France reported 22 contact cases of hantavirus on May 13, with one patient in intensive care, as the government adopted a strategy of transparency to avoid public panic. Many French people expressed reassurance, citing experience from the coronavirus pandemic, though some said they would consider wearing masks again. Opinion specialist Emmanuel Rivière said transparency is key to treating citizens as adults.

Gabriel Attal, France's former prime minister, published a book on Tuesday detailing a conversation with President Emmanuel Macron five days before the 2024 European election, in which Macron rejected Attal's proposals for a cabinet reshuffle or referendums and later announced snap parliamentary elections by phone an hour before a televised address. The book marks Attal's formal entry into the 2027 presidential race, positioning him as a candidate while breaking with his former mentor.

Former prime minister Gabriel Attal won a formal endorsement from the Renaissance party's National Council on Tuesday evening, with 91% of votes backing his 2027 presidential candidacy. The motion calls on Attal, the party's secretary-general, to declare his bid by 1 October, pending a membership vote. The endorsement came after Elisabeth Borne resigned as council chair last week, citing disagreement with Attal's political direction.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he is 'incredibly proud' of his record on Africa, hailing a shift toward a 'partnership of equals' as he spoke to RFI at the close of the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday. He criticized Mali's junta for allying with Russian militias and expressed reservations about following US sanctions on Rwanda over the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Macron also called for peace efforts in Sudan and said reopening the Strait of Hormuz would be France's 'absolute priority' when it hosts G7 leaders in June.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) chief Pamela Rendi-Wagner defended EU cooperation on the hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius, which has caused 11 confirmed cases and 3 deaths. This follows French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu's call for stronger coordination. The ECDC is taking a cautious approach, warning of potential asymptomatic transmission, contrary to the U.S. CDC's stance. EU ambassadors are set to discuss a joint strategy.

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on May 13 that he is scaling back his proposed criminal guilty-plea reform, excluding all sexual crimes and all crimes triable by assize court. He cited the lack of a parliamentary majority for the original measure, following opposition from lawyers and public criticism. The reform was intended to accelerate case processing but faced significant pushback.

The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture will conduct its first visit to France from 17 to 23 May to inspect detention conditions in prisons, police custody, psychiatric institutions, and administrative detention centers. The visit follows France's 2008 ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and comes amid record prison overcrowding, with 88,145 inmates as of April 2026, raising concerns about detention conditions and human rights safeguards.

At the Africa Forward summit in Nairobi, Kenyan President William Ruto publicly criticized both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the devastation in Sudan, stating they are 'cut from the same cloth' and have 'taken the country to the dogs.' He rejected claims of siding with the RSF. The summit also saw French President Emmanuel Macron announce new investments in Africa's energy transition, digital, and AI sectors.