enToday's news, livenews and breaking top stories on France 24https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:50:47 GMThttps://www.france24.com/en/macron-convenes-french-party-leaders-as-soaring-energy-prices-put-focus-on-wars-in-iran-and-ukraine Haxie Meyers-Belkin is pleased to welcome Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Lancaster University’s Management School in the UK. According to Foucart, France’s energy and economic crises expose a deeper collision between economic constraints, political accountability and an approaching presidential election. He interprets Emmanuel Macron’s rare Élysée meeting with party leaders over soaring energy prices as both an exercise in presidential legacy-building and an attempt to force prospective successors to confront high energy costs, rising borrowing costs, limited fiscal room and the radioactive pension reform. 34af281e-b36b-11f1-a8e3-47ec9f8a9b58Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:26:28 GMTFRANCE24Sporthttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-carrick-confident-man-utd-can-work-through-tough-time Carrick was appointed on a permanent basis after his successful temporary spell at the end of last season secured third place in the Premier League and a return to the Champions League. But United have taken just four points from their opening four league games this season and were dumped out the League Cup in a 3-2 defeat by Brighton in midweek after blowing a two-goal lead at Old Trafford for the first time in 50 years. "History tells you that any team that's successful goes through periods when you have to work through it, come through it and improve," Carrick said ahead of Sunday's trip to Fulham. "We've had a small period, in recent time, when it hasn't been exactly what we want it to be. "I was expecting a point when we would go through it, it was going to come. We had such a good spell last season, going into this season." Former United and England midfielder Carrick also has reason to bemoan his side's luck in recent weeks. United received a swift apology from referees' chiefs after Erling Haaland's winning goal for Manchester City last weekend was wrongly awarded because the VAR officials did not spot an offside against Enzo Fernandez in the build-up. Carrick's men were also heading for three points at Everton last Sunday before until Toffees defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles produced a stunning strike into the top corner from long range. "It is a week or two, the games haven't gone our way," added Carrick. "It's tiny margins in some of those games. We will work through it. Winning games is always the answer, it can cover up a lot of things at times as well. "Sometimes it's the small disappointments that lead to something a bit bigger. It's part of coping and being at this great football club." United could be boosted by the return of Luke Shaw from injury for the visit to Craven Cottage. Carlos Baleba is also in contention to make his first appearance since a £70 million ($95 million) move from Brighton. 9270bcb0-b36b-11f1-94e3-a5c051fc0becFri, 18 Sep 2026 14:16:40 GMTFRANCE24Sporthttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-kulusevski-return-can-spark-spurs-de-zerbi Kulusevski has not played for Tottenham since May 2025 after suffering a knee injury, but the Sweden forward returned to full training this week. Although the 26-year-old is not ready to face Aston Villa on Saturday, he should make his comeback after the international break. De Zerbi believes the Swede's presence in training has already lifted spirits after Tottenham's miserable start to the season. "We have to manage him in the best way we can, with the medical staff, physical staff, but it's a great thing for us. He's a good player, he's a good guy and he deserves to play again," De Zerbi told reporters on Friday. "We have to work day by day, also for Deki the international break is important because when he will be at the top of condition and pass over the injury, I think it's a great signing. A new signing for us!" It was a similar story for James Maddison, who sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in August 2025 before he returned ahead of schedule in May to help Tottenham avoid relegation. Maddison was hampered by a shoulder injury suffered at Brentford on the opening weekend of this season. But after an encouraging cameo in a 3-1 loss at Liverpool in the League Cup in midweek, the midfielder is primed for more minutes against Villa. "When he arrives to the best condition, it's very important for us as a personality, as a characteristic, as a quality, as an experience. The quality of his passes are different than the others," Italian coach De Zerbi said. Despite their close-season spending spree on 10 new signings, north London club Tottenham are winless and goalless in the Premier League after four matches. Villa have made an even worse start with just one point and a defeat against Unai Emery's men would be a huge blow for De Zerbi. "You have to stay calm, to be confident in what you are doing, what the players are doing. They have my full confidence," the Spurs boss said. 7eec34ce-b368-11f1-a256-e3800f57bf97Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:54:40 GMTFRANCE24https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260918-macron-addresses-energy-crisis-warns-of-hybrid-attacks President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that France would convene a G7 meeting dedicated to energy in the weeks to come as fuel prices soar amid the US-Iran war. Speaking to the press after a meeting with party leaders over the energy crisis and international security, Macron also said he had ordered measures to protect France's critical infrastructure from increasing Russian "hybrid attacks". 