04/10/2011 | Argentina

Court nixes extradition in 1970s French nun case

The Supreme Court rejected a French request to extradite former navy captain Alfredo Astiz, who was convicted in absentia in Europe for killing two French nuns during the 1976-1983 "Dirty War."

02/11/2011 | Argentina

CFK lands in France, heads to Nice for G20 Summit

A few minutes after 1:30 pm, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner landed in Nice, where she was greeted by the Argentine ambassador in Paris, Aldo Ferrer, and from there will travel by land to Cannes, where she will take part in the G20 Summit on Thursday and Friday.

17/11/2012 | Argentina

Clerc shines as France beat Argentina

25/02/2011 | Argentina

Economist Aldo Ferrer appointed new ambassador to France

The government appointed economist Aldo Ferrer ambassador to France. The decision was confirmed by the decree 180/2011 which was signed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, on February 22.

12/09/2011 | Argentina

CFK meets with Salta victim father in Paris

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is in France for a three day official visit to the country. CFK´s first official meeting was a gathering with Jean Michel Bouvier, father o Cassandra Bouvier, a French tourist brutally murdered in Salta.

14/09/2011 | Argentina

CFK: 'Argentina is a model of what a State that respects institutions should be'

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner attended the ceremony where the grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo received the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, a prize granted by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), and received by her leader, Estela de Carlotto. 

30/01/2013 | World

France suspends sales of acne pill after deaths

France's health regulator ANSM said today it would suspend sales of Bayer's acne pill Diane 35 and its generic versions after four deaths over the past 25 years were linked to its use.

05/02/2013 | World

French troops to begin Mali pullout in March, Foreign Minister says

France plans to begin pulling troops out of Mali from March and will focus its operations on flushing out Islamist rebels in the north of the country, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said today.

09/02/2013 | World

Symbol of French Republic defaced in art attack

A woman has defaced Eugene Delacroix's painting "Liberty Leading the People" with a black marker as it hung in an outpost of the Louvre gallery in northern France.

21/01/2013 | World

French troops take central Mali towns, rebels slip away

French and Malian armoured columns rolled into the towns of Diabaly and Douentza in central Mali today after the al Qaeda-linked rebels who had seized them fled into the bush to avoid air strikes.

28/01/2013 | World

French, Malians retake Timbuktu, rebels torch library

French and Malian troops retook control of Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, today after Islamist rebel occupiers fled the ancient Sahara trading town and torched several buildings, including a library holding priceless manuscripts.

30/01/2013 | World

French troops deploy in last of Mali rebel strongholds

French troops have taken control of the airport in the northern Malian town of Kidal, the last rebel stronghold in the north, the French army and a local official told reporters today.

18/01/2013 | World

Mali army retakes town, Islamists flee French air raids

Islamist rebels in Mali abandoned the central town of Diabaly today after fleeing a French air strike, military sources said, while West African troops arrived in Bamako to take on the insurgents in Mali's north.

19/01/2013 | World

France seeks support for Africa's Mali force

France called on other world powers to commit money and logistical support for African armies readying their troops to join French soldiers already battling al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali.

21/01/2013 | World

Algeria says 37 foreigners die in siege led by Canadian

A total of 37 foreign workers died at an Algerian desert gas plant and seven are still missing after a hostage crisis coordinated by a Canadian, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said.

13/01/2013 | World

France says Algeria supportive of its Mali operation

Algeria has allowed France full use of its air space in its military intervention against Islamist rebels in Mali and is ready to seal its border if the conflict moves north, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

14/01/2013 | World

Mali Islamists counter-attack, threaten France

Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali launched a counter-offensive after three days of strikes by French fighter jets on their strongholds in the desert north, vowing to drag France into a long and brutal ground war.

15/01/2013 | World

France steps up Mali operation, Africans try to catch up

France hit Islamist rebels in Mali with fresh air strikes and deployed armored cars, stepping up its intervention in the West African state as regional allies struggled to accelerate their plans to send in troops.

06/01/2013 | World

France's Hollande escalates row with Catholics over gay marriage

France's President Francois Hollande has weighed this weekend into the war of words between his government and the Catholic Church over holding discussions in schools on the planned legalisation of same-sex marriage.

12/01/2013 | World

France bombs Mali rebels, African states ready troops

French aircraft pounded Islamist rebels in Mali for a second day today and neighbouring West African states sped up their plans to deploy troops in an international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaeda expanding their power base.

