France

Grapevine, June 12, 2026: Israel is losing brownie points

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

MAOZ INON
ILLUSTRATIVE: A woman walks near the State of Palestine Pavilion at the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, last in December 2023.

Israeli, Palestinian civil society meet in France as two-state solution dims

A voter casts their ballot at a polling station during early voting for the mayoral election in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., October 25, 2025.

Israeli firm BlackCore also suspected of meddling in NYC, Scotland votes, French official says

 People’s Peace Summit in Jerusalem, May, 2025.

The Paris Conference, the peace industry, and the illusion of representation - opinion


French cement maker Lafarge found guilty of financing jihadists in Syria

Judges determined that Lafarge, in total, paid $6.53 million to jihadist groups, including Islamic State (IS) and the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front between 2013 and September 2014.

The logo of the French building materials maker Lafarge at Lafarge concrete production plant in Pantin near Paris, France, November 3, 2025.

France, Spain's anti-Israel bias push Israel-Europe relations to new heights

Relations with Europe began deteriorating when the current Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in as Israel’s most far-right coalition ever.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Jerusalem, October 24, 2023; file photo.

El Al to add nine additional destinations, several int'l airlines to resume Ben-Gurion flights

El Al will resume flights to Boston, London Luton, Tivat (Montenegro), Krakow (Poland), Marseille (France), Sofia (Bulgaria), Paphos (Cyprus), Rhodes, and Thessaloniki (both in Greece).

An El Al Boeing 737 takes off from Ben-Gurion Airport, March 5, 2026.

Macron undermined Israel and defied the US, then asked for a Lebanon role - comment

France failed at the one job that it had: to earn the trust of the party it claims to want to help reach peace. And now it can't get the role of brokering peace talks.

French President Emmanuel Macron visits Lebanon, September 2020

Israel excludes France from talks with Lebanon, sources tell 'Post'

An Israeli official said that “France’s conduct over the past year...has led Israel to view France as an unfair mediator.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun attend a meeting with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa joining remotely, during a visit at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, March 28, 2025.

French authorities flag cadmium risk in pasta, bread, potatoes

New analyses say cadmium exposure through diet in France are three to four times higher than in most other European countries.

Paris is a city worth understanding, not just seeing.

Israel's pounding of Lebanon is 'deeply damaging', UK foreign minister says

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also condemned Israel's "massive strikes" on Lebanon, stating that the country must be included in a ceasefire agreement.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at the UN Security Council, New York, February 18, 2026; illustrative.

French nationals released from Iran, returning to France, Macron says

Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris were initially released from Iran's Evin Prison in November 2025 after having been imprisoned there for over three years.

A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, on the day of support rallies to mark their three-year detention and to demand their release, in front of the National Assembly in Paris, France, May 7, 2025.

Palestinian-French lawmaker arrested after praising 1972 bomber of Ben Gurion Airport

Hassan, who was elected to the European Parliament in 2024 ⁠for the French far-left party France Unbowed, has previously said that “Hamas’s actions are legitimate from an international perspective.”

French MEP Rima Hassan is seen talking during a press conference on April 03, 2026 in Paris, France. Rima Hassan, French MEP for the far-left wing party La France Insoumise, was taken into police custody on April 3rd 2026 on "advocating terrorism" charges for a post on X on March 26 2026

Lost mosaic shows first visual depiction of women fighting beasts in Roman arenas - study

The mosaic, recovered in 1860s Reims, France and dated to the third century CE, shows about 35 different gladiatorial and hunting scenes, each surrounded by diamond or square-shaped decorations.

(a) Section of the mosaic showing the leopard and the woman. (b) Section of the mosaic showing the venator with the pole, the leopard, and the woman.