5f04cd7a-b367-11f1-8336-e943dad362aaFri, 18 Sep 2026 13:53:50 GMTFRANCE24Businesshttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-mbappe-ends-nike-partnership-to-join-swiss-brand-on "Today, Swiss sportswear brand On announces its entry into football alongside football champion Kylian Mbappe, marking the beginning of the brand's journey into the world's biggest sport," read a company statement. On also announced that 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry had been appointed its football director. The company plans to launch its first football boots next year. "From the beginning, what drew me to On was the opportunity to build something entirely new together that will help shape tomorrow's game," said Mbappe. "I want to bring my experience and perspective into what we create, push what's possible through innovation, and always stay true to the joy of football. "We have a shared dream, and this is only the beginning." On, which is making a major move into the football market with the signing of Mbappe, did not disclose the value of his contract. Founded in 2010 and previously focused on running and tennis footwear, On counts tennis great Roger Federer among its shareholders. Federer also left Nike towards the end of his playing career to join the Zurich-based company. Mbappe's departure is a blow to Nike, the world's largest sportswear company, which had been involved with the Real Madrid forward since 2006 and made him one of the leading faces of its football business. The 2018 World Cup winner and all-time leading scorer in the tournament's history with 22 goals had gradually emerged as Nike's foremost football ambassador, succeeding Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 41 is approaching the end of his playing career. His exit follows that of Lamine Yamal, a recent World Cup winner with Spain, who swapped Nike for Adidas in 2024. Nike retains under contract several of football's biggest stars, including Norway striker Erling Haaland and Brazil forward Vinicius Junior. d2f8203e-b366-11f1-8544-1f6495218048Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:42:42 GMTFRANCE24Entertainmenthttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-shakira-to-cap-off-world-tour-with-madrid-12-gig-run The 49-year-old "Hips Don't Lie" and "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" singer will take to a temporary 50,000-seater "Shakira stadium" erected in the south of the Spanish capital up till October 11, according to events giant Live Nation. With no other European tour dates announced, Madrid's authorities are expecting a significant economic windfall from her grand return, after welcoming fellow Hispanic superstar Bad Bunny in May and June for a series of 10 gigs. Shakira has not performed in Spain since 2018, several years before her separation from former Spanish footballing great Gerard Pique was made public in 2022. She embarked on a world tour in February 2025 to promote "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" (Women no longer cry), an album inspired by her breakup with the legendary Barcelona defender which won her a fourth Grammy award. Across her decades-long career, Shakira has sold more than 95 million records worldwide and performed at both the opening ceremony and final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" was also the official song for the 2010 tournament in South Africa, the first time world football's premiere showcase was held on the continent. Her return to Madrid also comes after she paid a 7.3-million-euro fine ($8.4 million) in November 2023 as part of an agreement with the Spanish courts, in which she pleaded guilty to avoid having to stand trial for tax fraud. In the high-profile affair, Shakira also paid the Spanish taxman 17.45 million euros to settle her affairs in the country. d2974e44-b366-11f1-84e8-e50a32c847f4Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:42:41 GMTFRANCE24https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260918-gaza-documentary-sparks-political-storm-protests-in-israel The Israeli filmmakers behind the award-winning documentary "NAZA", which uses anonymous military sources to speak about Israel's widespread killing of civilians in Gaza, have been the subject of a wave of threats and intimidation in their home country, one that has even targeted their families. