France condemns the April 14th attack in Timbuktu against MINUSMA and Operation Barkhane, during which a peacekeeper from Burkina Faso was killed and several others were wounded, including seven French soldiers and two Malian civilians.

We offer our condolences to the family of the deceased soldier and to the authorities of Burkina Faso.

France reiterates its determination to continue the fight against terrorism in the Sahel and its support for the action conducted by MINUSMA to stabilize Mali and protect civilian populations.

Climate – Adoption by the International Maritime Organization of an initial strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of ships (April 13, 2018)

France welcomes the adoption by the International Maritime Organization, on April 13, of a strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of ships. It had been working on this for several years and, during the One Planet Summit on December 12, 2017, had joined with the Marshall Islands in proposing a declaration to this effect, supported by 48 nations.

This strategy places maritime transport on the road to reducing carbon intensity by at least 40% by 2030, with a view to a 70% reduction by 2050 and an absolute reduction in the volume of emissions of at least 50% in 2050 compared with 2008 levels.

This is an important step in the decarbonization of international shipping and is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the mobilization of concerned industries to meet those goals.

International shipping currently emits as much as the sixth-largest global emitter. If nothing had been done, these emissions could have increased by 50% to 250% by 2050. Now we can be optimistic that that won't happen.

Syria

Emmanuel Macron said yesterday during his interview that the Small Group formed by France on Syria would meet next week. When and where will that meeting take place? What’s been going on with that group since the UN General Assembly last September?

France speaks to everyone.

It engages in dialogue with all countries that have influence in Syria on the priorities that could form a common basis for resolving the crisis: the fight against terrorism, the rejection of the use of chemical weapons, humanitarian aid and the search for a political solution.

The meeting of the Small Group announced by the President is part of these efforts.

We are working on holding it as soon as possible, perhaps this week.

Malta

The Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was investigating very sensitive topics and had played a role in the revelations of the Panama Papers, was murdered six months ago. There has been no progress in the investigation since December and the arrest of three suspects. With Malta in the spotlight on this anniversary, and rallies being held from London to Berlin and from Brussels to Washington, what is Paris doing? Is this a subject that concerns France?

Six months after the despicable murder of Daphne Caruana Galiza, which it immediately condemned, France reiterates its commitment to the freedom of the press and the fight against impunity for crimes against journalists.

In cooperation with the Maltese authorities, the European Commission, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and NGOs, we are carefully following – notably through our embassy in Valletta – the unfolding of the investigation and the trial that's under way.

We expect the current investigation to get to the bottom of this crime.

France, whose ambassador to Valletta attended Daphne Caruana Galizia's funeral, once again assures her family of its solidarity in this very difficult time.