Latest news with #HautsdeFrance
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Girl dies in food poisoning outbreak in northern France
A 12-year-old girl has died and seven other children have been taken to hospital in an outbreak of severe food poisoning centred around a northern French began to emerge on 12 June in and around Saint-Quentin, south of Lille, with the children rushed to hospital over the following cause of the outbreak is yet to be identified, as the children, aged 1-12, are not thought to have mixed in the same groups. The girl died on Monday from a rare condition called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) linked to acute kidney failure, according to the local prefect in the Aisne area. The most common cause of the infection is bacteria. The latest case was reported on Wednesday evening, the regional health authority in Hauts-de France eight children have been admitted to hospital with severe digestive symptoms, such as bloody diarrhea, and five of them had developed HUS, the authority authorities are conducting biological analysis in an attempt to identify the bacterial strain involved in each case. They said there was no indication the children ate meals together and they have ruled out any issues with local tap water, which "can be used for drinking and for all everyday purposes".The infectious disease (HUS) is most often caused by food poisoning, authorities said. However, as the families involved had sourced their food from a variety of places, the origin of contamination is proving hard to inspectors were investigating whether contaminated meat was behind the outbreak. Several butchers in Saint-Quentin were closed on Thursday, local news outlet L'Aisne nouvelle butcher said all his meat, marinades and spices had been taken away to be have been told to be vigilant and ensure strict hygiene at home, with authorities advising regular hand-washing, washing of fruit and vegetables, thoroughly cooking meat and separating raw and cooked food.
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Brexit deal ‘couldn't have gone better' say French fishermen
French fishermen said they 'couldn't have hoped for better' after Sir Keir Starmer surrendered a 12-year deal on fish to the EU. The Prime Minister gave up access to British waters as part of his reset deal with Brussels, which was unveiled alongside EU chiefs in London on Monday. He made the major concession in a 'fish for food' deal to secure a trade-boosting veterinary agreement with the EU, after being ambushed in late-night talks. 'We couldn't have hoped for better,' said Olivier Lepretre, president of the Hauts-de-France regional fisheries committee. 'We are very satisfied, and relieved,' he told the France3 television channel: 'This changes a lot of things. If we no longer had access to British waters, we would have suffered a significant loss of revenue.' He added: 'We had a completely blocked horizon , and this agreement gives us visibility.' The original post-Brexit fishing deal offered the EU five years of access to UK waters. It expires next year. But France, and others, made agreeing a replacement a condition for the Swiss-style veterinary deal and UK-EU defence pact in the reset agreement. As late as Sunday, the UK was insisting any fish deal would have to last four years but that trebled in last-minute negotiations to land the agreement under pressure from Emmanuel Macron. 'This is excellent news for our fishermen', said Agnes Pannier-Runacher, French minister for ecological transition, the sea and fisheries. Other European fishermen also reacted with joy and praised Paris and Brussels for their tough negotiations. Spain has 40 vessels fishing in British waters, which are also fished by Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. 'The best possible outcome' Ivan Lopez van der Veen, vice-chair of Spain's Cepesca fishing confederation said: 'This was the best deal we could get. 'We had no expectation of increasing our quotas. For the sector, I think it is the best possible outcome. It allows for stability and to reinvigorate the fleet.' He said: 'We would have liked it to be a permanent agreement but 12 years is a good basis for joint management of those waters, as we have always done.' Mr López van der Veen added: 'I cheer for all members that pushed for a deal. We have 27 states and they are all playing for the EU.' 'We are pleased that the highest level in the EU recognises that fishing is an important industry for all of Europe,' said Svend-Erik Andersen, chairman of the Danish fisheries association. Sir Keir claimed that the new deal was good for British fishermen because it offered them long-term stability and did not increase European catch quotas. Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, also insisted that fishermen had lost 'absolutely nothing' in the new EU deal. Alistair Carmichael, a Liberal Democrat MP and chairman of the rural affairs committee, told Mr Reed that the fisheries often 'get traded off against something else'. In response, the Cabinet minister said: 'I do want to really emphasise this point, because you said fishing was traded out in this deal. It wasn't. 'They've lost absolutely nothing, and they've gained things, particularly access that we did not have before.' But Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish fishermen's federation, said: 'This deal is a horror show for Scottish fishermen, far worse than Boris Johnson's botched Brexit agreement.' The veterinary deal will remove post-Brexit border checks and red tape in exchange for the UK agreeing to align with EU laws on plant and animal health rules. That will benefit British exports, including fish. More than 70 per cent of the fish caught by British boats is sold to the EU. EU bans on exports of live British shellfish imposed after Brexit will also be lifted. Dimitri Rogoff, president of the regional committee for maritime fisheries and marine farming of Normandy, said: 'In Normandy, we're very sensitive to the issue of scallops, it's an extremely important fishery for us. 'We know that British products are fished on the French side, and that these products are sent to the French market at very low prices, which brings prices down a little. So in the end we're competing with our British friends on a product.'
