Eleanor Beardsley

As U.S. performing artists struggle to make ends meet during the pandemic, those in France are benefitting from an unemployment system that takes into account the intermittent nature of their work.

From France to Germany to The Netherlands, citizens are venting frustration over the pace of the mass vaccination program.

Government officials in France are under fire for the slow rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. The country has one of the highest death tolls from the pandemic in Europe — more than 66,000.

In Europe's most densely populated city of Paris, where there have been two long lockdowns because of the cornavirus, a beloved river is helping many people get through it all.

Europeans, weary of the long Brexit saga, see the final bill of divorce inked on Thursday by European Union and United Kingdom negotiators as a Christmas present.

"It's not like we have the Atlantic Ocean to fish in," a French fisherman tells NPR. "Here, we're in the Channel. In an hour and a half, I'm in English waters. If that's off limits, I'm dead."

France and the U.K. have eased border restrictions imposed after a new strain of the coronavirus was detected in Britain. Thousands of French and other European truckers had been stuck in Dover.

Long lines were already forming at the port of Calais as French truckers tried to get goods into the U.K. before post-Brexit customs rules kick in. But new pandemic restrictions made them even longer.

French President Emmanuel Macron tested positive for the coronavirus and will quarantine for a week, his official residence announced.

France's interior minister thought his security-minded nation would support a bill to restrict filming of police but citizens across the political spectrum objected and the government dropped it.

Interpol has put out a warning of the threat of fake coronavirus vaccines and theft of genuine ones, saying criminal organizations plan to infiltrate and disrupt supply chains to cash in on vaccines.

The third president of the French Fifth Republic, Giscard d'Estaing expanded his nation's use of nuclear power and high-speed rail, but lost his bid for a second term.

A proposed measure that would restrict the filming of police officers led to large protests in France over the weekend. The protests follow footage that appears to show police beating up a Black man.

The officers were unaware they were being filmed by a surveillance camera in Paris as they beat the man. The incident comes as the government tries to pass controversial limits on images of police.

To the dismay of many French Muslims, President Emmanuel Macron is pushing a law to tighten oversight of mosques, arguing that a phenomenon that he calls Islamist separatism is leading to terrorism.

Europe is trying to battle a new COVID-19 spike with lockdowns. Although the short-term restrictions can be severe, people have free healthcare and income support from the region's governments.

President-elect Joe Biden says he'll renew the transatlantic relationship. But in the last four years, European attitudes toward the U.S. have changed beyond just politics.

World leaders are congratulating President-Elect Joe Biden on his victory and they include some who have been close allies of President Trump.

In 2016, 7% of the nearly 3 million eligible overseas voters cast ballots. But they say they've never felt such urgency to participate in an election, and their votes could make a difference in 2020.

On Thursday, a man killed three people with a knife in a Catholic church in Nice. A second man, who was threatening passersby with a gun, was shot dead by police in the town of Avignon.