https://www.scmp.com/rss/523159/feed The latest news and top stories on Jean-Noel Barrot, the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs since September 2024. Previously, he was Minister Delegate for European Affairs in early 2024 and Minister Delegate for Digital Transition and Telecommunications from 2022 to 2024. He also served as a Member of the National Assembly from 2017 to 2022, where he was Vice-Chairman of the Finance Committee. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen As missiles fly throughout the Middle East, China is walking a diplomatic tightrope between strategic partner Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council states, with whom it has deep economic ties. All six GCC members have been struck as Tehran has widened its retaliation for US and Israeli attacks that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior officials. Its strikes have also expanded beyond United States’ assets to include landmark buildings and airports, causing death and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345443/china-must-find-path-between-iran-and-gulf-states-tehran-strikes-across-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345443/china-must-find-path-between-iran-and-gulf-states-tehran-strikes-across-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 11:19:08 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan China has called on European powers to help uphold the UN’s authority following the US and Israeli military strikes on Iran. In talks with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Paris to work with Beijing to promote de-escalation and safeguard “the basic norms of international relations”, according to China’s foreign ministry. “The international community must resist any violation of international law and reject double standards,” Wang said,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345306/china-and-france-agree-help-de-escalate-us-israeli-conflict-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3345306/china-and-france-agree-help-de-escalate-us-israeli-conflict-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:36:29 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham,Xiaofei Xu Finbarr Bermingham,Xiaofei Xu The simmering war in the Middle East fractured Europe on Monday, as allies clashed, tempers flared and the shock waves from the US and Israeli bombing of Iran threatened to reverberate through the continent. The crisis exposed a familiar European fault line: while leaders insist they are the last guardians of the rules-based international order, they remain split over how to respond when allies bend or break those rules. With oil price spikes threatening to compound the European economic... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3345187/europe-divided-and-edge-us-israeli-attacks-iran-ripple-across-continent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3345187/europe-divided-and-edge-us-israeli-attacks-iran-ripple-across-continent?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 19:10:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press France’s feud with the US ambassador to Paris took another turn on Tuesday with the French foreign minister saying the top US diplomat in France must explain himself after ignoring a French summons. The minister suggested that Ambassador Charles Kushner will not have access to French government officials until he complies. French authorities had summoned Kushner, the father of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, for a meeting on Monday evening over comments from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344459/france-demands-answers-us-envoy-ignoring-summons-diplomatic-feud-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344459/france-demands-answers-us-envoy-ignoring-summons-diplomatic-feud-deepens?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:08:44 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press France will summon US ambassador Charles Kushner to protest against comments by the Trump administration over the death of a far-right activist, the foreign affairs minister said. Jean-Noel Barrot was reacting to a statement by the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau, which posted on social media that “reports, corroborated by the French Minister of the Interior, that Quentin Deranque was killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all”. Deranque, a far-right activist, died of brain... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344278/france-will-summon-us-envoy-charles-kushner-over-comments-activists-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344278/france-will-summon-us-envoy-charles-kushner-over-comments-activists-death?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 17:47:48 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that Washington is “not disputing” a report by five European countries that imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was fatally poisoned with a rare frog “toxin”. Rubio said the report released on Saturday by Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden was “very troubling”. Britain, which has outright blamed Russia for Navalny’s death, said it was considering new sanctions on Moscow as a result. Navalny, a staunch critic of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343650/us-not-disputing-troubling-european-report-navalny-poisoning-rubio-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343650/us-not-disputing-troubling-european-report-navalny-poisoning-rubio-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 17:16:17 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin with a rare and lethal toxin found in the skin of poison dart frogs, five European countries said on Saturday. The foreign ministries of the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said analysis of samples taken from Navalny’s body “conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine”. It is a neurotoxin found in the skin of dart frogs in South America that is not found naturally in Russia, they said. A joint statement... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343599/russia-poisoned-alexei-navalny-dart-frog-toxin-european-nations-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3343599/russia-poisoned-alexei-navalny-dart-frog-toxin-european-nations-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 16:36:14 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Over a hundred top figures from the world of entertainment signed an open letter on Saturday in support of UN Palestinian human rights expert Francesca Albanese, who faces calls to resign over comments about the war in Gaza. France and Germany have called for Albanese to step down over remarks last weekend in which she referred to a “common enemy of humanity” after criticising “most of the world” and the media for enabling Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza. Critics and Israel have accused the UN... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3343596/world-artists-back-palestine-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-despite-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3343596/world-artists-back-palestine-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-despite-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 15:17:56 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham,Laura Zhou Finbarr Bermingham,Laura Zhou On the margins of a glitzy security event in Bavaria, the foreign ministers of France and Germany revived a dormant diplomatic format with China. In what was described as part of a larger effort to prevent the world’s superpowers from picking Europe apart, France’s Jean-Noel Barrot and Germany’s Johann Wadephul hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday. It revived a configuration not seen since the days of French President Emmanuel Macron’s first term, talks that Wang said were “both an... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343547/farewell-unipolar-moment-europe-scrambles-footing-between-us-and-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343547/farewell-unipolar-moment-europe-scrambles-footing-between-us-and-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 20:58:33 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The European Union has listed Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests, the bloc’s top diplomat said in a post on social media on Thursday. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said that foreign ministers unanimously agreed on the designation. