02.08.2026 08:00

Solar eclipse on August 12: France expects exceptionally high obscuration

Paris - 02.08.2026: On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, a partial solar eclipse will be visible across France. The Moon will pass in front of the solar disk. Although the zone of totality will not reach mainland France, it will pass over northern Spain. The Paris Observatory therefore expects an extraordinary celestial event in France as well, one that requires special preparation because of the Sun's low altitude.Depending on the location, the visible obscuration is expected to begin at around 7:15 p.m. French summer time. The maximum will be reached at approximately 8:15 p.m.; exact times may vary by up to ten minutes within the country. The Moon will then gradually uncover the Sun again. In large parts of France, however, it will set before the partial eclipse has completely ended.The degree of coverage differs considerably. Near the Spanish border, the Moon may cover up to 99 percent of the visible solar surface. In northern France, according to the observatory, coverage will still reach around 90 percent. The figure refers to the covered portion of the solar disk; it does not mean the surroundings will become completely dark.Locations with an unobstructed view to the west are suitable, as the Sun will already be low above the horizon during the event. In the west, the course of the eclipse is more likely to be visible until the end. Further east, the Sun may already be so low that the peak is no...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 07:45

After the fires: Care home residents return in Gironde

Bordeaux - 02.08.2026: After days in temporary quarters, numerous residents of medical-social facilities in Gironde are beginning their return. From August 3, they are to be gradually brought back to their accommodations. Around 40 facilities had been evacuated because of the wildfires. According to Franceinfo, around 15,000 people were still outside their homes on Sunday; in total, around 224,000 people had been temporarily moved to safety in connection with the fires.For residents of care homes, facilities for people with disabilities and other supported living arrangements, the evacuation was a particular burden. Many had to leave their familiar surroundings at short notice. In addition to ensuring...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 07:31

5,000 Doctors Call for Tougher Penalties for Illegal Cosmetic Injections

Paris - 02 August 2026: In an urgent appeal, 5,000 doctors have turned to Health Minister Stéphanie Rist. Following the deaths of two young women who underwent illegal aesthetic injections in recent months, they are demanding stricter sanctions and more effective oversight. The medical professionals warn of offers promoted via social networks that portray cosmetic procedures as a straightforward service.The issue primarily concerns injections of hyaluronic acid or botulinum toxin administered by people without the required medical qualifications. The signatories criticize the fact that such treatments remain easily accessible despite the known dangers. The published appeal does not provide details of the two deaths or...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 07:15

Resorts supply water to fruit growers in the Pyrenees

Argelès-sur-Mer - 02.08.2026: In the Pyrénées-Orientales, some of the treated wastewater from Mediterranean coastal resorts is now flowing to vineyards and orchards. The Albères-Côte Vermeille-Illibéris intermunicipal authority has the water from the Argelès-sur-Mer wastewater treatment plant further processed and distributed to agricultural businesses through a dedicated pipeline network. The project has been operating since April 2026 and is proving particularly useful during the peak summer season.According to the intermunicipal authority, the supply area covers 15 municipalities with around 56,000 permanent residents. In summer, the population can rise to as many as 200,000 due to holidaymakers. Tourism also increases the volume of wastewater. After treatment, part of it is now no longer discharged into the environment but made available for irrigation.The facility was officially inaugurated on 20 June 2026. According to the participating company Veolia, it is currently France's largest facility for the agricultural reuse of treated wastewater. Around 60 businesses can obtain water from the system. It is intended primarily for vineyards and apricot orchards, which are of considerable economic...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 06:16

“Des Fleurs pour Tokyo”: A Family Amid the Rubble of Memory

Paris - 02/08/2026: Three days before its French theatrical release, Nour Films brings Yuiga Danzuka's debut, "Des Fleurs pour Tokyo", to cinemas. The 115-minute Japanese film premiered at the 2025 Quinzaine des Cinéastes in Cannes, where it competed for the Caméra d'Or, the award for first feature films. It now reaches French audiences as a restrained family drama linking private grief to the transformations of the Japanese capital.At its center is Ren, who delivers Phalaenopsis orchids in Shibuya, the seemingly flawless flowers often given as gifts for festive occasions in Japan. Behind his quiet work lies a harsh personal history: as a child, Ren lost his mother to suicide. He has had little contact with his father Hajime, a successful landscape architect, for a long time.A delivery takes Ren, of all places, to a gallery where Hajime is exhibiting. Yet the chance reunion does not set off a melodramatic reconciliation. Instead, Danzuka follows the son, the father and Ren's sister Emi as they move along the lines of their old...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 05:16

