The EES, which collects digital personal records of third country nationals travelling to the Schengen area and replaces the manual stamping of passports, has been in operation since October 12th 2025.

The system is being introduced gradually across the 29 countries of the Schengen area (25 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) following several delays in the launch due to IT issues.

The goal is to register a growing proportion of visitors reaching full operation within six months, with the deadline for full implementation being April 2026.

Last Friday the European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said that the EES was “successfully launched across Member States” and “this is a very big step forward for the EU and our collective security”.

Lammert said Member States, if needed, "can always prolong this gradual rollout period until September."

However on Monday Lammert clarified this didn't mean there had been an official extension to the gradual rollout of EES.

"The progressive deployment of the EES will end on April 9th 2026," Lammert told The Local on Monday.

But he did confirm that EES countries - those countries in the Schengen area - did have flexibility to suspend the checks once the progressive deployment of EES had finished in April.

This was basically to avoid any queues during the peak summer season.

"This means that by April 10th 2026 all Member States will need to fully deploy the EES across all their border crossing points and register all third country nationals crossing their borders.

"After the completion of the roll-out, Member States will still be able to partially suspend EES operations where necessary during a period of an additional 90 days with a possible 60-day extension to cover the summer peak.

"This will give Member States the necessary tools to manage potential extended queues."

Under the EES, travellers from non-EU and non-Schengen countries, including the UK, have to register fingerprints and facial images the first time they cross an external Schengen border. Self-registration kiosks have been installed at border crossings, with guards overseeing the process - although many are not yet in use. The data is recorded in a Europe-wide database tracking each time visitors enter and exit the Schengen area, to avoid people staying beyond the limits of the 90/180 day rule.

In recent weeks several travel organisations have called for a rethink of the timeline. In December, European airports operators called for an urgent review of the system amid “mounting operational issues” and long processing times for passengers in some locations.

Also at the end of last year, the government of Portugal decided to suspend the EES implementation at Lisbon Airport to reduce waiting times. In Spain, the tourism industry asked for more police and fully functioning passport control machines at airports to ease congestion.

Elected officials on the Île d'Oléron, an island off the west coast of France, are now offering up to €10,000 to owners who agree to rent out their property to long-term tenants.

Depending on the size of the property, homeowners who commit to renting the property year-round for at least four years can receive between €5,000 up to €10,000. 

This new rule implemented by the local council, aims to reduce the housing shortage. 

Both Île d'Oléron and its neighbour Île de Ré, just off the coast of La Rochelle in south-west France, are massively popular with second-home owners.

Of the 30,000 homes on Île d'Oléron, more than 60 percent are second homes, making it almost impossible for locals to find a place a live.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about legally renting out a French second-home✎

The islands, sometimes referred to as the 'French Hamptons' because of their popularity with wealthy Parisians, have a hugely inflated real estate market. The average price per square metre on the Île d’Oléron is €3,738, while on Île de Ré the price is €8,255.

The local Communauté de Communes is financing the €10,000 bonus scheme thanks to a successful lawsuit against Airbnb - it won €1.3 million from the online platform after a court found that Airbnb had not passed on the tourist tax to local authorities, as it is required to do.

Ultimately, the goal of the scheme would be to transform 150 second homes into long-term rentals.

"We have a major problem with year-round and seasonal housing on the Île d'Oléron. This prevents us from recruiting effectively from businesses, local authorities, and retirement homes, so we had to take multiple initiatives", Michel Parent, president of the Communauté de Communes, told regional French media France 3.

One of these initiatives involved converting a former retirement home into accommodation for young workers.

"We welcome all types of young people who need it. This includes young apprentices, students and seasonal workers", says Jacques Rodde, chairman of the Local Committee for independent housing for young people.

"It's for a short period, with three-month contracts renewable for up to two years, but it will enable them to find accommodation so they can eventually stay on the island".

The coastal city of Les Sables‑d’Olonne, located in the Vendée department on the west coast, has had a similar program since 2022.

It offers financial incentives to owners of second homes or vacant properties who agree to rent them out on a long‑term basis. About 400 units have been brought back into year‑round housing through this plan, which inspired the Île d’Oléron scheme.

More and more French towns are taking action to crack down on Airbnb and other tourist rental platforms, which are accused of taking housing off the local market, creating shortages and pricing locals out of the market.

