Active in politics for more than 50 years, Michel Barnier, new prime minister, is best known as the EU's chief negotiator during the Brexit years; since his teenage years a staunch and patriotic Conservative, at 27 he became the youngest MP ever elected

The court of Avignon sentenced Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot over ten years; "I fought for my children and grandchildren; I fought for all victims of violence," said the woman

French government fell in historic no-confidence vote uniting far-left and far-right as Marine Le Pen’s party backed a motion proposed by the hard left short after the formation of a minority government; President Macron said he will end his term

40 members of Académie Française, one of oldest and major cultural institutions, presented to President Macron the 9th complete edition of the reference dictionary of the French language: work began in 1986 and critics say it's out of step with the times