Paris / AFP The French government maintained a hard line on Saturday ahead of a fresh wave of protest over a bitterly-disputed labour law that has seen demonstrators blockading oil refineries and strikes paralysing the transport network. The escalating unrest, which has gathered pace over the last week sparking petrol shortages that forced the government to dip into strategic …

Bloomberg Germany’s plan to place lignite-burning power plants into a reserve from later this year may cut demand in Europe’s carbon market, according to a former government official. The €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) coal reserve may reduce demand for carbon allowances because it would lower total emissions and trim the need for utilities buying permits in advance, Franzjosef Schafhausen, a …

MADRID / AP Spanish police say they have arrested seven people suspected of involvement in stealing five paintings by the Irish-born painter Francis Bacon worth €25 million ($27.8 million). The artworks’ owner reported the robbery of the paintings and other valuables to the police in July, and none of the painting has yet been recovered. Investigators in February received information …