READ ALSO: Airbnb crackdown: The French towns that have short-term property rental restrictions✎

In 2025, 62,235 people acquired French nationality, either par décret (through residency) or through having a French spouse or parent (par déclaration).

This represented a 6.8 percent fall on the previous year - but almost all of that was accounted for by people going through the residency route - citizenship par décret fell 13.5 percent compared to 2024. 

The Interior Ministry, in its notes accompanying the new data, adds that: "This fall can be explained by the entry into effect of the memo of May 2nd 2025, which tightens up the conditions for obtaining French citizenship by residency."

The memo in question was sent by the former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and instructs préfectures to change how they deal with citizenship applications when it comes to assessing income - something which has severely impacted retirees.

READ ALSO: 'Doesn't seem fair' - British pensioners speak out over change to French citizenship rules✎

One of the requirements to become French through nationality (par décret), is to have "stable and sufficient income", but the memo emphasised that the majority of this income must come from France, in all cases.

Previously there had been an informal exception applied to people who had retired to France, and who were living mainly off a pension from their home country - but préfectures are no longer allowed to apply this.

Unlike new laws, which only affect applications made after the law change, the memo is being applied immediately, so many people who had applied months or even years ago had their applications rejected in 2025 under the new rule.

The 'French sourced income' has always been applied more strictly to people of working age, with income from work done remotely for a company outside France usually not counting as 'French income'.

READ ALSO: What counts as 'French income' when it comes to citizenship?✎

In total in 2025, 19,989 people became French through the déclaration path - this includes people with a French spouse or a French parent, or children born in France to two foreign parents, who can apply for citizenship once they reach the age of 13 through the 'droit du sol' (birthplace citizenship) principle.

Another 42,246 people became French through residency in France - this pathway is harder and requires applicants to demonstrate their integration into French life in a number of ways including via their finances, their level of French and their knowledge of French life and French culture.

READ ALSO: Quick guide: Who is eligible for French citizenship?✎

This is down 13.5 percent on the previous year, when 48,246 people became French by this route.

Those naturalised French in 2025 had to prove that they could speak French to B1 level (intermediate), but from January 1st 2026 there are new rules in place, including the requirement for B2 French (upper intermediate) and a written civics test.

READ ALSO: GUIDE: The changes to the rules around French citizenship you need to know✎

Of those naturalised in 2025, six in 10 were from African countries, with Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians representing the top three - an unsurprising statistic since they also represent the largest immigrant groups in France.

France now has 69.1 million inhabitants - 66.8 million in l'hexagone (mainland France) and 2.3 million in the French overseas territories, which include the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe and the South American territory of French Guiana.

Overall, France has seen positive immigration numbers in the past year - the difference between the number of people entering and leaving the country is estimated at +176,000.

The natural balance, meaning the difference between the number of births and deaths, is down. It currently stands at -6,000 people, a first since the end of the Second World War.

This contributes to a 0.01 percent decline in the total population.

Births in decline

In 2025, 645,000 babies were born - 2.1 percent fewer than the previous year - and also the lowest number in a single year since the end of the Second World War, for the fourth consecutive year.

This decline is less pronounced than in 2024 (-2.8 percent) and 2023 (-6.6 percent), but it remains higher than the average annual decline between 2010 and 2022 (-1.3 percent).

In mainland France alone, 611,000 births were recorded in 2025, the lowest number since 1942.

Decline in fertility

The fertility rate continues its downward trend, it stands at 1.56 children per woman, after 1.61 in 2024 (1.53 after 1.58 in metropolitan France). This decline reflects a medium-term trend: the rate has been falling since 2010, when it stood at 2.02 children per woman in metropolitan France.

The same pattern is observed among men, with the fertility rate dropping to 1.56 children per man in 2025, compared with 1.61 in 2024.

READ ALSO: Does France really have the highest birth rate in Europe?✎ 

Older Parents

In 2025, the average age at childbirth continues to rise as it reaches 31.2 years for women, compared with 29.6 in 2005. The same trend is seen among men, with the average age at the birth of a child now 34.1 years, up from 32.6 in 2005.