12/01/2013 | World

France believes hostage killed during rescue bid in Somalia

France sent commandos into Somalia to rescue a secret agent who had been held by insurgents since 2009, but said on Saturday it believed he had been killed by his captors along with a French soldier during the raid.

10/12/2012 | World

DSK, NYC hotel maid settle civil lawsuit over alleged assault

Dominique Strauss-Kahn and a New York hotel maid who accused the former International Monetary Fund chief of sexually assaulting her agreed today to settle her civil lawsuit against him for an undisclosed sum, ending one chapter of a scandal that cost him his job and derailed his political career in France.

29/12/2012 | World

Top French court rejects 75 percent upper tax rate

France's Constitutional Council rejected a 75 percent upper income tax rate to be introduced in 2013 in a setback to Socialist President Francois Hollande's push to make the rich contribute more to cutting the public deficit.

02/01/2013 | World

French prisoners use table leg to flee 14th century jail

Three prisoners used a table leg to pierce a hole in the roof of their cell in a 14th century French penitentiary and escape in the early ours of New Year's Day, a regional prosecutor said today.

27/11/2012 | World

French jobless total hits 14-year high

The number of people out of work in France soared again in October to hit its highest level in 14-and-a-half years, piling pressure on Socialist President Francois Hollande who has promised to halt the relentless rise by the end of 2013.

30/11/2012 | World

Moody's downgrades EFSF, European Stability Mechanism

Moody's Ratings agency announced it has downgraded the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from "Aaa" to "Aa1," with negative outlook on each.

03/12/2012 | World

Louvre satellite seeks to revive bleak French region

The Paris Louvre opens a regional offshoot this week in a former mining town in northern France, hoping to revitalize a region better known for football fans and takeaway chip stands than the noble pursuit of art.

19/11/2012 | World

Moody's downgrades France's gov't bond rating to 'Aa1'

Moody's ratings agency downgraded France's government bond rating by one notch to "Aa1" from "Aaa," and maintained the negative outlook, as a result of its "deteriorating economic prospects."

23/11/2012 | World

A deal briefly glimpsed before EU budget talks fail

During a "tour-de-table" among the EU's 27 leaders, it seemed for a moment that France, Poland, Italy and others might accept deeper cuts than originally proposed, diplomats said today after the summit broke up without agreement.

25/11/2012 | World

ETA calls for talks over 'definitive end' with Spain, France

Basque separatist group ETA said it wanted talks with the Spanish and French governments to negotiate a definitive end to military operations and a handover of its arms.

02/11/2012 | World

French conservatives gear up against gay marriage

Roman Catholic bishops and conservative politicians are stepping their campaign against French President Francois Hollande's plan to legalise gay marriage days before his government presents its draft law in cabinet.

15/11/2012 | World

France gain more respect with Italy win

France may no longer be the team who dominated world soccer in the late 1990s, but a draw against Spain and a win in Italy have shown they have at least become a force once again.

18/11/2012 | World

France's Hollande Popularity on free fall

French President Francois Hollande's approval rating declined for the sixth month in a row in November, a poll showed, as he wrestles with a sickly economy and rising unemployment.

19/09/2012 | World

French weekly fuels Mohammad row with nude cartoons

A French magazine ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad today by portraying him naked in cartoons, threatening to fuel the anger of Muslims around the world who are already incensed by a film depicting him as a womanizing buffoon.

27/09/2012 | World

France's Hollande stakes credibility on 2013 budget

President Francois Hollande puts his fiscal credibility on the line on Friday when he delivers France's toughest budget in 30 years in the face of a stagnant economy, record unemployment and plunging poll ratings.

31/10/2012 | World

France, Britain set stage for EU budget wrangling

British Prime Minister David Cameron came under pressure to act tough on the European Union budget and France threatened to use its veto, signalling a divisive start to bargaining over the 1 trillion euro ($1.3 trillion) long-term spending plan.

06/09/2012 | World

Girl found alive under corpses of slain family in France

A four-year-old was found alive after spending hours tucked between the bullet-riddled corpses of her mother and grandmother on the backseat of the car, as her family, including her father and other sister, was shot dead near a famed tourist site in the French Alps.

18/09/2012 | World

Iran launches submarine as US navy drills in Gulf

Iran launched a submarine and a destroyer into the Gulf from Bandar Abbas port at the same time as US and allied navies held exercises in the same waters to practice keeping oil shipping lanes open.

