France’s Macron to propose concrete plans to develop Niger, fight militants

Facing a tougher-than-expected fight for re-election, Emmanuel Macron has hit the campaign trail at last. Since he and far-right nationalist rival Marine Le Pen qualified for the April 24 run-off, the incumbent has seemed eager to go into the field to explain his policies.

No, French President Emmanuel Macron did not say that 60 million African and Middle Eastern refugees would coverge on Europe over the next 20 years and the BBC did not tweet such a quote either. We take a look at the forensics of a fake news story. Plus, a quote from an old interview with defeated French leftist candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon is taken out of context.

For the second election in a row, Emmanuel Macron has beaten Marine Le Pen, becoming the first French president to win a second term in 20 years. But most French papers say his victory is one "without glory," as he benefited more from a desire to keep the far right out of office than from widespread support for his policies. We also take a look at international papers' constructive criticism of Macron's re-election and what they think he can do to improve.

In one of the final televised debates before the first round of the French presidential election, the far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon claimed that if he were elected, he would become the head of the European Union for six months. FRANCE 24's Georgina Robertson and Sophie Samaille look at what it actually means to be at the helm of the Presidency of the Council of the EU and how long the French presidency will last.

French politics continues to dominate the papers as Emmanuel Macron desperately seeks an alliance to secure a parliamentary majority. The US Senate finds bipartisan support for new gun possession laws for the first time in 30 years. Organisers of the Miss France beauty pageant introduce radical new changes to shake up the contest. Finally, a man escapes his kidnappers by driving erratically on a highway in order to be stopped by authorities.

Macron is in a unique position to urge his opposite number, Paul Biya, to embrace inclusive peace talks to end the nearly six-year conflict devastating Cameroon's Anglophone regions, writes Rebecca Tinsley.

The French president has kicked off a tour of Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau at a time when French influence in Africa is being called into question in several countries.

France's former president François Hollande granted an interview to FRANCE 24 and RFI on Wednesday, some 10 years after launching Operation Serval, which ousted armed rebels and Islamist militants from northern Mali. Hollande defended the record of French military operations in the Sahel region and expressed regret at the arrival of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group.

In tonight's edition: Nigeria's ruling APC party stays in control after Bola Tinubu is named winner of the presidential election. Also, French President Emmanuel Macron touches down in Gabon at the start of a central African tour. And we meet one of Senegal's e-sporting stars: Dexx Junior is hoping to wipe the floor with his rivals in competitive video gaming tournaments.

We look at press reaction to the French government invoking Article 49.3 of the constitution, forcing through Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reform plan without a vote. In other news: 2.5 tonnes of missing uranium have been found in Libya, sparking questions surrounding nuclear security.

President Emmanuel Macron said a draft bill on "end-of-life" care will be prepared by summer. A citizen's council charged with debating the issue recently came out in favor of allowing some form of assisted dying.

Emmanuel Macron's comments on Taiwan caused a stir. They also drew attention to EU strategic autonomy, a pet project he has promoted for years. But how realistic is it?