Following Moscow concert hall attack, Italian official said "surveliance and checks will be increased" ahead of the religious Easter holiday. Italy joined France on Monday in raising its security alert level following the  attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall for which an affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility. The decision was reached during a national security council meeting in Rome on Monday, bolstered security is planned for the various events this week ahead of the Christian Easter religious holiday this weekend. Pope Francis has a busy schedule of events in Rome and at the Vatican in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. "Both surveillance and checks will be increased, paying the most attention to the places of greatest aggregation and transit of people, as well as sensitive targets," Italy's Interior Ministry said in a statement. France had taken the same step on Sunday, saying it found the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (ISIS-K) claiming responsibility for the attack in Moscow plausible. President Emmanuel Macron said the group "also tried to commit several actions on our own soil."  The attackrenewed attention in Europe on the risk from the extremists as the continent gears up for big events such as the Paris Olympics and the European Championship in Germany. In Germany, Interior Ministry spokesperson Cornelius Funke said the threat from Islamic extremists "remains acute" but authorities' risk assessment hadn't changed so far as a result of the Moscow attack..  

French lawmakers are set to vote on a historic bill that would enshrine a woman's right to an abortion in the constitution. A joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles was set to decide on Monday on whether to give a woman's right to abortion a place in the French constitution. President Emmanuel Macron promised the measure in the wake of a rolling back of abortion rights by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Elysee Palace is proposing that Article 34 of the French constitution is amended to specify that "the law determines the conditions by which is exercised the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed." The National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, overwhelmingly approved making abortion a "guaranteed freedom" in the constitution. The country's upper house, the Senate, did the same last Wednesday. A congress of both houses is set to take place in Versailles, starting at 3:30 p.m. (1430 GMT/UTC), where it was expected that the measure would achieve the three-fifths supermajority needed for a constitutional change. The bill had faced initial resistance in the right-leaning Senate.

More than 700 workers from Airbus Atlantic in France suffered vomiting or diarrhea since the dinner event near the northwestern city of Nantes last week. France's ARS health agency has launched an investigation after hundreds of staff working for Airbus Atlantic fell ill in a mass food poisoning at a Christmas dinner. The agency said more than 700 people who attended the dinner event showed "clinical signs of vomiting or diarrhea."   ARS did not say what was on the menu at the dinner on December 14 at the company's offices in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near the northwestern city of Nantes. The workers fell sick over the next two days, according to the agency, but no one was hospitalized. According to local media, the workers were given a questionnaire to complete online to report their symptoms.   Some workers speculated on social media that the Rocamadour cheese, made from goat milk, may have been to blame. However, no official information on the cause was immediately provided. The company restaurant was busier than usual that day as staff wanted to enjoy the Christmas-themed meal, local media reported. Airbus Atlantic is a subsidiary of the European aerospace group Airbus and employs 15,000 people in five countries. The airplane maker employs 134,000 people worldwide.

The bill aimed at tightening immigration rules was passed without the need for far-right votes, despite major opposition. Lawmakers in the French parliament passed legislation on Tuesday that will bring in stricter controls on migration. President Emmanuel Macron had been facing a rebellion from within his party after the bill won support from the far-right National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen.   But in the end, it passed through the lower house with votes from Macron's centrist coalition and conservative lawmakers. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin — who had spearheaded the bill — expressed relief after a large majority voted in favor, meaning it no longer depended on the support from those far-right lawmakers.  The subject of immigration is a major political plank for the upcoming parliamentary elections. While the passing of the bill would have favored Macron, the support shown by Le Pen — who called the stricter bill "a great ideological victory" for the far right — can also improve her chances in the elections. What does the new immigration law entail? Ever since the bill was first submitted, it has seen various amendments toughening the immigration rules, with the left accusing the government of giving in to the pressure from the far right. To make the legislation more agreeable for the right, the government decided to weaken measures that would have allowed some immigrants residency permits. The government also agreed to extend the duration of stay in France for migrants to be eligible to access welfare benefits. With the new legislation, access to housing benefits will be also be delayed for unemployed non-EU migrants by five years.   In order to gain the support of the right, the government has also introduced migration quotas which will make it more difficult for immigrants' children to become French. While now it will be easier for migrants working in sectors that lack labour to get a residency permit, it will also be easier to expel illegal migrants.

