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FRANCE

Search called off for pilot missing in Channel

Rescue services on Monday gave up the search for a German pilot missing after his plane crashed into the English Channel on its way to France.

Published: 22 July 2013 11:18 CEST
Search called off for pilot missing in Channel
The search was launched after debris from the plane was found off the coast of Dover. Photo: fesek/Flickr

"In the absence of new findings after the search area was investigated several times, it was decided this morning to stop active searches," the French prefecture responsible for the Channel and the North Sea said in a statement.

The small SR22 plane, with only the pilot aboard, crashed in the Channel on Sunday after setting off from Blackbushe Airport southwest of London for Le Touquet in north-eastern France.

The pilot had earlier been identified as British, but the prefecture said Monday he was German.

The decision to abandon the search was made by rescue services in Dover in southeastern England, the statement said.

The search was launched after debris from the plane was found off the coast of Dover.

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POLITICS

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

France has vowed to prevent a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc from being signed with its current terms, as the country is rocked by farmer protests.

Published: 31 January 2024 15:46 CET
France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

The trade deal, which would include agricultural powers Argentina and Brazil, is among a litany of complaints by farmers in France and elsewhere in Europe who have been blocking roads to demand better conditions for their sector.

They fear it would further depress their produce prices amid increased competition from exporting nations that are not bound by strict and costly EU environmental laws.

READ ALSO Should I cancel my trip to France because of farmers’ protests?

“This Mercosur deal, as it stands, is not good for our farmers. It cannot be signed as is, it won’t be signed as is,” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told broadcasters CNews and Europe 1.

The European Commission acknowledged on Tuesday that the conditions to conclude the deal with Mercosur, which also includes Paraguay and Uruguay, “are not quite there yet”.

The talks, however, are continuing, the commission said.

READ ALSO 5 minutes to understand French farmer protests

President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France opposes the deal because it “doesn’t make Mercosur farmers and companies abide by the same rules as ours”.

The EU and the South American nations have been negotiating since 2000.

The contours of a deal were agreed in 2019, but a final version still needs to be ratified.

The accord aims to cut import tariffs on – mostly European – industrial and pharmaceutical goods, and on agricultural products.

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