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working towards its own demise,” she said. “This will put them on the same footing with al-Qaeda, Hamas, Daesh,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3341739/eu-designates-irans-revolutionary-guard-terrorist-group-amid-bloody-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3341739/eu-designates-irans-revolutionary-guard-terrorist-group-amid-bloody-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:00:27 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Key allies reacted coolly on Monday to US President Donald Trump’s invite to pay US$1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” for resolving international conflicts, with analysts likening it to a pay-to-play version of the UN Security Council. The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The board’s charter, seen by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340480/allies-tepid-trumps-board-peace-invited-leaders-wondering-how-it-will-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340480/allies-tepid-trumps-board-peace-invited-leaders-wondering-how-it-will-work?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 22:16:21 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The US State Department announced on Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure US tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. The Europeans, characterised by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponised” non-governmental organisations, fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States. “For far too long,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337562/us-hits-5-europeans-visa-bans-censorship-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3337562/us-hits-5-europeans-visa-bans-censorship-row?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 02:28:58 +0000 Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma Brian Rhoads,Raymond Ma French President Emmanuel Macron sought to improve relations with Beijing as he started a three-day trip amid Europe-China tensions over trade, rare earth minerals and the Ukraine war. “Sometimes there are differences, but it is our responsibility to overcome them for the greater good,” Macron told Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing on Thursday. Xi said China was ready to work with France “to exclude any interference” and “make the comprehensive strategic partnership between... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3335185/macron-bypasses-eu-bid-boost-france-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3335185/macron-bypasses-eu-bid-boost-france-china-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 09:00:53 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim Chinese President Xi Jinping told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the two countries should “understand and support each other” and advance cooperation during a meeting on Thursday that touched on a range of issues, including the Ukraine war. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Xi described the discussions as “friendly, candid and fruitful”. He said the pair had agreed that the two countries “should uphold multilateralism, stand on the right side of history, adhere to equal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335147/xi-jinping-urges-emmanuel-macron-firmly-stand-right-side-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335147/xi-jinping-urges-emmanuel-macron-firmly-stand-right-side-history?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 04:11:17 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen China has urged the EU to frame bilateral relations as a partnership – defined by cooperation, not confrontation. The call from Foreign Minister Wang Yi comes as China urges major European powers to support the bloc’s pursuit of “strategic autonomy” on ties with Beijing, despite deep mistrust over trade imbalances and geopolitical differences. China and Europe had no geopolitical conflict or fundamental clash of core interests, Wang told Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3329231/china-frames-message-partnership-eu-members-take-brussels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3329231/china-frames-message-partnership-eu-members-take-brussels?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 09:00:13 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse France’s President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a new government on Sunday, after marathon talks to cobble together a cabinet and prevent the country from slipping deeper into a political crisis. The line-up, a mix of old and new faces, is Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s second attempt at bringing together a team to overcome months of deadlock and pass a much-needed austerity budget through a deeply divided parliament. “A mission-driven government has been appointed to provide France with a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328749/crisis-hit-france-gets-another-new-government-amid-political-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328749/crisis-hit-france-gets-another-new-government-amid-political-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 03:29:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse French President Emmanuel Macron named a new government on Sunday, putting together a team under Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu as he struggles to pull the country out of a political crisis. The new cabinet line-up was unveiled nearly a month after the appointment of Lecornu, Macron’s seventh prime minister. The latest premier risks being toppled by the opposition in a deeply divided parliament despite his efforts to obtain cross-party support. Bruno Le Maire, who served as economy minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327971/france-unveils-yet-another-government-it-also-faces-risk-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327971/france-unveils-yet-another-government-it-also-faces-risk-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Oct 2025 04:41:46 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Palestinian president’s office on Saturday urged the US government to reverse its unusual decision to revoke his visa, weeks before he was meant to appear at the UN’s main annual meeting and an international conference about creating a Palestinian state. The 27-nation European Union asked the Trump administration to reconsider the move, which drew broad criticism. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rescinded the visas of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials ahead of next... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323792/palestinian-presidents-office-urges-us-reinstate-his-visa-ahead-un-meetings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3323792/palestinian-presidents-office-urges-us-reinstate-his-visa-ahead-un-meetings?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 22:12:27 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain As Syria approaches a watershed moment in its post-war transition, the country’s fragile peace is being tested by renewed diplomatic manoeuvres, sectarian violence and a deepening humanitarian crisis. The latest round of Western and Arab mediation comes a full 14 years since the outbreak of civil war and follows sectarian clashes in mid-July that left 1,400 dead in the southwestern Sweida region, highlighting the urgent need to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity from the designs of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320490/syrias-make-or-break-moment-looms-first-post-assad-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320490/syrias-make-or-break-moment-looms-first-post-assad-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 08:00:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Russia and Ukraine will hold new peace talks on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday, a follow-up to two earlier rounds that made little progress on ending their war. The talks will be held in Istanbul, a Turkish government spokesperson said, the same venue as previous negotiations which failed to make any breakthroughs in May and June. While US President Donald Trump has increased the pressure by giving Russia 50 days to agree to a deal or face sanctions, Zelensky spoke... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319095/new-ukraine-russia-talks-set-wednesday-istanbul-zelensky-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319095/new-ukraine-russia-talks-set-wednesday-istanbul-zelensky-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2025 05:47:42 +0000