IndianRepublic.in

The French Ministry of Culture has officially confirmed the details of the brazen daylight robbery that took place this Sunday at the Louvre Museum, calling it an act of high-level cultural vandalism.  Image Source: Pop Crave The heist — now being investigated as part of an organised criminal conspiracy — has stunned global observers, as thieves made off with some of France’s most historically significant jewels in under four minutes. President Emmanuel Macron condemned the robbery in strong terms, calling it “an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our History.”  He vowed that “everything is being done, everywhere” to track down the perpetrators and recover the stolen artifacts. The museum, home to over 35,000 artworks including the Mona Lisa, was forced to shut its doors for the day after three to four masked intruders used a mechanical basket lift to gain access to the Apollo Gallery — a heavily secured wing that houses the Crown Jewels of France.  Usin...

In an audacious daylight heist that unfolded like a scene from a Hollywood thriller, masked thieves stormed the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday morning, escaping with priceless crown jewels in under seven minutes. The robbery, which has sent shockwaves across the world, took place in the heart of one of the world’s most secure cultural institutions. Image Source: New York Post French President Emmanuel Macron called the act an “attack on a heritage that we cherish,” vowing swift justice and the full might of the state in recovering the stolen artifacts.  Le vol commis au Louvre est une atteinte à un patrimoine que nous chérissons car il est notre Histoire. Nous retrouverons les œuvres et les auteurs seront traduits en justice. Tout est mis en œuvre, partout, pour y arriver, sous la conduite du parquet de Paris.… — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 19, 2025 “We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, ...

In a major security breach at one of the world’s most closely guarded cultural institutions, masked thieves reportedly broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris early Sunday morning, making off with nine valuable items of jewellery from the museum’s famed Apollo Gallery -- home to the remnants of France’s historic crown jewels. Value of the stolen jewels has not yet been assessed. Image Source: BPI News French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed the robbery on social media, stating that there were “no injuries to report” and that an official investigation was now underway.  Dati said she was on site “alongside the museum teams and the police” as security forces sealed off the area. Le vol commis au Louvre est une atteinte à un patrimoine que nous chérissons car il est notre Histoire. Nous retrouverons les œuvres et les auteurs seront traduits en justice. Tout est mis en œuvre, partout, pour y arriver, sous la conduite du parquet de Paris.… — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) Octo...

India and France convened the second meeting of the Special Task Force on Civil Nuclear Energy in New Delhi on September 22, 2025, reaffirming their strategic intent to advance cooperation in nuclear technology and related emerging sectors.  The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Anne-Marie Descôtes, Secretary-General of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Both sides reviewed developments over the past year, assessing progress made through multiple consultations and technical engagements.  A key focus of the discussions was the continued collaboration on Small and Advanced Modular Reactors, in line with the Declaration of Intent signed between the two countries in February 2025.  The officials reiterated the importance of these technologies in supporting clean energy goals and agreed to maintain close coordination on technical and regulatory frameworks. In addition to civil nuclear cooperation, the Foreign Secretary and the Secr...

India and France have agreed to intensify counter-terror cooperation with a sharper focus on cross-border terrorism, radicalisation, and emerging threats from terror-linked technology misuse.  The decision was taken at the 17th meeting of the India–France Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism , held in Paris on 11 September. 17th India–France Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism via @serecharlet The Indian delegation was led by K.D. Dewal, Joint Secretary (Counter-Terrorism), Ministry of External Affairs. France was represented by its Counter-Terrorism Ambassador, Olivier Caron.  The meeting came less than five months after the 22 April attack in Pahalgam , Jammu and Kashmir, which both sides unequivocally condemned . In a detailed threat assessment, both countries discussed state-sponsored terrorism, with India flagging persistent cross-border risks.  There was also a shared concern over regional and global threats, including militant activity in the Middle East ...

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the deployment of three Rafale fighter jets to Poland “to contribute to the protection of Polish airspace and the Eastern Flank of Europe alongside our NATO allies,” less than 48 hours after Warsaw triggered consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. France Deploys Rafales to Poland. File Photo French Presiden Macron Macron said on X that he had committed to the move in talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and also discussed it with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.  “The security of the European continent is our absolute priority. We will not yield to Russia’s growing intimidations,” Macron declared. Suite aux incursions de drones russes en Pologne, j’ai décidé de mobiliser trois chasseurs Rafale pour contribuer à la protection de l’espace aérien polonais et du Flanc Est de l’Europe avec nos alliés de l’OTAN. Je m’y étais engagé hier auprès du Premier ministre polonais.… ...