Hamas declares willingness to disarm – details of Gaza plan remain open

Gaza City - 02.08.2026: Following the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas said it had agreed to a plan for gradual disarmament in the Gaza Strip. On July 30, Trump spoke of a historic agreement and described it as an important step in his Gaza peace plan. However, no independent information has yet been provided on the start, scope or oversight of the weapons handover.According to the plan that has become known, Hamas and other armed groups are to gradually relinquish their military structures. Civil administrative and security responsibilities in the Gaza Strip are to be transferred to a new Palestinian technocratic administration. This...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 05:02

Dominique Delport announces Girondins Bordeaux presidency

Bordeaux - 01/08/2026: Dominique Delport announced on Friday, 31 July, via the social network X that he would become president of Girondins de Bordeaux. The statement came just hours after the announcement that British investment fund Sparta Capital had taken over the heavily indebted historic club. Delport was previously editor-in-chief of television channel M6 and now works as an entrepreneur in the media and consulting sectors.The appointment marks a change at the helm of a club that had been owned by Gérard Lopez since 2021. Sparta Capital had already reached an agreement in principle in early June to acquire a majority stake. The transaction subsequently...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 04:46

Ceuta Crisis Heightens Tensions Between Spain and Morocco

Ceuta - 02/08/2026: Following the extraordinary influx of people into the North African exclave of Ceuta, Spain has reinforced security along its border with Morocco. On July 30 and 31, several tens of thousands of people entered Spanish territory by land and sea, according to differing estimates. Some subsequently returned voluntarily to Morocco. No final official tally has yet been released.Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the events on July 31 as a violation of Spain's territorial integrity. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, meanwhile, defended cooperation with Rabat. Madrid is thus avoiding directly accusing Morocco, although the scale of the border crossing appears difficult to explain without...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 04:30

Wildfires in the Var: Return Subject to Conditions

Montfort-sur-Argens - 02.08.2026: Normality has not yet returned to the villages of the central Var following the severe wildfires of recent days. Residents of Correns, Montfort-sur-Argens, Chateauvert and Barjols had to leave their homes temporarily. For some families, this meant packing bags, finding accommodation and waiting for news. Some were initially able to return home, but had to evacuate their houses again because of new fires.Franceinfo reported on 1 August that around 2,800 people had been brought to safety in the preceding hours. The figure comes from the broadcaster's current reporting; it is not separately stated in the latest available official communications from the Var...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 04:15

Possible Data Leak at the French Ministry of Education

Paris - 31 July 2026: The French Ministry of Education is warning of a possible leak of personal data following unauthorized access to one of its information systems. A large number of employees in the national education system may be affected. The ministry is currently investigating the incident. According to its statements, there is no indication that bank details, passwords or information relating to pupils were accessible.It was initially unclear whether data had actually been copied or passed on, as were the type and scope of the information that may have been affected. The ministry also did not provide more specific details on the number of employees concerned. Its statement therefore describes a well-founded suspicion, rather than a conclusively confirmed data theft. The technical investigation must determine how the attackers gained access to the system, which areas they reached and whether they were able to retrieve data.For employees, the specific risk depends on which personal details were stored in the system. Names, work contact details or employment information alone can...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 04:01

After the Mass Influx, Ceuta Cautiously Returns to Daily Life

Ceuta - 02.08.2026: Following the mass border crossing from Morocco, the Spanish exclave of Ceuta is attempting to return to normal life. According to the Spanish government, more than 48,000 people had returned to Morocco by the evening of July 31. The extraordinary influx had placed the city under considerable pressure since July 30 and heavily strained security forces and aid services.Tens of thousands of people had crossed the border within a short period of time. For Ceuta, it was the largest known influx since the 2021 border crisis. The return of a large proportion of those who arrived eased pressure on accommodation, transport routes...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 03:48

Wildfire threatens Porto Germeno resort near Athens

Porto Germeno - 02.08.2026: A major wildfire is threatening the Greek resort town of Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, northwest of Athens. According to the latest situation report published on Saturday, nearly 500 firefighters were battling the flames there. The fire tore through dense pine forest, while heavy smoke impaired visibility.The fire broke out on Friday near the neighboring coastal town of Agios Vasileios. According to emergency services and authorities, around 300 people were taken from the threatened area by boat. On Saturday, authorities ordered further evacuations after strong winds worsened the situation. No fatalities were initially reported from Porto Germeno.Specialized wildfire teams...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 03:30

