Gerald Darmanin

A man wanted for the arson of a synagogue in France was arrested by the police after an exchange of gunfire late on Saturday night (August 24).

The Greek authorities have requested assistance from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM) to fight the wildfires that have been raging northeast of Athens since Sunday.

On Monday, several countries responded positively to the Greek request, which was made on Sunday evening.

Nearly 50 individuals have been arrested in France for attempting to disrupt the Olympic Games, according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, as reported by DPA. Darmanin stated on France 2 television that the security services detained these people who aimed to conduct "acts of sabotage or radical protests" during the early competitions of the Olympics.

Azerbaijan on Thursday rejected French accusations of "interference" in New Caledonia, the Pacific territory hit by deadly pro-independence riots in recent days.

"We completely reject the baseless accusations," Azerbaijan's foreign ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh said. "We refute any connection between the leaders of the struggle for freedom in Caledonia and Azerbaijan."

France on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in its overseas territory of New Caledonia after a second night of rioting in which three people were killed and hundred injured, as anger over constitutional reforms from Paris boiled over.

French authorities are bracing themselves for nationwide protests by agricultural workers scheduled for Monday in Paris. The farmers, dissatisfied with their pay and living conditions, have intensified their demonstrations over the past week, employing highway blockades and causing damage to public property, including government offices.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has authorized an extensive mobilization of security forces for New Year's Eve, calling upon 90,000 police officers, 5,000 military personnel, and tens of thousands of firefighters. The move is a response to the prevailing terrorist threat, as reported by BTA.

A person known to the French authorities as a radical Islamist with mental health troubles stabbed a German tourist to death and wounded two people in central Paris on Saturday before being arrested, officials said.

Around 2,000 people defied a ban to join a memorial rally in central Paris Saturday for a young black man who died in police custody, while marches took place throughout France to denounce police brutality, as tensions run high after days of rioting engulfed the country.

Nationwide, around 5,900 people took to the streets, according to the interior ministry.

Crowds gathered at town halls across France Monday to show solidarity with local governments targeted in six nights of violence touched off by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old in suburban Paris.