Putin and Macron discuss Iran, Ukraine in first phone call in nearly three years
02/07/2025
76 Ghanaians rescued from trafficking scam in Nigeria
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South Africa's coalition government in crisis
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Benin dreams of becoming cinema hub
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Gaza: Al Shifa hospital halts dialysis as offensive escalates
02/07/2025
US administration to pause arms supplies to Ukraine
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Macron urges Ukraine ceasefire in first Putin talks since 2022
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French PM Bayrou survives latest no-confidence motion
02/07/2025
Dalai Lama pledges he won't be the final leader of Tibetan Buddhism
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France protects vulnerable populations amid extreme heat
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Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
French Expression of the Day: Le Fisc
Why do I need to know le Fisc ? Because you might have heard it mentioned in slightly ominous tones. What does it mean? Le Fisc – pronounced luh fisk - is a term used to reference the French institution in charge of levying taxes. It's a shorter, more casual version of the phrase l'administration fiscale (the fiscal administration). Often, it refers specifically to the Direction générale des Finances publiques which is the French public finances administration. Though it may look like a shortened version of the feminine noun ' fiscalité ' (which refers to the set of laws related to the tax collection system in France), le Fisc is a masculine noun with a different definition that refers specifically to the government body doing the tax collecting. Advertisement The closest English synonyms to this expression might be 'the taxman' or 'tax authorities.' The term le Fisc comes from the Latin word 'Fiscus' which means 'basket' and by extension went on to be used interchangeably for 'treasure' as well. In ancient Rome, the name for the public treasury was 'fiscus,' which is the root of the French terms le Fisc and fiscalité . Often, you'll see this word used in newspapers or by politicians when referencing matters related to the national budget and taxation. Use it like this Le Fisc va récupérer €10 millions de plus cette année dans les piscines non déclarées. – The taxman will recover more than €10 million in taxes this year due to undeclared swimming pools. Le Fisc a pris connaissance du fait que l'acteur omettait de déclarer une partie importante de ses revenus en France. Il sera probablement condamné à une amende. – The tax authorities have become aware of how the actor was failing to declare significant portions of his income in France. He will likely be fined. Il va être contrôlé par le fisc. Quelle horreur ! - He's going to be audited by the tax man. The horror!
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
Pope Leo XIV signals continuity on fighting abuse with new head of child protection board
Pope Leo XIV signaled commitment to continuing the fight against clergy sexual abuse by appointing France's Bishop Thibault Verny to head the Vatican's child protection advisory commission on Saturday, July 5. Verny, 59, replaces American Cardinal Sean O'Malley , the retired archbishop of Boston. O'Malley was the founding president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, an advisory group Pope Francis established in 2014 to advise the church on the best practices to fight abuse and protect children. As the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis's 12-year pontificate, the commission initially lost influence and its crowning recommendation − the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests − went nowhere. After many years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can go to be heard and bishops can get advice on crafting guidelines to fight abuse. Verny, who is currently the bishop of Chambery, France, has been a member of the commission since 2022 and heads the child protection council of the bishops conference in France, where the church has been rocked by revelations of decades and abuse by priests and bishops. He was among commission members who met with Leo last month. The bishop has been responsible for doing an annual audit of the French church's centers for receiving victims, an initiative that was started after a devastating 2021 report into the French scandal estimated that 330,000 children in France had been sexually abused over the past 70 years by church personnel. Cardinal O'Malley praised the appointment, saying Verny has developed in-depth experience helping victims and working with law enforcement and civil authorities to ensure accountability "for the serious failures of the church in France." In a statement, O'Malley also praised Leo for continuing to consider the commission a priority. "The Holy Father's words and deeds in these early months of his pontificate assure the world that the Church will not grow complacent in her efforts to as best possible ensure the protection of children, vulnerable adults and all people in our communities," he said. Verny, for his part, praised O'Malley's leadership as courageous and having served as "a moral compass" for the church, a reference to O'Malley's occasional statements of outrage when even Francis bungled an abuse case. "I am committed, together with the members and personnel, to building on that legacy," Verny said in a statement. The American-born pope made the appointment the day before heading for a six-week vacation at the papal summer retreat South of Rome.
LeMonde
11 hours ago
- LeMonde
French writer jailed in Algeria won't appeal
French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal will not appeal his five-year prison sentence to Algeria's Supreme Court, sources close to the author said on Saturday, July 5, as Paris stepped up its calls for him to be pardoned. The 80-year-old dual national was sentenced to five years in March on charges related to undermining Algeria's territorial integrity over comments made to a French media outlet. "According to our information, he will not appeal to the Supreme Court," the president of the author's support committee, Noelle Lenoir, told broadcaster France Inter. "Moreover, given the state of the justice system in Algeria... he has no chance of having his offense reclassified on appeal," the former European affairs minister added. "This means that the sentence is final." French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said earlier this week he hoped Algeria would pardon the author, whose family has highlighted his treatment for prostate cancer. But Sansal was not on a list of thousands of people pardoned by Algeria's president on Friday, the eve of the country's independence day. 'Intolerable' Bayrou returned to the subject on Saturday. "Boualem Sansal has not been convicted for what he might have done but for opinions expressed," he told members of his party at a Paris meeting, the Parisien newspaper reported. "And that one of our compatriots, 80 years old and ill, is thus imprisoned is intolerable," he added. Lenoir said she remained hopeful. "We believe he will be released. It is impossible for Algeria to take responsibility for his death in prison," she said. A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists. The case against him arose after he told the far-right outlet Frontières that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period from 1830 to 1962. Algeria views that claim as a challenge to its sovereignty and one that aligns with longstanding Moroccan territorial assertions. Sansal was detained in November 2024 upon arrival at Algiers airport. On March 27, a court in the town of Dar El Beida sentenced him to a five-year prison term and fined him 500,000 Algerian dinars ($3,730). Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal said the case against him "makes no sense," as "the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience." The writer's conviction has further strained France-Algeria relations, already complicated by issues such as migration and France's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, an armed separatist movement.