19/09/2012 | World

France gives initial green light to EU fiscal pact

French President Francois Hollande's Socialist-led government kickstarted ratification today of a European Union budget discipline pact it grudgingly accepts as the next step out of the euro zone debt crisis.

14/08/2012 | World

French youths fire on police in overnight clashes

About 100 French youths clashed with police overnight, shooting at police, torching cars, a leisure centre and a nursery school in the northern city of Amiens, a government official said.

15/08/2012 | World

Heavy police presence ensures quiet night in French riot city

A heavy police presence in Amiens ensured no repeat of violence in the northern French city overnight, after President Francois Hollande pledged to do all in his power to stamp out unrest.

03/09/2012 | World

Moody's downgrades EU's outlook to negative

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the European Union's outlook from "stable" to "negative," stating that its decision is linked to the recent outlook downgrade of the bloc's member countries, such as Germany and France.

23/07/2012 | World

Shark kills surfer off France's Reunion island

A shark mauled a surfer to death in an attack off the coast of France's Indian Ocean island of Reunion, emergency services said.

24/07/2012 | World

Moody's changes EFSF's outlook

Moody's Investors Service modified the Aaa outlook of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from stable to negative, which is a blow to the fund that was supposed to back the weak members of the European Union.

06/08/2012 | World

France to hunt sharks after Reunion island attacks

France will hire professional fishermen to kill some 20 sharks off the Indian Ocean island of Reunion this week in an effort to understand the reasons for a series of attacks in the surfing hotspot.

14/07/2012 | World

France's Hollande: Peugeot must renegotiate layoff plan

French President Francois Hollande said that car maker Peugeot must renegotiate its proposal to lay off 8,000 workers and close one of its assembly plants to ensure that the social impact of the measures was minimised.

14/07/2012 | World

France's Hollande vows to fight job cuts, graft

President Francois Hollande marked Bastille day celebrations today with a pledge to fight industrial layoffs and clean up French politics, after watching troops parade down the Champs Elysees as jets streamed the national colors overhead.

18/07/2012 | World

Peugeot told to make concessions if it wants aid

France made clear today it is not prepared to provide aid to struggling carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen unless it makes concessions that could include suspending dividends.

20/06/2012 | World

French police arrest hostage taker in Toulouse

French police have arrested a man who took hostages in a bank in the southwestern French city of Toulouse today, two police sources said.

28/06/2012 | World

EU summit works on short-term support for Spain, Italy

European finance officials were working on urgent measures to ease financial market pressure on Spain and Italy, which are too big to bail out, as EU leaders began a summit on Thursday deeply divided over how to resolve the euro zone's debt crisis.

29/06/2012 | World

France to pass gay marriage, adoption law

France's new Socialist government is to legalise marriage and adoption for same-sex couples, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday, reflecting a shift in public attitudes in the majority Catholic nation.

29/05/2012 | World

French unions put pressure on Hollande to avoid job cuts

French unions pressed President Francois Hollande to prove his job-saving mettle by handing his Socialist cabinet a list of looming company shutdowns that are threatening tens of thousands of jobs at the start of labor talks.

30/05/2012 | World

French court lifts gagging order on Strauss-Kahn

A French appeals court lifted a gagging order that prevented former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn from speaking to the media during a judicial investigation into his links with a suspected prostitution ring.

10/06/2012 | World

French left seen winning parliament control

French President Francois Hollande was on track for a Socialist-led majority in parliament after a solid win in a first-round vote that should free him from having to rely on hard leftists hostile to European integration.

15/05/2012 | World

Strauss-Kahn countersues hotel maid in US court for $1 million

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has filed a $1 million countersuit against the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault, costing him his job and any chance of being elected president of France.

15/05/2012 | World

Merkel says Germany, France to work closely on growth

New French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged differences over how to boost growth in recession-plagued Europe, but pledged to work together on a joint approach in time for a summit next month.

16/05/2012 | World

Hollande taps old hands, new faces for French govt

French President Francois Hollande named a government dominated by moderate left-wingers after Socialist Party boss Martine Aubry, overlooked for the post of prime minister, said she no longer wanted to be part of the new cabinet.

08/05/2012 | World

'We won't finance French election promises,' Merkel's parliamentary party leader

Francois Hollande's election as French president was greeted by jitters on European markets and a dour front in Berlin where ruling conservatives warned the Socialist that Germans were not ready to pay for his promises of an end to austerity.