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he intends to introduce legislation aimed at revoking the citizenship of people who "defame IDF soldiers." 83d0b568-b364-11f1-9435-d1f3703fee0cFri, 18 Sep 2026 13:36:14 GMTFRANCE24https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260918-ukraine-strikes-continue-as-polling-stations-open-in-russia Russia and Ukraine traded strikes overnight as Russians prepared to vote in parliamentary elections in which the Kremlin's main party, United Russia, is poised to keep its grip on power, with the only party that criticised the war was removed from the ballot. 72b9d54a-b362-11f1-aa1c-b9ab51d9fa2dFri, 18 Sep 2026 13:31:23 GMTFRANCE24https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260918-us-approves-sale-of-f-35-fighter-jets-to-saudi-arabia The United States has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia, the State Department said Thursday, the kingdom's latest major arms purchase since the start of the Iran war. Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly targeted with drone and missile strikes by Tehran's forces since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February, and has also been hit by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. 500cbb24-b363-11f1-aca1-e1a56fcc4f9dFri, 18 Sep 2026 13:29:52 GMTFRANCE24Sporthttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-liverpool-boss-iraola-puts-bournemouth-love-affair-on-hold Iraola left Bournemouth to take charge at Anfield in the close-season after a successful spell with the Cherries. The 44-year-old's first return to the Vitality Stadium will be an emotional occasion as he reunites with the players and staff he grew close to during three years on the south coast of England. Iraola knows he cannot afford to let sentiment get in the way of Liverpool's hunt for just their second Premier League win this season. "I think in the personal side I'm really looking forward to meeting and hugging them, players that I love, staff that I have worked with that I appreciate so much," Iraola told reporters on Friday. "I was pushing for them yesterday when they were playing their first European game. I wish them all the best. But there is another part that is the most important one right now. "That we need to go there and win and beat them and be as ruthless as possible. And leave all the talking for after the game." The Spaniard guided Bournemouth to a 3-2 victory against Liverpool when the sides met at the Vitality Stadium in January. Iraola cannot afford for Liverpool to suffer the same fate this season. The Reds have made a spluttering start in the Premier League, drawing three of their first four matches. Wins in the Champions League and League Cup have extended Iraola's unbeaten start to six games, but he needs a victory over his old team on Sunday to keep the critics at bay. Iraola knows Bournemouth's squad well enough to take advantage of their flaws, but he is well aware his former players could also exploit their knowledge of his tactics. "I know where we are going and I know the stats they have there. I think you see all the games they've lost in a long while, you realise how difficult it is to beat Bournemouth," he said. "I suppose I have the advantage that I know them very well. But they have the advantage that they know me very well. "The main ideas and the philosophy, I was lucky also to talk to Marco Rose (the current Bournemouth manager) before leaving. It hasn't changed too much. They continue to be very dangerous." Iraola said Florian Wirtz will get no special treatment after Germany boss Jurgen Klopp claimed the Liverpool playmaker cannot be expected to deliver match-winning moments in every game. Wirtz has endured a choppy time at Anfield since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2024. "He should be judged like everybody. I always say, 'how does the team play when you are on the pitch?'" Iraola said. "I rate Florian very highly, he understands what we need from him, he is trying to help in every aspect of the game. "Obviously he will want also to add assists or goals but he is helping us in a lot of different areas." dcb1f1a6-b364-11f1-887b-c35cea3d64e6Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:28:40 GMTFRANCE24https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260918-replay-macron-orders-plan-to-counter-russian-hybrid-attacks President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said he had ordered measures to shield France's key infrastructure and defence industry sites from increasing Russian hybrid attacks. The announcement came as Macron spoke to the press after meeting in Paris with political party leaders to discuss recent developments in the international situation including the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Watch his press conference in full above. e1050bec-b361-11f1-a9bf-63224dea7f17Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:15:39 GMTFRANCE24Sporthttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-a-disaster-if-man-city-do-not-win-says-maresca-after-flawless-start Maresca has the daunting task of replacing Guardiola, who won 20 trophies in a