Social media

French plan to ban phones and social media for kids: How can it work?

President Macron says he wants to combat ‘social media addiction’ and ‘online hate’

Girl, 11, decorates tombstones in France with unsold flowers

The bright idea spread quickly on social media

VIDEO: wolf runs on ski slope next to skier in French Alps

The animal came within a few metres of a man going down the piste

news

French people are having much less sex, new poll suggests

There is an increasingly marked disinterest, it claims, citing time spent on screens and less of a feeling of ‘marital duty’ among reasons

Interesting social media accounts for French learners in 2024

Social media is a great place to turn for some short sharp language practice

What is behind the craze for nonsense made-up words in French?

Quoicoubeh, la grint: two made-up words being picked up by young people across France

Facebook users duped over data, says French consumer association

It has now joined a Europe-wide investigation into Meta's practices

French rugby assault case puts spotlight on trial by social media

Online platforms should protect the presumption of innocence of anyone appealing a conviction, says French lawyer

Five social media accounts to follow to improve your French

TikTok and Instagram are fantastic free learning resources

French MPs back social media age restrictions for teenagers

The bill is aimed at protecting children from harmful online content not intended for their age group

Public in France asked for feedback on online influencers

The government is looking to implement a code of conduct after numerous controversies. We speak to two companies that work with influencers

France’s Catholic ‘influencers’ find new audience online

As church attendance falls in France, we look at how French priests are finding new audiences on social media

France issues warning over using diabetes medication to lose weight

It follows a TikTok trend promoting two antidiabetic drugs for weight loss

‘Stupidity and provocation are trendier than well-articulated thought’

French physicist and philosopher Etienne Klein talks to us about his infamous ‘chorizo’ star tweet, post-truth and if technology is dangerous for democracy

Brigitte Macron to launch legal action over transphobic rumour

A now trending Twitter hashtag claims that Mrs Macron is a trans woman who was born Jean-Michel Trogneux

French train driver's moving message to woman he saved

"You have another chance to start over and hope for a better life," he urges suicidal passenger

Town help homeless French man and daughter to reunite

The homeless man and his long-lost daughter were reunited after an online appeal set up by two friends in Gironde

Social media polices the police in France - as it should

'Terrifying deaths at the hands of the forces of law and order have happened in isolated cells, but also in full public view', writes Nabila Ramdani

French gendarmes use humour online to deliver message

Officers use light-hearted approach on social media to hammer home important safety messages

Interior minister shocked by global food in French stores

Gérald Darmanin has controversially said he believes international food aisles in supermarkets encourage separatism in France

Found! French family of World War Two mystery Bible owner

The French family of the owner of a lost Bible that was found by an English soldier on the battlefields of World War Two has been traced via social media.

French café refuses entry to disabled guide dog owner

Café owners in France refused entry to a woman who uses a wheelchair, on the grounds that her assistance dog was not allowed inside. The incident was captured on video.

Covid-19: French charity cares for pets of key staff

A charity in southern France is calling for volunteers to look after the pets of healthcare staff, frontline workers, and hospitalised patients during the Covid-19 crisis.

How to stop the spread of false Covid-19 claims

'Fake news', half-truths and rumours about coronavirus are being spread on social media

Why France has a new health minister

France’s former health minister Agnès Buzyn has been replaced by MP and doctor Olivier Véran, after Ms Buzyn joined the race for Paris mayor in the wake of the Benjamin Griveaux scandal.

Paris museum welcomes ‘Instagram artist in residence’

The Musée d’Orsay in Paris is to welcome a French “artist in residence” on its Instagram social media account, who will each week highlight one of the museum’s great artists as if they were still alive today.

France warned over ‘€50 Auchan voucher’ online scam

The French public has been warned to be alert to a social media scam appearing to offer €50 “money off” or “reduction” vouchers for major supermarket group Auchan.

French fisc to use social media

Part of the 2020 Finance Law which is being finalised authorises tax officials to do mass collections of social media and online sales site data so computers can analyse it to better target controls

Tour de France 2020 route includes ‘crazy’ new summit

The route of the Tour de France 2020 has been officially revealed today (Tuesday October 15), and is set to include the first “crazy gradient” summit to the Méribel station (Savoie) in almost 50 years.

