The Local

Ferocious storms and torrential rains that lashed France, Switzerland and Italy this weekend have left at least seven people dead, local authorities said on Sunday....

The European Union was expected to issue waings to France, Italy and several other govements over excessive spending after new budget rules came into force this year....

French national rail operator SNCF said on Wednesday it plaed to offer high-speed passenger services in neighbouring Italy from 2026, competing with rival Trenitalia on its home turf....

Police inspect a train between Milan and Paris. Photo: Piero Cruciatti/AFPFrench police discovered the partially bued body of a man on the roof of a train travelling from northe Italy to southe France. His body was found as the regional train arrived early on Sunday moing in Menton, in the south of France, its first stop after Ventimiglia station in Italy. Police suspect that the man climbed on top of the train to make the 15-minute jouey across the border and may have grabbed hold of an overhead electric line to avoid being thrown off. Passengers reported hearing three loud bangs and seeing flames, France Info reported. It is the fifth such incident on the cross-border train line in a year,...

A mountain rescue team in northe Italy on Wednesday found six people, dressed in jeans and gym shoes, attempting to cross a snow-covered pass in freezing temperatures. 
 It was one of several such incidents in recent months, according to rescuers, who say the situation has reached “emergency level”. 
 On Wednesday afteoon, members of CNSAS Piemonte – a voluntary mountain rescue organization in Piedmont –reached the group of six just below the Colle della Scala, an Alpine pass that coects north-west Italy with France, after they had walked for several kilometres in the snow. 
 “They were visibly cold and poorly equipped, but they didn’t want to tu back so close to their final dest...

In this week's podcast we look at how Austria's govement could soon include an ex-Nazi party. How right wing could it get? We also ask Jessica Phelan in Rome whether northe Italy is really following Catalonia's lead towards independence. And after the Harvey Weinstein sex allegations, The Local France's Evie Burrows-Taylor explains how France is plaing to deal with men who assault women. With James Savage, Emma Löfgren and Paul O'Mahony....

France said on Tuesday it was ready to seek other buyers for its biggest shipyard should Italy refuse a 50-50 ownership split, before both countries pledged to find a solution next month. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, in Rome for talks, said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera dai...

France's biggest shipyard is about to be temporarily nationalised at a cost of €80 million. France will temporarily nationalise its biggest shipyard after failing to agree with its prospective Italian owner on a deal to share control of the site, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire aounced Thursday....

The 68-year-old manager is hoping to make a successful start. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFPChelsea jokes aside, Giampiero Ventura ishoping to pick up where Antonio Conte left off when he leads a new-look Italy for the first time in a friendly against beaten Euro 2016 finalists France on Thursday. "I want to take Antonio's project forward," Ventura told media Monday, aweek before making his competitive debut as coach of Italy in a 2018 World Cupqualifier against Israel in Haifa. "If I follow his path, then I know where to go in two years - Chelsea!" At 68 years old and now realising a long-held dream of coaching thefour-time World Cup wiers, Ventura is highly unlikely to follow 46-year-oldConte's p...

The man was caught with a group of eight illegal migrants in his van. Photo: Italian policeA man has been arrested by Italian police for allegedly smuggling migrants into France. The 37-year-old, a resident of Nice, was arrested in Breil-sur-Roya, a French mountain hamlet close to the border, after being caught carrying eight Eritreans, including three women and two children, in his Citroen van, Italian police said in a statement on Wednesday. The alleged people-smuggler was followed by police from Ventimiglia, an Italian border town which has become a migrant bottleneck. Police said the man was already known to police in the area for his involvement with “no border” activist groups. His arr...

Priest Jacques Hamel, 85, was killed by two teens claiming allegiance to Isis.Photo: Charly Triballeau/Pool/AFPFrench President Francois Hollande will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday to discuss the aftermath of the jihadist murder of a French priest, Hollande's office said on Monday. An official told AFP the meeting was organized "following the events inSaint-Etiee-du-Rouvray", the northe town where 85-year-old priest JacquesHamel was killed by two teens claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group. They are also expected to discuss the situation facing Christians in theMiddle East. Interior Minister Beard Cazeneuve is likely to accompany Hollande, theofficial at the Elysee p...

In a joint statement, Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel and Matteo Renzi have promised to reorder the EU. Photo: John MacDougall/AFPThe leaders of Germany, France and Italy vowed on Monday "a new impulse" for the EU as it reels from Brexit and told London that the bloc would make no deals before Britain formally decides to leave. The EU's three most populous continental nations signalled that the UK mustfirst take the plunge of invoking Article 50 to exit before it can negotiateits future trade and other ties with the bloc. Chancellor Angela Merkel - hosting French President Francois Hollande andItalian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Berlin - said that "we agreed on this,that there will be no...

A photo of Massimo Bottura, whose Osteria Francescana has been crowned best restaurant in the world, taken in 2011. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFPThe first Italian restaurant to be named the best in the world celebrated its win on Tuesday as controversy erupted over the selection, with several big name chefs not making the list. The Osteria Francescana in Modena in the north of the country - which waspraised for its use of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese - pipped last year'swier, Spain's El Celler de Can Roca, to top the World's 50 Best Restaurantslist, after coming second in 2015. Chef Massimo Bottura was overcome with emotion as he accepted the award ata glitzy ceremony in New York late Monday. "I ...

When you think ‘science’, do you recall school projects and baking soda volcanos? Perhaps it’s time for a change of scene – a trip to Chantilly, France, for instance. Green fields stretching as far as the eye can see. A glass of golden, gleaming chardoay. Days spent languishing in the sun as it draws playful shadows across the façade of the Chateau de Chantilly. You’ve got to admit it sounds a bit more picturesque than the high school science lab you remember. But this October, expats from across the globe will be flocking to France for a unique vacation aimed at giving guests more than a tan and a new selfie collection. “There are a lot of people quite interested in science, but who don’t r...

When you think ‘science’, do you recall school projects and baking soda volcanos? Perhaps it’s time for a change of scene – a trip to Chantilly, France, for instance. Green fields stretching as far as the eye can see. A glass of golden, gleaming chardoay. Days spent languishing in the sun as it draws playful shadows across the façade of the Chateau de Chantilly. You’ve got to admit it sounds a bit more picturesque than the high school science lab you remember. But this October, expats from across the globe will be flocking to France for a unique vacation aimed at giving guests more than a tan and a new selfie collection. “There are a lot of people quite interested in science, but who don’t r...

Italy might produce more wine than France, but does it actually produce finer wines the French as the Italian Prime Minister proudly claimed? Experts give their opinion. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi made the comments on a trip to Italy's Verona earlier this week. "Italian wine is better than the wine in France," he said, although it wasn't clear how much Chianti he'd had at the time. His claim certainly caught the attention of the French media, which seem shocked at his words. Renzi had said something similar to France's President François Hollande at a recent meeting between the pair, to which the French head of state simply replied "but ours is more expensive". Hollande and Renzi, s...

Twelve people died and two Italians were injured in the crash in Allier, France. Photo: Mehdi Fedouch/AFP file pictureTwelve people were killed when the minibus they were travelling in collided with a heavy truck late Thursday in Allier, central France, local authorities said. The minibus was travelling from Switzerland to Portugal when the accident happened just before midnight. "The twelve passengers of the minibus, who were all Portuguese, are dead," a statement from the local authority said. The passengers were being taken to Portugal for the Easter weekend. The crash occurred in an accident black spot when the minibus swerved into the path of oncoming traffic and collided head-on with t...