At least 80 passenger flights to Tel Aviv canceled Airlines have canceled more than 80 flights to and from Tel Aviv following Hamas' incursion in Israeli territory. This amounts to roughly 14% of all flights scheduled for Saturday evening. German carrier Lufthansa canceled several flights between Frankfurt and Tel Aviv. American Airlines, Air France, Emirates, Ryanair, Italy's ITA, Spain's Iberia Express, Poland's LOT and Greece's Aegean Airlines also pulled flights. However, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Israel's second-largest international airport, located near the Red Sea city of Eilat. Meanwhile, the US' air regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), urged airlines and pilots to use caution when flying in Israeli airspace. The Israeli government previously issued a similar warning. Blinken speaks with regional power Egypt to de-escalate crisis US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss Hamas' surprise attack. "I spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry about the horrific attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel," he said. "We appreciate Egypt’s ongoing efforts and reiterate the urgent need to halt the Hamas attacks." Egypt, which borders the Gaza Strip, has mediated previous cease-fires between Israel and Palestinian militants. In June, Egypt helped broker a truce between Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group. Blinken also spoke with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan regarding the attacks on Israel. The two sides "called for coordinated efforts to achieve an immediate halt to the Hamas terrorists and other militants," according to a US State Department press release.  The Hamas attack on Israeli territory comes as the US attempts to broker a deal that would normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.  Berlin's Brandenburg Gate lit up in colors of Israeli flag Late on Saturday, Berlin's Brandenburg Gate lit up with the colors of the Israeli flag following a deadly attack by Hamas fighters. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted an image of the gate on the platform X, formally known as Twitter. "In solidarity with #Israel," the chancellor said in the post.   Meanwhile, Germany moved to reinforce security around Jewish temples, schools and monuments after the attack. "In Berlin, police protection has been immediately stepped up," Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the Bild newspaper. "The federal government and the regions are closely coordinating their actions." She said that German authorities were closely watching "potential supporters of Hamas in the Islamist sphere." Hamas is classified by Germany, the EU and the US as a terrorist organization. Berlin police posted photos on social media showing "people celebrating the attacks on Israel by passing out pastries" on the major street of Sonnenallee in the Neukölin district. In some cases, officers carried out identity checks and filed complaints, police said. Neukölln District Mayor Martin Hikel described the event "a horrible glorification of a terrible war," calling for a ban on "disgusting terrorist propaganda."

France will ban school pupils attending state-run facilities from wearing the abaya, a loose-fitting, full length dress some Muslim women wear. Education Minister Gabriel Attal, who was only promoted to his role earlier in the summer, made the announcement late on Sunday in an interview with French television channel TF1. "When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn't be able to identify the pupils' religion just by looking at them," he said. What prompted the move against the abaya? In 2004, a French law banned "the wearing of signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation" in schools. This applied to large crosses, Jewish kippas and Islamic headscarves. Nevertheless, abayas were somehow spared, until last November. The Education Ministry at the time issued a circular including the abaya in a group of items of clothing which could be banned should they be donned "in a manner as to openly display a religious affiliation." The circular also singled out bandanas and long skirts. The controversy surrounding the abaya intensified in 2020, when a radicalized Chechen Muslim beheaded a teacher. The teacher had shown students caricatures of Muslim prophet Mohammed. What has the reaction been? Head teachers' union leader Bruno Bobkiewicz welcomed the announcement. "The instructions were not clear, now they are and we welcome it," Bobkiewicz, general secretary of the NPDEN-UNSA, said. Eric Ciotto, head of the opposition right-wing Republicans party, also welcomed the news. "We called for the ban on abayas in our schools several times," he said. Others, such as left-wing opposition France Unbowed party member Clementine Autain, condemned it as a "policing of clothing." She argued that it was "unconstitutional" and against the founding principles of France's secular values. Autain accused the French government of harboring an "obsessive rejection" of the country's some 5 million Muslim population.

