200 articles pending a ruling

Raúl Ojedajudge
With the issuance of this preliminary injunction, both parties (the state and the CGT) will strive to reach a final decision as soon as possible, while keeping the peace,
Hector Daerunion leader
We welcome the fact that the National Labor Court has placed a constitutional limit on the Labor Reform. The issuance of this preliminary injunction allows analysis of the substantive law while preserving social peace,

Trump threatens to destroy Kharg Island, Iran's oil export hub

US President Donald Trump threatened Monday to destroy Iran's oil export hub of Kharg Island, oil wells, power plants and other civilian infrastructure if it does not soon agree to a deal to end the war

Donald Trumppresident
If for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business,' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!),
It's an idea that I know he has,
He wants to see a deal over the next 10 days,
Donald Trumppresident
But if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately 'Open for Business' we will conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched,
Donald TrumpuS President
Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched,

After a foiled bombing outside Bank of America in Paris, five arrests and questions over Iran's role

Five people have been placed in police custody since the arrest by a Pari police patrol of two suspects who were about to detonate an improvised explosive device near the Bank of America offices in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, early in the morning of Saturday, March 28

French AI firm Mistral borrows $830 million to build Paris data center

The data center at Bruyères-le-Chatel, southwest of Paris, is "set to become operational in Q2 2026," hosting almost 14,000 of AI chip behemoth Nvidia's GB300 graphics processing units

G7 leaders call for stabilizing energy markets amid Middle East war

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, and Tehran has hit back by targeting crude-exporting countries in the region and halting most shipments through the Gulf

We stand ready to take all necessary measures ​in close coordination with our partners, including to preserve the stability and security of the energy market,
Roland Lescurefrench Finance Minister
This is a crisis that affects all of us and that will result in costs for the nation,
Roland Lescurefrench Finance Minister
What's happening now in the Gulf is having energy consequences, economic consequences, financial market consequences and potentially inflation consequences,