French NGOs demand stop to ‘out of control’ 5G network

A group of French NGOs is calling for a moratorium on the rolling out of new super-fast mobile phone cellular network 5G in France, saying it could cause “out of control” consequences for society.

Rouen offered rooms across France after toxic fire

People across France have been offering their spare bedrooms to Rouen residents seeking to leave the Normandy town after the recent Lubrizol chemical fire sent toxic clouds of black smoke into the air.

French fire brigade completes epic ‘Tetris’ challenge

A French fire station has become the latest to take part in the “Tetris challenge” spreading across social media - using the entire contents of a fire engine, plus crew.

Seeing a therapist shows ‘courage’ say French public

Two thirds of French people say that going to see a therapist or psychologist is “proof of courage”, and 42% of French people aged 18 to 24 have already had therapy, a new poll on mental health has found.

Group calls for “1,000 village cafés” to revive France

A social and environmental enterprise is calling on 32,000 communes across France to create or re-open 1,000 rural “village cafés”, in a bid to revive the sense of community in small towns.

French rail firm SNCF criticised for platform policy

French rail firm SNCF has been criticised after users condemned its new policy of allowing only ticket holders to access platforms, meaning friends and family can no longer help passengers.

Trouble for Air Force One snappers in France

A prefectoral decree means it is illegal to take or share pictures of aircraft on airport runways in one region

France and Facebook unite to curb hate speech

France is working closely with Facebook to crack down on hate content on the internet.

Elderly man finds 'mystery woman' from Paris bus

An 86-year-old man who met a mystery elderly woman on a Paris bus, but “fell under her charm” and forgot to ask for her details, has successfully found her again.

Why Brazilians are saying 'sorry' to Mrs Macron

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has now deleted Facebook comments after widespread criticism on social media

President Macron sums up key G7 issues as summit ends

President Emmanuel Macron has wrapped up the G7 summit in Biarritz, on topics including the “GAFA” digital tax, Amazon fires, Brexit, tensions between Donald Trump and China, and nuclear power in Iran.

French climate change activists blockade McDonald’s

Young climate change activists have blockaded a McDonald’s restaurant in the city of Bordeaux (Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine), with a banner asking: “Why eat now, what will kill us tomorrow?”.

France responds to Trump threat on French wine tax

France has responded to an apparent threat by US President Donald Trump to impose extra taxes on French wine imports as a “reciprocal action” to France's taxation of global digital giants.

French mayor hits back at ‘bee pollen’ complaints

A French mayor is the latest to become exasperated over complaints by new residents to the countryside, after receiving reports of “too much bee pollen”.

French social media alerted to Thermomix prize scam

French users of the social network Facebook are being warned over the spread of an online scam game that falsely promises players a “chance to win” a "free", high-end Thermomix kitchen mixer.

French culture supports gilets jaunes as numbers drop

More than 1,400 actors and other cultural figures across France - including Juliette Binoche - have condemned the crackdown on the gilets jaunes , even as protest numbers dwindled this weekend.

Gloves off! World Naked Gardening Day is tomorrow

Tomorrow (Saturday May 4) is World Naked Gardening Day, which takes place each year on the first Saturday in May, and invites gardeners to garden nude, in a move to appreciate their own bodies.

Web game with €1.5m French property prize is legal

Lawyers acting for the property's owners tell Connexion the €13-to-enter web-based competition to win a large property in southwest France is above board

French couple sell €1.5m property via €13 lottery game

A €1.5 million, 450m2 gîte property with a pool is being sold in Périgord (Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine) via an online lottery game that costs just €13 to enter, and which is still open to entries.

Cancel Brexit petition passes 3million signatures

UPDATE: Petition to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit has gathered more than 3million signatures

President Macron ‘€2,000 bottle of wine’ post debunked

Claims that French President Emmanuel Macron was “drinking a €2,000 bottle of wine while Paris was burning” have been debunked, after a Facebook post and photo on the issue went viral.

Gilets jaunes: Movement pledges ‘big month’ of action

Fewer people came out across France for this Saturday’s Acte 16 gilets jaunes protests, in the same week as some movement leaders have called for a “big month” of action in March.

French firm Decathlon pulls running hijab after uproar

French sports giant Decathlon has removed its “running hijab” from shelves in France after receiving hundreds of complaints, comments, and racist messages on the issue.