Hermann: Posthumous comic “Cartagena” concludes a great life’s work

Paris - 02.08.2026: With the posthumously published comic "Cartagena", the final completed work by Belgian artist and writer Hermann has been released. A Franceinfo cultural report paid tribute to the volume on 1 August and placed it within the artist's life's work. Hermann, whose real name was Hermann Huppen, died on 22 March 2026. He had completed the album beforehand."Cartagena" was released on 30 April 2026 and was created together with Hermann's son Yves H., who had been one of his most important artistic partners for decades. The self-contained story takes up themes that run throughout Hermann's comics: human harshness, violence and moral ambiguity. His characters rarely inhabit a clearly defined world of good and evil. They must assert themselves under adverse conditions and make decisions whose consequences cannot easily be resolved.Hermann shaped the Franco-Belgian comics scene for more than six decades. His career began in the mid-1960s. Early on, he worked with writer Michel Greg. Their collaboration produced the series "Bernard Prince" and "Comanche", which first appeared in the magazine "Tintin". They gave classic adventure material a more realistic, mature tone and made Hermann known to a wide audience.His name is particularly closely associated with the series "Jeremiah", launched in 1977. The post-apocalyptic narrative moves through a destroyed society in which power, poverty and violence determine coexistence. According to publisher Dupuis, Hermann wrote and drew 42 volumes of the series. The most recent, "Les Larbins", was published in October...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 03:16

Three dead and at least 21 injured after explosion in Moscow

Moscow - 02.08.2026: At least three people were killed in an explosion outside a restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square in the center of the Russian capital. According to Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee, at least 21 people were also injured. Emergency services and security authorities were deployed to the establishment in a busy district near Moscow's Stalin-era high-rises on Saturday evening.The initial explanations for the cause changed within a few hours. Authorities initially cited a possible gas leak. Later, according to Russian media, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that an improvised explosive device had detonated. The incident is therefore being investigated as a possible targeted act of...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 02:45

Miossec Sings of Unease Under the Sun

Paris - 01.08.2026: Franceinfo has featured Miossec's track "Une histoire de soleil" in its summer music column "Ces chansons qui font l'actu." At weekends, the series looks at songs that tell of the recent present and its social mood. For the Breton chansonnier, climate is neither a lesson nor mere scenery. It appears as an unease inscribed in the gaze directed at the sky.The title, roughly "A Story of Sun" in English, comes from the album "Simplifier," released by Columbia on February 17, 2023. Miossec, whose real name is Christophe Miossec, wrote the song himself; Alexis Delong plays electric guitar. At just under two and...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 02:32

Daikin plans new fluorinated substance at plant near Lyon that breaks down into TFA

Oullins-Pierre-Bénite - 02.08.2026: Daikin Chemical France is planning to use a new fluorinated substance at its site south of Lyon. According to media reports dated August 1, the Japanese industrial group has submitted a dossier to the relevant state authorities for this purpose. Based on the project details known so far, production is expected to begin at the end of 2028. No final official approval has yet been publicly disclosed.The project is contentious because the substance can form trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, when it breaks down. TFA is among the very short-chain fluorinated compounds, is extremely persistent and is now being monitored separately in the region. The Oullins-Pierre-Bénite site is located in the industrial zone south of Lyon known as the Chemical Valley, where authorities have for years been investigating contamination of soils and waterways by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.According to European Commission documents, some registrants have classified TFA and its salts as suspected reproductive toxicants in Category 2. German authorities have also proposed a harmonized classification in...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 02:15

Magnitude 4.7 earthquake shakes region west of Naples

Quarto - 02/08/2026: A magnitude 4.7 earthquake shook Quarto and other towns west of Naples on the evening of Friday, July 31. The tremors were clearly felt in the densely populated Campi Flegrei region. According to available measurement data, the epicenter was near Quarto in the Metropolitan City of Naples.Franceinfo, citing initial information from Italy, reported at least 26 injuries and damage to several buildings. No final official assessment was available as of Sunday. The figures may therefore still change following inspections of homes, public buildings and transport infrastructure. There were initially no reports of fatalities.During the night after the earthquake, numerous residents left their apartments and homes, Italian media reported. Emergency services began inspecting potentially damaged facades, ceilings and load-bearing structural components. Buildings may be closed as a precaution until experts have checked their safety. Such inspections are particularly complex in a densely built-up region because damage is not always visible from the outside.The Campi Flegrei are a volcanically active area that has been closely monitored for years because...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 02:04