glorious 10-year reign at the Etihad. Since losing the Community Shield to Arsenal in pre-season, the Italian has made a flawless start in the campaign with six consecutive wins across three different competitions. The highlight came last weekend when City won 1-0 at local rivals Manchester United despite playing for over an hour a man down after an early red card for Phil Foden. Maresca has been backed by a record £460 million ($615 million) splurge on players. He also had to cope with a series of high-profile departures, with Spain's World Cup-winning captain Rodri among those leaving the Etihad. "I said in the first press conference, for me to be in this club is a privilege and to be in this club after a legend like Pep is a privilege," Maresca said ahead of Sunderland's visit in the Premier League on Sunday. "I know if I don't win it's a disaster and it's normal, but I don't spend my day thinking who was here before and for how many years." The former Chelsea manager added: "I'm just here to focus on what we can do better, improve the team and trying to win games. "I'm very happy with these five or six games in a row but now the main focus is just on the next one and I'm not thinking that we won six in a row because those games are finished. We focus on the next one and then we have the international break." Maresca could afford to give the majority of his key players the night off for Thursday's 5-0 thrashing of Norwich in the League Cup. Teenager Floyd Samba starred with a double on his debut. Brazilian winger Allan also marked his first City appearance with a goal. Rayan Cherki, the only player to start both games, was replaced at half-time in each game. "It was very important we gave rest to the ones that played back-to-back 90 minutes against Porto and United," explained Maresca. "Hopefully they can be full of energy for Sunday's game." e751890c-b362-11f1-89d0-49f7cad2475cFri, 18 Sep 2026 13:14:39 GMTFRANCE24Internationalhttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-isolated-syrian-druze-city-shortages "I am suffering from a shortage of gas and flour, especially after the road was cut off, but there is nothing I can do," the 59-year old said, her hair wrapped in the Druze white headscarf as she prepares potato pastries. In July 2025, clashes erupted in Sweida between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters, then government security forces and some tribal groups intervened on the side of the Bedouins. More than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog. A committee set up by the Syrian government said it had documented the killing of 1,760. At the time, government forces and their allies were accused of executing civilians and of other abuses, and last month Damascus said it had begun trying suspects over the violence. Israel, which also has a Druze population, intervened during the clashes, with strikes in Sweida. Damascus and government forces withdrew from the city, leaving a fragile ceasefire in place. Sweida city and its surroundings now find themselves isolated, with the road to the capital sporadically closed, according to an AFP correspondent in the city. Syria's government denies closing the road and says it is not imposing a siege, but residents still fear heading to government-held areas. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an independent watchdog, and local sources have reported restrictions on the entry of trucks and goods into the city. Amer Rashid, 30, complained that residents lack "the bare necessities of fuel, food and household appliances ... nothing is allowed into Sweida". "They say there are rogue militias in Sweida, but why are you targeting the entire province? What about the children? What about the disabled and the sick who need medicine? You've even imposed a blockade on medicine?" Druze armed groups hostile to Damascus now control parts of Sweida province, including the regional capital. The most powerful one operates under spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri, who has been pushing for full independence from Syria and has gone as far as saying his community was "an integral part of Israel". 'Cut off' Tensions have remained high for more than a year. School students were unable to sit official exams in parts of Sweida under government control, with Damascus and Druze groups trading blame over the issue. Adham al-Qutaini, 52, stands helplessly in his carpentry workshop, surrounded by unfinished pieces of wood due to power outages. "After the power cuts ... my livelihood has been cut off," he told AFP. "I have rent to pay, children to care for, and school fees to cover" Residents have had to deal with frequent, lengthy power cuts for more than a year. At the start of the month Sweida was entirely without power for ten days. They accuse Damascus of using them as a pressure tactic. 