India announced a new multi-billion-dollar deal for French fighter jets on Thursday (13 July) as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris for a two-day trip in a sign of deepening trade and diplomatic ties to counter a rising China. Modi’s visit this week as a guest of honour during France’s national day celebrations comes as the two countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of their Indo-French strategic partnership, and they are set to present a roadmap for the next 25 years of bilateral cooperation. Modi has visited France four times since French President Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017, while Macron was honoured with a state visit to New Delhi in 2018. Governmental aides on both sides have pointed to positive relations and cooperation on climate change, space technology and nuclear power during their partnership. Bilateral trade had doubled in the last nine years, and Macron’s “thinking really matches ours”, Modi told French newspaper Les Echos before the visit. India and France “are naturally compatible,” and “we see France as one of our foremost global partners,” Modi said. “This closeness is not limited to just the leaders of two countries, it is, in fact, a reflection of the unwavering friendship between India and France,” Modi told an enthusiastic crowd of Indians living in France on Thursday evening. The visit also comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honour of a White House state dinner in Washington, a county he was once banned from visiting. Strategic Partnership The Indian government confirmed on Thursday it will buy 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets and 3 Scorpene-class military submarines from France’s Dassault and Naval Group, with the price and other terms still being worked out. New Delhi is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, and in 2015, Modi announced a deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets worth €4 billion at the time. On Friday, Paris and New Delhi are expected to announce new cooperation and investment projects in the transport, energy and space sectors, according to an Elysée source, without providing details on what companies would be involved. France’s rail company Alstom has previously sold trains to public transport networks in India, while French energy giant EDF has been negotiating the sale of six nuclear reactors to India for years. The visit and the fresh defence deals come as Paris intensifies political and commercial ties with India while bidding to draw the Asian powerhouse away from Russia, its top weapons supplier. New Delhi, which has long sought to balance its ties with Moscow and the West, has so far shied away from condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top buyer of discounted Russian oil. “A key goal for India has been to diversify its defence procurements to reduce reliance on Russia, and France has been the most important partner in that,” Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program of the German Marshall Fund (GMFUS), told EURACTIV. France, in turn, “has also invested a lot of political will and time in the India relationship, much more so than its European counterparts,” she added. Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a counterweight to China in Asia. “India is central to the French Indo-Pacific strategy and on questions of security, particularly maritime security in the Indian Ocean, combatting climate change, and providing sustainable infrastructure – India is a key Indo-Pacific partner for France,” Mohan said. France, for a long time, has been one of the few EU member states with significant naval forces in the region, but the rest of the EU has come under heightened pressure to step up after US President Joe Biden marked China as a leading global security threat. Over the past years, the EU has ramped up its strategy for raising its presence in the Indo-Pacific and countering China’s increasing influence in the region. “New Delhi and Paris also agree on their assessment of threats from China, particularly in the maritime domain,” Mohan said. “Overall, President Macron’s recent trip to Beijing did raise some concerns in New Delhi, but there is deep political trust and enough convergence on China-related challenges between India and Paris that this did not cause any major issues,” she told EURACTIV. Human rights Few observers, however, expect Macron to raise human rights concerns with Modi, although not publicly. On the eve of the visit, a resolution from the European Parliament on Thursday (10 July) served as a reminder of Modi’s controversial leadership style and Hindu nationalist agenda criticised at home and abroad. The resolution urged New Delhi to end violence in the country’s restive northeastern Manipur state and to protect minorities there. Clashes between the majority Meitei, mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe have left at least 120 people dead, 50,000 displaced, and over 1,700 houses destroyed, the parliament said. It criticised the “nationalistic rhetoric” of the local state government, run by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Since his first crushing electoral victory in 2014, he has also been denounced by rights groups for increased discrimination and violence towards the country’s Muslims, as well as stifling independent media. During Bastille Day in France, Modi’s role was “an affront not only to India’s minority communities, journalists and human rights defenders but also to India as a democracy,” the text’s chief negotiator, Pierre Larrouturou, said. However, A protest against Modi drew only a few dozen people in central Paris on Thursday, according to French media.

Indian Tri services contingent held practice sessions in France for the Bastille Day parade, which is scheduled to be held on July 14.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this year's parade as the guest of honour at the invitation of France's President Emmanuel Macron.   Taking to Twitter, the Indian Air Force informed of the practice session being carried out by the IAF contingent, which will participate in France's National Day next week.  "The Warriors in Blue, All set to Sizzle on the Avenues des Champs Elysee. #BastilleDay #SwingIt,"  the Indian Air Force tweeted. An Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent of four Rafale fighter jets, and two C-17 Globemasters, which are slated to participate in the Bastille Day flypast over the Champs Elysees in Paris on July 14, landed at the Evreux-Fauville Air Base in France on Friday.  Officials said that the IAF flying contingent of 4 Rafale aircraft and 2 C-17 Globemasters were welcomed by the French Air and Space Force (FASF).  The officials also stated that the Rafales were refuelled by IAF's IL-78 tankers while flying to France, enabling the Rafales to finish the direct voyage from India to France.  India and France have a long history of cooperation, particularly in air power, as seen by the flypast and march of the IAF air warriors on Bastille Day.  "The flypast and marching by the IAF air warriors on Bastille Day follow a long association that the two nations share, especially in the field of air power," said an official statement by the Ministry of Defence. Source: The Times of India 