French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu as the country’s new Prime Minister, less than 24 hours after François Bayrou was ousted in a no-confidence vote.  At 39, Lecornu becomes France’s youngest premier in recent decades and the fourth to take office in barely a year, underscoring the volatility of Macron’s second term. Image Source: ICI_Officiel Lecornu, a longtime Macron loyalist, was the architect of a massive defence spending plan through 2030 in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.  His immediate task is not military, but political: to negotiate a budget deal among France’s fractured parties while managing a debt load that has already pushed Paris into repeated standoffs with Brussels. Le Président de la République m'a confié la tâche de construire un Gouvernement avec une direction claire : la défense de notre indépendance et de notre puissance, le service des Français et la stabilité politique et institutionnelle pour l'unit...

Although widely anticipated, the collapse of Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government has intensified pressure on French President Emmanuel Macron, whose political gambit last year--calling snap elections--continues to paralyze his second term. Image Source: RT Following the government’s resounding defeat in a no-confidence vote on Monday, Macron now faces the urgent task of appointing a new prime minister capable of navigating a deeply fragmented National Assembly.  According to the Élysée Palace, Macron will meet Bayrou on Tuesday to formally accept his resignation and is expected to name a successor “in a matter of days.” The political deadlock traces back to Macron’s high-stakes decision in June 2024 to dissolve parliament and call early legislative elections--a move that backfired when the results produced a hung parliament with no clear governing majority.  Since then, successive prime ministers have struggled to command confidence in the legislature, with Bayrou’s d...

France has been thrown into fresh political turmoil following the collapse of Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government, which lost a key vote of confidence in the National Assembly late Monday. The motion failed by a wide margin--364 votes to 194--forcing Bayrou to tender his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron. Image Source: Valen10Francois The defeat marks the latest episode in a period of persistent instability for the Macron administration. Once Bayrou formally submits his resignation, Macron will be tasked with naming a new head of government--his fifth prime minister in under two years--highlighting the mounting challenges Macron faces in steering his second term. Bayrou’s downfall followed his decision to tie his government’s survival to an emergency debate over France’s growing national debt, which currently stands at €3.4 trillion.  In recent months, Bayrou repeatedly described the debt burden as an “existential threat” to the republic, urging fiscal discipline an...

French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation on Saturday following the Paris summit of the "Coalition of the Willing" -- a diplomatic initiative aimed at securing international commitments for post-war security guarantees to Ukraine. Image Source: PM NaMo Macron said he briefed Modi on the outcomes of discussions held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other participating nations during the summit, which focused on coordinated support for Ukraine and pathways toward a ceasefire. “I presented the result of the work we conducted with President Zelensky and our partners,” Macron said in a post on social media platform X.  “India and France share the same will for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” he added, affirming that both countries would continue to work together “to chart the path to peace.” Je viens de m’entretenir avec le Premier ministre @NarendraModi . Je lui ai présenté le résultat des trava...

Russia has publicly stated its position again, that any future peace settlement in Ukraine must include formal recognition of the territorial changes resulting from the taking over of Crimea and four other Ukrainian regions.  Addressing a plenary session of the UN General Assembly , Russia’s Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya said that ignoring these "new territorial realities" would render any agreement unsustainable.  File Photo Source: Nick Sortor “For peace to be truly durable, all interested parties must acknowledge the new territorial realities that emerged after Crimea and four regions joined Russia. This acknowledgment is essential,” Nebenzya told the Assembly in New York. The remarks come as Western allies, led by France, confirmed the formation of a 26-nation “Coalition of the Willing”, which plans to deploy military contingents to Ukraine in a support role immediately following a ceasefire or peace agreement. Coalition Formed to Guarantee Ukraine’s Post-Wa...

France has formally summoned United States Ambassador Charles Kushner over what it described as “unacceptable” accusations made in an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron. The letter, published on Sunday in The Wall Street Journal , accused France of not doing enough to curb antisemitic violence and criticised its moves toward recognising a Palestinian state. Image Source: French President Macron The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs announced that Ambassador Kushner had been called in for a meeting on Monday, underscoring what it described as a breach of diplomatic protocol. In its statement, the ministry stated that Kushner’s letter violated the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, a cornerstone of international diplomatic law.  It also said the remarks undermined the trust and quality expected in the transatlantic alliance between France and the United States. Kushner, a real estate developer and father of Jared Kushner--former senior advis...

France has stated it cannot intervene in the planned destruction of nearly $9.7 million worth of contraceptives originally procured by USAID for distribution in some of the world’s poorest countries.  The stockpile, including long-acting birth control implants and IUDs, remains unexpired and was reportedly set to be incinerated by a private waste management company under a contract with the U.S. government. The products had been stored in Geel, Belgium, and began leaving the warehouse in recent days, according to French women’s rights groups. Image Source: WKNOFM on X The Biden-era aid was halted under the current U.S. administration, which has reinstated anti-abortion foreign aid restrictions. Offers from global health organizations to buy and distribute the contraceptives at no cost to the U.S. were reportedly rejected.  France’s health ministry said there was no legal basis for its agencies to seize or repurpose the products, as the contraceptives are not considered therape...