Rising Deaths

Last year, 651,000 people died, an increase of 1.5 percent compared to 2024, following a 0.3 percent rise between 2023 and 2024. A severe flu epidemic in January and episodes of extreme heat during the summer contributed to this increase, which fits a medium-term trend.

Since 2011, the number of deaths has been gradually rising due to the ageing of the baby-boom generations, those born between 1946 and 1974.

Higher Life Expectancy

In 2025, life expectancy at birth reached 85.9 years for women and 80.3 years for men, a “historically high” level.

Since the mid-1990s, life expectancy has been increasing but it has been growing more slowly for women than for men, reducing the gap between the sexes. It is now 5.6 years, down from 8.1 years in 1995.

As a result of falling birth rates and rising life expectancy, people aged 65 and over are now almost as numerous as those under 20, respectively representing 22.2 percent and 22.5 percent of the population.

In 2006, only 16.4 percent of the population was aged 65 and over, while 25.1 percent were under 20.

READ ALSO: MAP: Where in France do people have the longest life expectancy?✎

More Marriages and Civil Partnerships

In 2025, the number of marriages in France is estimated at 251,000 - of which 244,000 were between opposite-sex couples and 7,000 between same-sex couples. This represents an increase of 1.4 percent compared with the previous year, following a 2.7 percent rise between 2023 and 2024.

Before the COVID-19 health crisis, the general trend for marriages had been going down, states INSEE.

In 2024, 197,200 civil partnerships (PACS) were registered - 186,800 between opposite-sex couples and 10,400 between same-sex couples - a number that remained almost unchanged from the previous year.

The $312 million deal with French financial prosecutors, which sees the bank avoid further prosecution, was approved by a judge at a Paris court.

The case is part of investigations sparked by a massive fraud carried out for years in several European countries, revealed by a consortium of European news outlets in 2018.

The financial prosecutor's office launched in December 2021 inquiries into six large banks, which a source close to the case confirmed as HSBC, a Credit Agricole unit Cacib, BNP Paribas and its Exane unit, Societe Generale and Natixis.

The fraud, known as "CumCum", involves an investor selling shares to another party just before dividend payment day, to avoid paying taxes, and then immediately repurchasing the shares, with both parties sharing the illicit proceeds.

It was exposed alongside a similar "Cum-ex" dividend tax fraud published by the media consortium in 2018.

Banks are suspected of acting as intermediaries in the practice and even charging a commission to the investors taking part.

"HSBC acknowledges the facts as they have been presented," the bank's representative said during the hearing.

The bank later welcomed the deal, saying it "recognises the bank's cooperation in the inquiry, and the corrective measures taken to rectify the past problems".

Credit Agricole's Cacib was the first to accept a deal with French prosecutors, agreeing to pay €88 million in September.

In December 2022, a German court sentenced lawyer Hanno Berger, believed to be the mastermind of the "Cum-ex" scheme, which reportedly siphoned off €140 billion over some 20 years, to eight years in prison.

• Operation: The piece reports that President Trump ordered the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a nighttime raid after a prolonged standoff.
• Justification: It states the move served as “hemispheric hygiene” to remove a dictator accused of spreading mayhem and undermining regional stability.
• Opposing forces: Maduro resisted U.S. offers to depart peacefully, prompting Trump to deploy a naval flotilla and execute the operation without American casualties.
• Charges: The text notes Maduro and his wife were transported to New York to face narco-trafficking trials.
• Regional impact: Maduro’s socialist and authoritarian governance is blamed for producing millions of refugees and using migration to sow discord.
• Alliances: Maduro is linked to an axis with Russia, China, Cuba, and Iran, and his capture is framed as enforcing a “Trump corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine.
• Legal and political framing: The editorial defends the intervention despite leftist criticisms of international law violations and lack of Congressional approval, citing national security latitude.
• Future outlook: The piece emphasizes the need for nation-building, a new election, and continuing U.S. deterrence resurgence perceived to threaten adversaries including Cuba.

By

The Editorial Board

Updated Jan. 3, 2026 6:09 pm ET

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Journal Editorial Report: An active President covered a lot of ground.

President Trump’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday is an act of hemispheric hygiene against a dictator who spread mayhem far and wide. Whether he admits it or not, Mr. Trump is now in the business of regime change that he’ll have to make a success.

