‘Miracle’ cache of letters written by French scientist who died in ill-fated La Pérouse mission give personal account of 1785 voyage

As he prepared to climb the scaffolding to be publicly executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, Louis XVI is reported to have asked: “Is there news of Monsieur de la Pérouse?”

He was referring to Jean-François de Galaup, the count of Pérouse, a naval officer and navigator whom the French king had dispatched in 1785 on a round-the-world scientific mission to rival discoveries made by the English explorer Captain James Cook.

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© Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

© Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

© Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

Possible candidate to run World Economic Forum departs ECB nine months early, saying she wants to speak her mind about world affairs

Christine Lagarde, the eurozone’s top central banker, has said she is stepping down nine months early to speak her mind about world affairs and confront the “misrepresentation of the truth”.

Ending months of speculation about her future at the European Central Bank, Lagarde said she would quit her role as president in March rather than October next year because the rules of neutrality that governed her job prevented her from influencing debate about financial and economics affairs.

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© Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

© Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

© Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

The protests roiling the continent express feelings of generational futility.

The government promised to phase out an unpopular university admissions system by 2028. Student groups are pushing for more.

© Anne-Christine Poujoulat/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The move announced on Monday seeks to quell student anger after weeks of mass protests over education and living costs.

While the police kept a lid on vandalism, the huge number of protesters and France’s fraught politics suggest unrest could grow.

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After largely peaceful marches on Saturday, clashes broke out in the evening. But a large-scale police presence, 1,000 arrests and the rerouting of protest routes kept a lid on wholesale vandalism.

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A movement that began with a few high schools has broadened to encompass labor unions and other activists.

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Clashes erupted in Paris as a mass march drew to a close Saturday, with more than 400,000 people rallying across France over school funding and soaring living costs in a fresh challenge to President Emmanuel Macron. Police made nearly 1,000 arrests, the government said.

Hope, dread and the final stretch to Election Day.

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Looters ravaged a storied commercial avenue in France’s second-largest city. Its merchants fear that more unrest could follow.

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It is hoped the factory-bred mosquitoes will be a long-term solution to the rapid spread of the disease-carrying insects

Idyllic French stays to suit the whole tribe – from hands-on activities and great kids' clubs to Michelin-starred menus