14/05/2012 | World

Hollande to be sworn in as new French president

Francois Hollande will be sworn in as France's first Socialist president in 17 years in a hurried ceremony on Tuesday before a dash to Berlin to challenge German Chancellor Angela Merkel's focus on austerity policies.

15/05/2012 | World

Hollande sworn in as French president, calls for European pact for growth

Francois Hollande was sworn in as France's first Socialist president in 17 years in a brief ceremony today. In his inaugural speech, he said he would seek to amend a European pact to add growth-boosting measures to deficit-cutting policies that critics say are dampening the bloc's growth prospects.

03/05/2012 | World

Sarkozy's chances fade two days before French runoff

President Nicolas Sarkozy's chances of holding on to power were fading two days before France's election runoff, with far-right and centrist leaders refusing to endorse him and his usually bland Socialist rival performing confidently in a TV debate.

05/05/2012 | World

France readies for poll, Sarkozy closes on Hollande

Campaigning ended on Saturday in France for a decisive second-round presidential vote expected to crown Francois Hollande the country's first Socialist leader in two decades despite polls showing President Nicolas Sarkozy clawing back some ground.

06/05/2012 | World

Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy as French leader

Socialist Francois Hollande swept to victory in France's presidential election on Sunday in a swing to the left at the heart of Europe that could start a pushback against German-led austerity.

30/04/2012 | World

Scandal talk clouds French campaign before TV debate

Allegations of scandal and dirty tricks clouded France's presidential election as the race entered the final week with both sides preparing for rival May Day rallies and the sole, crucial television debate.

01/05/2012 | World

French presidential rivals in last ditch TV debate

Nicolas Sarkozy faces Francois Hollande in a "moment of truth" television debate that could be the French president's last chance to avoid defeat at the hands of his socialist challenger in Sunday's election runoff.

02/05/2012 | World

Sarkozy, Hollande trade barbs in TV debate

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist challenger Francois Hollande clashed in their only televised debate, seen as the conservative incumbent's last chance to turn the odds of re-election in his favour.

24/04/2012 | World

French presidential rivals race to seduce Le Pen voters

France's presidential rivals scrambled to seduce nearly a fifth of the electorate that voted for far right anti-immigration crusader Marine Le Pen, voicing sympathy for voters' distress in the economic crisis.

24/04/2012 | World

Hollande: ‘Merkel ran Europe along with Sarkozy and we can see the results’

French presidential candidate for the Socialist bloc François Hollande defended his intention to “re-guide” Europe by criticizing the results of the vision applied until now by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and current French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

26/04/2012 | World

Le Pen says waiting for Sarkozy's answers before endorsing

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has promised to give her view on the second round at the National Front's traditional "Joan of Arc" May Day rally, and she urged President Nicolas Sarkozy to make his own position clearer concerning parliamentary polls in June.

21/04/2012 | World

French voters protest in Paris on eve of election

French voters voiced disillusionment on Saturday at a campaign that many said ignored the country's real problems, on the eve of a first-round vote expected to send President Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist rival Francois Hollande to a runoff next month.

22/04/2012 | World

Hollande edges Sarkozy in French vote, Le Pen surges

Far-rightist Marine Le Pen threw France's presidential race wide open on Sunday by polling nearly 19 percent in the first round - votes that may tip a runoff between Socialist favourite Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

23/04/2012 | World

Sarkozy woos far right after Hollande wins round one

President Nicolas Sarkozy hammered home pledges to get tough on immigration and security as he sought to win over record numbers of far-right voters and whittle down Socialist Francois Hollande's narrow first-round election lead.

19/04/2012 | World

France, Spain clear bond auction hurdle

France and Spain sold all the bonds they wanted at auction today, though for Spain the cost was rising yields, indicating growing concerns the government will not be able to tame its deficit.

20/04/2012 | World

France says EU to adopt new sanctions on Syria on Monday

The European Union will adopt new sanctions against Syria on Monday in light of continued bloodshed despite a week-old ceasefire, France's Foreign Ministry said today.

20/04/2012 | World

French election rivals in final race for workers

Socialist presidential frontrunner Francois Hollande appealed to French voters to throw out conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and shun the far right in a final push for working-class votes before Sunday's first round of the election.

26/03/2012 | World

Sarkozy to bar radical imams from entering France

France will bar radical Muslim preachers from entering the country to participate in an Islamic conference next month as part of a crackdown after shootings by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman, President Nicolas Sarkozy said today.

26/03/2012 | World

Strauss-Kahn put under formal probe in France

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was put under formal investigation by a French court over his role in a prostitution case, his lawyer said.