Israel Reports Killing Several Hezbollah Members in Southern Lebanon

Southern Lebanon - 01.08.2026: The Israeli military said it killed several Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon overnight from Friday to Saturday. Soldiers identified several individuals whom the military said belonged to the Lebanese Shiite militia. They were then attacked to eliminate a threat to deployed Israeli forces, according to the military.The military initially provided neither the number of people killed nor the exact location of the operation. It also gave no information about the weapons used, the alleged activities of those involved, or their names and roles. There was no independent confirmation of the Israeli account by Saturday evening. It also initially remained unclear whether...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 00:31

Gironde: More Than 10,000 Additional Evacuees Allowed to Return

Bordeaux - 01.08.2026: Following the stabilization of the major forest fire in Gironde, more than 10,000 additional people are allowed to return to their homes. Prefect Sophie Brocas said that the fire had been contained and was no longer spreading. The new authorizations apply primarily to residents of Saumos, Le Temple, Arès and Marcheprime.According to the prefecture, 208,000 of the total 224,000 people who were precautionarily evacuated at the height of the crisis have now been permitted to return home. The clearances are being issued gradually: emergency services are inspecting access roads, residential areas and the edges of burned areas before authorities reopen individual zones....

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 00:15

Wildfire in the Var: 2,800 people evacuated ahead of difficult night

Var - 01.08.2026: Emergency services in the southern French department of Var are preparing for another difficult night. A wildfire that had surrounded several villages the previous night was still active on Saturday evening. According to Franceinfo, 2,800 residents were brought to safety as a precaution.The next few hours are considered particularly risky. Strong winds and temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius are fueling the spread of the flames and hampering firefighting efforts. Fire crews must contain active fire fronts while also preventing hot spots from flaring up again as winds pick up or the fire from spreading to populated areas.With nightfall, operations shift...

Aktuell Read 02.08.2026 00:01

Man from Equatorial Guinea reports forced recruitment in Russia

Paris - 01.08.2026: David Angel Masie Nchama from Equatorial Guinea reports that he was recruited for the Russian army against his will after entering Russia. He says he traveled there in 2025 to undergo military training and later work as a bodyguard. His testimony, now published by Franceinfo, describes a fundamentally different course of events.According to Masie Nchama's account, he lost control over his future path after arriving. What had been intended as professional qualification became a forced incorporation into the armed forces. The available information does not clearly indicate exactly where he was housed or trained, or whether he was required to take part...

Aktuell Read 01.08.2026 23:46

Wildfire in Gironde Contained: Evacuees Return

Bordeaux - 01 August 2026: According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, the major wildfire in Gironde has been contained and is no longer spreading. Most of the approximately 220,000 people who had to leave their homes and apartments because of the flames have now been able to return. Authorities had ordered precautionary evacuations across wide areas around the Arcachon Basin and toward Bordeaux.Returns are taking place gradually and only where incident commanders consider the security situation sufficiently stable. A contained fire has not yet been extinguished: hotspots, strengthening winds and parched vegetation can ignite new fires. Firefighters and security forces are therefore continuing to monitor the affected forest areas, settlements and former fire lines.For many families, this brings an end to a period of great uncertainty. They had been staying with relatives, in emergency shelters or outside the department. They can now inspect their homes, properties and vehicles for the first time. In some places, however, those returning are finding severe damage after the fire destroyed buildings and vegetation.The Gironde...

Aktuell Read 01.08.2026 23:15

Currency Exchange While Traveling: How Vacationers Can Avoid Costly Pitfalls

Paris - 01/08/2026: Anyone arriving outside the eurozone and exchanging cash at the airport may pay a high price for that convenience. Franceinfo warns of offers advertising fee-free transactions while charging customers a significantly less favorable rate than the standard market reference rate. The costs do not disappear; they are simply hidden in the exchange rate.For a reliable comparison, it is therefore not enough to look only at any stated commission. Exchange bureaus may charge fixed fees, percentage surcharges, or a combination of both. What matters is the amount in foreign currency that is actually paid out after all costs have been deducted. The French...

Aktuell Read 01.08.2026 23:02

Ceuta after the mass influx: online calls and an open border

Ceuta - 01/08/2026: Following the largest irregular border crossing in its recent history, the Spanish exclave of Ceuta is trying to regain control of the situation. According to preliminary figures from Spain's Interior Ministry, around 50,000 people have crossed the border from Morocco since Thursday, July 30. Ceuta's head of government, Juan Jesús Vivas, at times put the figure as high as 60,000. Many returned to Morocco the same day or shortly afterwards.Those arriving were mainly young Moroccan men, but also minors. They reached Spanish territory via the land border at the Tarajal crossing or by swimming along the coast. According to reports from the...

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