Latest from France

France needs climate deal push

Little more than six months are left before France is supposed to steer the world to the most demanding and complex deal on climate change ever attempted.

Unsold food to charity? Genius

France's national assembly has vowed a crusade on food waste in the country by passing a law that will stop supermarkets destroying unsold food.

Freedom of expression threat

Joanna Norris is chair of the New Zealand Media Freedom Committee and editor of the Press. The Canon Media Awards to be held on Friday celebrate media freedom.

France: Truffle hunting in Provence

Heidemarie Puetz visits a region where truffles have been cultivated since the early 19th century.

Troubled Guildford opts for home

Playing rugby in France was "too testing" for former All Black Zac Guildford, who is returning to NZ just halfway through a four-year contract.

French male MPs' sexist ways prompt protest from women journos

France's male politicians must end their sexist, lecherous ways, says a group of leading female political reporters.

War veterans awarded highest honour

Two New Zealand World War II veterans are set to be awarded France’s highest decoration in recognition of their war-time contributions.

Writers at war over Charlie Hebdo award

A bitter row has erupted among top writers over the decision to award a top prize for freedom to Charlie Hebdo.

Muslim schoolgirl told skirt is too long

France's controversial ban on religious clothing in state schools has come under attack after a 15-year-old Muslim girl was sent home twice for wearing a long black skirt.

Co-pilot suffered 'broken heart'

Media reports tell of a disturbed young man in relationship crisis as friends say he was happy in job.

French Alps crash: Evidence collected

Police investigating the Germanwings crash said they had made a 'significant discovery' at the home of pilot Andreas Lubitz.

Germanwings silent on locked-out pilot

Germanwings last night would not confirm reports one of the two pilots on its doomed flight was locked out of the cockpit before the plane crashed in the French Alps.

Alps crash: Pilot locked out of cockpit

One of the two pilots on the doomed Germanwings flight was apparently locked out of the cockpit before the plane crashed in the French Alps.

School stunned by scale of plane loss

All that could be heard outside Joseph-Konig Gymnasium high school was birdsong and the quiet sobbing of pupils who had lost friends and classmates.

Experts focus on Airbus' flight sensors

Aviation experts are focusing on the possibility that key sensors on the Airbus A320 could have iced up, causing the aircraft to descend rapidly.

French Alps plane crash: Repair before crash

Pilots and cabin crew refused to fly over concerns the crash may have been linked to a repair to the nose-wheel landing doors, according to an unconfirmed report in Spiegel magazine

Sound of plane 'like an avalanche'

As the search and rescue helicopters descended from the high peaks, hope faded even of finding intact bodies from the Barcelona-Dusseldorf flight.

Sarkozy supporters head off National Front

Confounding many expectations, mainstream conservatives prevented the far-right National Front from breaking through in local elections seen as a test of faith in France's battered political....