PM Modi will sign acquisition of 26 Rafale-Marine fighters for INS Vikrant and 3 additional Kalveri class submarines to be built at Mumbai's Mazagon Dockyards. The Indian Navy will add more teeth to its already formidable arsenal in the coming years with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to sign a deal for acquisition of 26 Rafale-Marine fighters for the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier and a repeat order for building three more Scorpene (Kalveri) class submarines at Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) through the “Make in India” route during his two-day visit to France this week, people familiar with the matter said. The Indian Navy will add more teeth to its already formidable arsenal in the coming years with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to sign a deal for acquisition of 26 Rafale-Marine fighters for the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier and a repeat order for building three more Scorpene (Kalveri) class submarines at Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) through the “Make in India” route during his two-day visit to France this week, people familiar with the matter said. Source: Hindustan Times

An Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent that arrived in France on Friday has been engaged in a practice session for the upcoming Bastille Day celebrations scheduled to be held in the European country on July 14. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Air Force informed of the practice session being carried out by the IAF contingent, which will participate in France's National Day next week. "The Warriors in Blue, All set to Sizzle on the Avenues des Champs Elysee. #BastilleDay #SwingIt," the Indian Air Force tweeted. An Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent of four Rafale fighter jets, and two C-17 Globemasters, which are slated to participate in the Bastille Day flypast over the Champs Elysees in Paris on July 14, landed at the Evreux-Fauville Air Base in France on Friday. Officials said that the IAF flying contingent of 4 Rafale aircraft and 2 C-17 Globemasters were welcomed by the French Air and Space Force (FASF). The officials also stated that the Rafales were refuelled by IAF's IL-78 tankers while flying to France, enabling the Rafales to finish the direct voyage from India to France. India and France have a long history of cooperation, particularly in air power, as seen by the flypast and march of the IAF air warriors on Bastille Day. "The flypast and marching by the IAF air warriors on Bastille Day follow a long association that the two nations share, especially in the field of air power," said an official statement by the Ministry of Defence. "Many Indians like Welinkar, Shivdev Singh, HC Dewan and Jumbo Majumdar fought over the skies of France during the two World Wars. Some, like Jumbo Majumdar, were also decorated for their gallant action, over the Falaise Gap, during the terminal phase of World War II," added the official statement. The statement also said, "The Indian Air Force has operated multiple French aircraft starting with the Ouragan." This was followed by fighter aircraft like Breguet Alize, Mystere IVA, SEPECAT Jaguar, Mirage 2000 and now, the Rafale. Helicopters like the Alouette-III & Lama continue to render yeoman services to India, especially in the remote Himalayan areas, it added. Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France on its National Day, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain recently expressed the desire to have Indian troops participate in the parade and Indian Rafales in the sky to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two nations. Speaking to ANI, Ambassador of France to India, Emmanuel Lenain said, "Well, it's going to be a very important visit. India is the guest of honour on our Bastille Day...our National Day. Every year we have a guest of honour but this year, it is very special that's the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership between France and India and we wanted to have Indian troops in the parade and also Indian Rafales in the sky." The visit of PM Modi is expected to set new goals for the strategic, cultural, scientific, academic and economic cooperation between the two nations. Talking about the key takeaways from PM Modi's upcoming visit to France, he said, "There will be a lot. Each time, there are important meetings at that level.  There will be some new momentum for cooperation. That being the 25th anniversary this year, we are going to draft a roadmap to open for new cooperation in the future, especially in the field of technology, the fight against climate change, global issues, and people-to-people exchanges..there would be a lot of news." The envoy also commended the camaraderie between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and emphasized the intention to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries. India and France are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership this year. At the invitation of France President Emmanuel Macron, PM Modi will be the Guest of Honour on France's National Day on July 14. The French traditional military parade is held in Paris during Bastille Day on July 14. PM Modi's visit will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the "strategic partnership" between France and India.