Trial postponed for French boxing champ who hit police

Christophe Dettinger, the former professional boxer who attacked police officers during the most recent gilets jaunes protests in Paris, is on remand pending his postponed trial, now set for February 13.

French director controversy over ‘women aged 50’ quip

French director and writer Yann Moix has caused controversy after saying he “could not love a 50-year-old woman” and “only goes out with Asian women”.

Gilets jaunes: Women demand peace amid police violence

Hundreds of female gilets jaunes marched to champion the power of peaceful protest this weekend, amid news of continuing police violence, and a professional boxer accused of assaulting a police officer.

Cut out meat and fish once a week, say French stars

Hundreds of high-profile French personalities - including Juliette Binoche - have called on the public to cut out fish and meat from their diet for at least one day a week in 2019.

‘Stylos rouges’ teacher movement grows across France

France has seen protests from " gilets jaunes " and " gyros bleus ", but now a new movement of school teachers and educators, dubbed the " stylos rouges (red pens)", is gathering pace online.

Macron responds to fuel petition with 1.16m names

French President Emmanuel Macron has responded directly to a now-famous gilets jaunes petition that has gathered over 1.16 million signatures against the rising price of fuel, saying “you are right”.

Social media is the new force in politics

The gilets jaunes protests have been organised through Facebook and commentators question how healthy this is.

French schoolboy pianist given piano after viral video

A 14-year-old French piano prodigy from a deprived area of Marseille has been gifted a free piano after a video of him playing in public was posted online.

France asks Trump not to interfere after climate tweet

France has requested that US President Donald Trump “not interfere” with national politics, after his repeated controversial statements on the Gilets Jaunes protests and the Paris Agreement on climate.

Gilets Jaunes: Macron to make official statement today

French President Emmanuel Macron is to make an official statement on the Gilets Jaunes protest situation at 20h today (Monday December 10).

Dordogne named one of world’s most exciting places

The Dordogne has been named as one of National Geographic’s top five world’s most exciting destinations to visit in 2019, due to its “picturesque and historic” attractions and culture.

‘Google Doodle’ honours French ‘Father of the Deaf’

This weekend search engine giant Google paid homage to Charles-Michel de l'Épée, a Frenchman known for founding the first school for deaf children in Paris, and leading the way in deaf educational history.

Phones locked away for comedy shows

Comedy fans will be forced to put mobile phones into a locking case if they go to a show by Florence Foresti, who wants to end the “pirating” of her routines on the internet

Trump hits out at Macron days after France visit

American president Donald Trump has hit out at France and President Macron, criticising the idea of a European Army, denouncing Mr Macron’s approval rating, and calling French wine tariffs “not fair”.

France first nation to sign new global ‘web contract’

France has become the first country to sign a new “web contract” developed by Tim Berners-Lee, which aims to make the internet accessible, safe, and reliable worldwide on all platforms.

French mayors call for €1 tax on online shop delivery

Mayors across France have called for a €1 tax on each parcel delivered to people’s doorsteps, with the money raised going to support local shops that are suffering due to the rise in online shopping.

Support for Paris bus driver who helped disabled user

A Parisian bus driver, who took the unusual decision to ask all of his passengers to leave the bus to allow a wheelchair user to get on, has said he did it because “no one was moving”.

One in three French people uses online TV streaming

One in three people in France - an estimated 13.6 million people over the age of six - uses an online streaming service to watch TV and films, as the sector grows across the country, a study has shown.

French government issues advice on online ransomware

The French government has issued guidelines for what to do if your computer or portable device becomes infected with a “ransomware” virus and asks you for money to unblock it.

Minister warns French Facebook users of security bug

The French secretary of state in charge of digital affairs has warned social media users to update their security settings and delete any private content, after a security breach was confirmed by Facebook.

Pet owners in France warned over missing pet scam

Pet owners in France are being warned of a scam involving a popular online network for finding lost animals.

Lonely French people could befriend virtual assistants

Virtual assistants could one day help the 25% of French people under 35 who feel lonely, and use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to become their friend, a new study has suggested.

Frenchwoman who lost memory launches identity search

A woman from Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) who lost her memory in February this year has launched an appeal to see if anyone knows who she is.