'Constant anxiety' Syria's recent decision to hike fuel prices has weighed heavily on the province, which was already suffering from fuel shortages. "The increase in fuel prices has affected us greatly, and the high price of gasoline has directly impacted our work," taxi driver Jamal Deeb, 52, said. The hardships come amidst the absence of a political solution for the province, although Syria, Jordan and the United States had announced a roadmap for Sweida last year. Residents are now left be feel constantly unsafe. "I have been living in constant anxiety," Mounif Rashid, 52, said from his home. "With every breach of the ceasefire, my daughter, who lives with her mother on the outskirts of the city, calls me, her voice trembling with fear of a new attack." 5979adb2-b362-11f1-8ce3-c9196e3bab71Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:10:40 GMTFRANCE24https://www.france24.com/en/video/20260918-russian-elections-even-the-facade-of-opposition-has-gone Russians on Friday began three days of voting in the country’s first wartime parliamentary election, which features virtually no opposition and is all but certain to secure the Kremlin’s political dominance. France 24's Douglas Herbert takes a closer look. 610837bc-b360-11f1-bee9-95cac161b4a1Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:10:27 GMTFRANCE24Entertainmenthttps://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260918-kerry-james-marshall-american-blackness-painter-celebrated-in-europe "It's not a reasonable assumption to believe that there were no black people in pictures before I had some kind of revelation that they should be there," the Alabama-born American told AFP in Paris. He cites the work of his American mentor Charles White (1918-1979) -- a man he compares to some of the greatest figurative painters -- as well as portraits by the 16th-century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch or even the statues of Ancient Greece. But few other contemporaries can compete with how Marshall has mainstreamed black portraiture: he counts stars from Sean Combs to Jay-Z as collectors, holds the auction record for a living black artist, and is now being honoured like never before outside his home country. A travelling retrospective of his work named "The Histories" has won rave reviews at London's Royal Academy of Art and Zurich's Kunsthaus before arriving at the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris, where it opened on Friday. It includes monumental works such as "De Style" (1993), depicting the clients of an African American hair salon who stare out at the viewer in front of a wall calendar showing the date of Rodney King’s beating by police officers in Los Angeles in 1991, which led to race riots. In "Black Painting" (2003), another large-format work, a barely discernible couple embrace in a dark bedroom, with a book by Angela Davis, the African American activist and former member of the Black Panthers, on the bedside table. "The first thing you see is that they're black figures, but then you have to move on from that to everything else that's happening in the picture," Marshall told AFP. - 'Blackness' - But beyond the deliberate references to significant figures or dates in America's violent history of race relations, much of Marshall's work carries a simple, but powerful message about representation. He spotlights black people in often banal, everyday settings -- in a beauty salon, lying in a park -- echoing the codes of classical European portraiture in which the black subjects, if painted at all, were usually either shown as servants or slaves. In Marshall's hands, the skin colour of his figures is rendered in jet-black. The blackness is "a rhetorical device, not just as a marker of a certain kind of identity, but to create an aesthetic framework in which people can think about blackness as more than just a simple dead end. "Blackness is not a dead end, it's not a non-colour. It's something that can be as complex and as rich as any other colour that one might use to make a painting," he explained. Difficult start Marshall, now aged 70, spent his early years in racially segregated Birmingham, Alabama, before his parents moved with him and his brother to Los Angeles in the 1960s in search of greater opportunities. Living in predominantly black and poor South Central, Marshall witnessed the rise of organised gang violence there, with the rivalry between the Crips and the Bloods, as well as the 1965 Watts riots, a six-day uprising fuelled by racial tension. He broke through as a major figure in the American art world relatively late, enjoying his first major retrospective only ten years ago at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The massive Black Lives Matter protests that swept the United States and the world in 2020 have boosted interest and the prominence of a wide range of black American artists including Mark Bradford and Julie Mehretu. Asked about the possible limiting of artistic freedom in the United States under President Donald Trump, Marshall said he was not worried. "I'm driven by what I think is necessary to do myself. I'm not restrained by anybody. You can't make me stop making pictures," he told AFP. "If you feel like somebody can stop you from doing something, you're not doing your job." 1c8262f2-b360-11f1-9f0a-afa43b5947fbFri, 18 Sep 2026 12:54:39 GMTFRANCE24