29/03/2012 | World

Algeria refuses French gunman's body for burial

Algerian authorities have refused to allow the body of an al Qaeda-inspired gunman who killed seven people in France this month to be sent there for burial, an Algerian government source and an official at a top French mosque said today.

21/03/2012 | World

French TV: school shooting suspect arrested

A gunman suspected of killing of seven people in the name of al Qaeda was arrested by police in southwest France after a nearly 12-hour operation in the city of Toulouse, French television channels BFM TV and i-Tele reported today.

22/03/2012 | World

France: gunman dead after jumping from window, gov't says

An al Qaeda-inspired gunman who killed seven people in France died today after jumping out of a window of his apartment, where he had been holed up for some 30 hours in a standoff with police, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said.

23/03/2012 | World

French intelligence under fire over al Qaeda shooter

The French government was forced to reject accusations that intelligence lapses allowed a young Muslim with a violent criminal record, spotted twice in Afghanistan, to become the first al Qaeda-inspired killer to strike on its soil.

19/03/2012 | World

New York City police tighten security at Jewish sites

New York police ramped up security at synagogues and other Jewish institutions citywide following the deadly attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France.

20/03/2012 | World

Massive manhunt for Jewish school shooter in France

A day after a gunman shot dead three children and a rabbi at a Jewish school in Toulouse, French President Nicolas Sarkozy put the region on its highest terrorism alert and unleashed a massive manhunt to find the shooter who is believed to be behind other shootings.

21/03/2012 | World

French police launch assault on besieged gunman

French police launched an assault on an apartment where a gunman suspected of killing seven people in the name of al Qaeda was holed up, officials said.

11/03/2012 | World

France's Sarkozy 'sorry' for tomato attack

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has apologized in person to a policewoman who said she was the victim of a tomato attack involving the president's teenage son, a police official said on Sunday.

12/03/2012 | World

Sarkozy blasts accusation he took money from Gaddafi

France's Nicolas Sarkozy angrily denied receiving money from deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to fund his first presidential run in 2007, as one news website reported earlier in the day.

19/03/2012 | World

Sarkozy, White House condemn shooting at French school

A gunman on a motorbike shot dead three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in Toulouse today, just days after apparently killing three soldiers nearby, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy to say France should not give in to terror.

21/02/2012 | World

Strauss-Kahn held in French prostitution probe

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was questioned by police today over his dealings with an alleged prostitution ring that was run from the northern French city of Lille and organized sex parties in Paris, Brussels and Washington.

22/02/2012 | World

Syria: US, French journalists killed

US correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs today when rockets fired by government forces hit the house they were staying in, opposition activists and witnesses said.

23/02/2012 | World

Mademoiselle is no longer an official French woman

Official French documents will no longer force women to reveal their marital status by requiring them to choose the title Mademoiselle or Madame.

16/02/2012 | World

French court finds Le Pen guilty of playing down war crimes

Jean Marie Le Pen, the founder of France's far-right National Front party, was found guilty of condoning war crimes and given a suspended jail sentence of three months by a court in Paris.

17/02/2012 | World

France, Britain agree drone cooperation

France and Britain agreed to jointly work to develop next-generation unmanned drones as part of their military cooperation as their leaders reconciled after an acrimonious clash over Europe last year.

20/02/2012 | World

Italy, Britain urge more EU focus on growth

Italy, Britain, the Netherlands and nine other countries called for Europe to shift its focus from tough budget cuts towards measures to create growth as the region looks headed for its second recession in three years.

13/02/2012 | World

Moody's warns it may strip France, UK and Austria's Aaa rating

Rating agency Moody's warned it may cut the triple-A ratings of France, the United Kingdom and Austria, while it downgraded the ratings of Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta.

14/02/2012 | World

Moody's warns it may downgrade France, Britain

Rating agency Moody's said today it downgraded six European nations including Italy, Spain and Portugal, citing growing risks from Europe's debt crisis, and warned it may cut the triple-A ratings of France, Britain and Austria.

15/02/2012 | World

Sarkozy launches presidential election campaign

President Nicolas Sarkozy formally declared his candidacy for a second term seeking to overturn a wide poll lag with promises to get the unemployed back to work and use referendums to consult the French people on reforms.

16/01/2012 | World

S&P downgrades Europe's rescue fund

Credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s downgraded the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from “AAA” to “AA+,” although it does not rule out it would increase it again if it bolsters its funds, according to a communiqué.

