If the the far-right Marine Le Pen and the independent centrist Emmanuel Macron square off in the second round of the presidential election, it will be a first in 60 years, says Zaki Laïdi.         

Goldman Sachs has recommended its clients take a short position on French government bond futures maturing in June ahead of two-round presidential elections that begin later this month.

THIS may not be the best week for anyone who feels overwhelmed almost to the point of despair by the travails of this small Republic to look beyond these four green, damp fields in the hope that, elsewhere, better angels prevail.

If Britain’s Theresa May concedes too much to those right-wing Brexiteers and Euroskeptics, she could make it impossible to reach a final agreement with Europe, writes Robert Harvey

Article 50 of the EU Treaties sets out a clear two-year deadline for completion of the withdrawal negotiations.

The British wife of French presidential candidate Francois Fillon is facing preliminary charges over well-paid parliamentary jobs that investigators suspect she never performed.

The Government is on course to sell up to €3bn worth of shares in AIB in late May — providing that the outcome of looming French election does not disturb banking markets.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a meeting with embattled conservative candidate Francois Fillon and his possible replacement to find a solution to the crisis that threatens to shatter the French right.

When a candidate to be the next president of France thinks it’s appropriate to tweet gruesome images of Islamic State killings, it’s time to admit we are in an era where words and images have lost all meaning, writes Clodagh Finn

French presidential candidate Francois Fillon's campaign has suffered another blow as his spokesman, Thierry Solere, resigned from the team.

Investigators have searched the Paris home of French presidential candidate Francois Fillon in a probe into parliamentary jobs for his family members.

Conservative candidate Francois Fillon faces investigation by France's financial prosecutors over jobs he gave to his wife and two of his children, pushing the case to a higher and riskier level for the man hoping to become the next president of France.

Here's your evening bulletin.

France is threatened by two "totalitarianisms" in the form of economic globalisation and Islamic fundamentalism, far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen told her party conference.

Brexit, the Donald Trump presidency and a rise in isolated terrorist attacks were some of the shocks that investors faced in 2016, writes Ryan McGrath.

The past year has been full of unpleasant surprises, most notably Britain’s decision in its June 23 referendum to leave the EU.

Francois Fillon has won France's first-ever conservative presidential primary after promising drastic free-market reforms and a crackdown on immigration and Islamic extremism.

Alain Juppe has conceded defeat in France's first-ever conservative presidential primary, congratulating rival Francois Fillon for a "wide victory".

French conservatives are choosing their nominee for next year's vital presidential election from among two former prime ministers with deep experience in government and differing views on how to prevent more terror attacks.

US President Barack Obama’s decision to seek congressional authorisation for a military strike on Syria has sparked calls for the French parliament to get the same privilege.

It is a common reaction.

Nicolas Sarkozy was questioned by magistrates trying to establish whether he received illegal campaign funds from France’s richest woman when he ran for president in 2007.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative party was in disarray today after a vote for its next leader produced a razor-thin result – and both candidates claimed victory.

French President Francois Hollande’s Cabinet pushed ahead with a controversial bill today that could see gay marriage legalised early next year, defying vocal opposition in the majority Catholic country from religious leaders, the rural heartland and the conservative opposition.

Unease is growing in French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s centre-right UMP party a week before a presidential election over his lurch to the right in pursuit of supporters of anti-immigration candidate Marine Le Pen.

We cannot let trade opportunities with China blind us to our responsibility to support human rights activists there, writes Colm O’Gorman

France’s prime minister yesterday rejected accusations his government could have prevented the multiple murders by an Islamic militant who was supposedly being watched by intelligence services.

France’s prime minister has rejected suggestions that anti-terrorism authorities fell down on the job in monitoring a radical Islamist who gunned down seven people in a wave of killings that revolted the country.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy has branded today "a day of national disaster" after a gunman opened fire at a Jewish school in Toulouse, killing a teacher and three children.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy will announce his bid for re-election tonight, setting the stage for what he hopes will be a dramatic comeback against his poll-leading Socialist rival, a source in his office said.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon is calling for the new EU fiscal treaty to be put to a referendum in his country, according to reports from Paris.

Nick Clegg today urged critics not to exploit the eurozone crisis to foster “xenophobia, chauvinism and polarisation” as doubts were cast on political efforts to save the single currency.

ITALY overtook Greece as the prime threat to the stability of the eurozone on Monday as governments sought to placate frantic bond markets and halt accelerating financial contagion.

France has unveiled an austerity package to save €100bn.

Prime minister Francois Fillon has warned the French that belts must tighten next year to reduce the debt.

FRANCE’S prime minister has condemned an apparent arson attack that destroyed the offices of a satirical French newspaper that had “invited” the Prophet Muhammad as a guest editor.

THE French and Belgian prime ministers met yesterday to finalise the break-up of Dexia, as the bank’s collapse added urgency to renewed talks among European leaders over how to counter the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.

The widow of Rwanda’s former president, wanted in connection with the country’s 1994 genocide, has won her court appeal against extradition from France.

EUROPEAN stockmarkets including Ireland’s ISEQ index recovered yesterday, but fears of a Greek exit from the eurozone or debt default marginalised any gains.