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Opinion: Potomac Watch

Zohran Mamdani Promises NYC 'the Warmth of Collectivism'

New York's mayor uses his inaugural address to insist he won't back away from socialism, including freezing rent and providing free buses, as he's sworn into office by Bernie Sanders. But will Mamdani be able to deliver, and at what cost? And will other Democrats follow his lead in shifting the party further to the left?Read Transcript

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The stunning nighttime raid is the culmination of a showdown that was building for months as Mr. Trump sent a naval flotilla to the Caribbean. Mr. Maduro resisted U.S. offers to leave peacefully, and Mr. Trump followed through on his threat and ousted the despot. The U.S. President had to act or lose credibility with the world after choosing the face-off. Pulling it off without American casualties is remarkable.

***

Mr. Trump said Mr. Maduro and his wife were headed to New York, where they will face trial for narco-trafficking. But Mr. Maduro’s damage goes well beyond the drug trade. His socialist and authoritarian policies burdened the region with millions of refugees. He flooded the U.S. with migrants in an effort to sow political discord.

The dictator was also part of the axis of U.S. adversaries that includes Russia, China, Cuba and Iran. All were helping to keep Mr. Maduro in power. His capture is a demonstration of Mr. Trump’s declaration to keep America’s enemies from spreading chaos in the Western Hemisphere. It’s the “Trump corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine.

All of this makes the military action justified, despite cries from the left that it is illegal under international law. Mr. Maduro stole last year’s presidential election after he lost in a rout. He barred popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from the ballot, and the candidate who took her place won and then went into exile to avoid arrest. The critics want to praise Ms. Machado’s courage while doing nothing to help the Venezuelan people.

As for gripes that Mr. Trump is acting without Congressional approval, the Constitution gives broad leeway to executive action on national security. George H.W. Bush deposed dictator Manuel Noriega in Panama in 1989 without a vote in Congress. Mr. Maduro is a greater threat than Noriega, and Venezuela is at least as important to U.S. security. Democrats are criticizing Mr. Trump so they can pounce if the operation runs into trouble.

All of which raises the stakes for what comes next. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed Saturday that this was at core a “law enforcement” operation to arrest the Maduros, which sounds like a dodge to avoid saying this is about regime change or a U.S. occupation. But when Mr. Trump says “we are going to run the country now,” this means an occupation that requires nation rebuilding for some duration.

Mr. Trump is right that simply snatching Mr. Maduro and leaving the country to fend for itself could produce Maduro II. But we won’t be the only ones to say the President owes George W. Bush an apology for his ex post facto criticism of U.S. intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Trump is pursuing the Bush freedom agenda, at least in the Western Hemisphere. Are we all neocons now?

On the near-term future, Mr. Trump was cagey. Perhaps that’s prudent since there may be members of the Maduro military, backed by Cuba, who want to run a terrorist insurgency against U.S. forces or advisers in the country. Mr. Rubio may be trying to persuade a large part of the military to back a new government not run by Maduro henchmen.

But it is odd that Mr. Trump was so dismissive of Ms. Machado in his Saturday press conference. He said she lacks the “respect” or support of the people of Venezuela, but who else has more? She risked her life to challenge Mr. Maduro, organized and rallied the opposition to win an election, and bravely stayed in Venezuela where she risked arrest or worse.

Mr. Trump also talked about “the oil” far too much, which sends a message that the U.S. purpose is largely mercenary. Venezuela will benefit if U.S. oil companies modernize the country’s decrepit oil production facilities. But the U.S. doesn’t need Venezuelan oil.

***

Sooner rather than later, Venezuela needs another election. The greatest benefit of a democratic, pro-American Venezuela is what it means for freedom and stability in the region. The left has had a 20-year heyday in the Americas that has done great harm to its people and allowed deep inroads by China. A reversal is under way in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia, and a right turn in Venezuela would continue the hopeful trend.

Mr. Trump’s willingness to depose Mr. Maduro is also another step in the revival of U.S. deterrence from its collapse under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The overall message to our adversaries is salutary. If Mr. Trump can succeed in nation building in Venezuela, the Castro coterie in Cuba may want to start looking for some other place to live.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima as posted to President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account. Handout/US President Donald Trump's TRUTH Social account/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

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