25/01/2012 | World

US returns stolen Pissarro artwork to France

The United States returned an artwork by Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro to French authorities, more than three decades after it was stolen from the wall of a small museum in southeastern France.

07/02/2012 | World

France recalls Syria ambassador, vows more pressure

France recalled its ambassador from Syria today in protest at the violent government crackdown on opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, saying his "days were numbered" and vowing to press on with efforts to end the bloodshed.

16/12/2011 | World

Fitch Ratings lowers France’s outlook, but reaffirms triple A status

Fitch Ratings lowered its outlook on France's triple-A rating to "negative" from "stable. The rating agency also warned it may downgrade France and six other euro zone countries in the future as it believes that a comprehensive solution to the region's debt crisis is "technically and politically beyond reach."

29/12/2011 | World

French VAT hike to hit pizzas, quiches - not baguettes

The French government was forced to clarify that a Jan 1. VAT hike will apply only to certain takeaway foods like pizzas, quiches and hamburgers, as the public fretted that prices could jump for staples like bread and pastries.

31/12/2011 | World

Sarkozy vows reforms in austere New Year's speech

French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged in a grave New Year's message to find ways to pull the economy out of stagnation in the four months left before a presidential election and vowed no further public spending cuts.

12/12/2011 | World

Sarkozy: French AAA rating loss would be surmountable

A loss of France's AAA credit rating would add to the country's difficulties but would not be insurmountable, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a interview published today.

12/12/2011 | World

Euro zone fiscal pact fails to restore confidence

A European summit deal to strengthen budget discipline in the euro zone failed to restore financial market confidence, forcing the European Central Bank to step in again gingerly.

16/12/2011 | World

France hands Carlos the Jackal another life prison term

A French court sentenced Marxist militant Carlos the Jackal to another life prison term last night for bomb attacks that killed 11 people nearly three decades ago.

05/12/2011 | World

Greenpeace activists enter French nuclear sites

Greenpeace activists entered several French nuclear sites to highlight what they called a lack of security at the plants six months before a presidential election.

07/12/2011 | World

Germany pours cold water on EU summit hopes

Pessimistic comments from EU paymaster Germany and new figures exposing deepening stress among Europe's banks dented financial market hopes of a turning point in the euro zone's debt crisis at a summit this week.

09/12/2011 | World

EU leaders reach debt crisis deal without Britain

A divided Europe – a historic rift over building a closer fiscal union to preserve the euro, with a large majority of countries led by Germany and France agreeing to forge ahead with a separate treaty, leaving Britain isolated – reached a new deal to address the debt crisis hovering over the block.

22/11/2011 | World

Strauss-Kahn sues media and Sarkozy aide

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was tipped as France's next president before a US sex assault scandal spelled his downfall, is suing a top French newspaper, several magazines and a government adviser over reports about him.

23/11/2011 | World

Germany and France clash again over ECB role in euro crisis

Germany and France clashed today over whether the ECB should take bolder steps to stem the euro zone debt crisis, with Chancellor Angela Merkel issuing one of her starkest warnings yet against fiddling with the central bank's strict inflation-fighting mandate.

24/11/2011 | World

Sarkozy, Merkel agree to stop sniping on ECB crisis

France and Germany agreed today to stop arguing in public over whether the European Central Bank should do more to rescue the euro zone from a deepening sovereign debt crisis.

16/11/2011 | World

France, Germany clash over ECB crisis role

France and Germany, Europe's two central powers, clashed over whether the European Central Bank should intervene more forcefully to halt the euro zone's accelerating debt crisis after modest bond purchases failed to calm markets.

17/11/2011 | World

Spanish, French borrowing costs climb, contagion builds

Spain and France struggled with government bond auctions today, throwing into sharp relief the threat of larger euro zone economies succumbing to the debt crisis that began in Greece and is already lapping at Italy's shores.

21/11/2011 | World

Moody's warns on French rating outlook

A rise in interest rates on French government debt and weaker growth prospects could be negative for the outlook on France's credit rating, Moody's warned in a report, adding to pressure on European debt markets.

04/11/2011 | World

Final Communiqué of G20 leaders summit in Cannes

07/11/2011 | World

Carlos the Jackal on trial over French bombings

Famous Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal stands trial today in France for a series of bombings in the 1980s. The international revolutionary from Venezuela, born Ilich Ramirez Sanchez later nicknamed Carlos the Jackal, built a career as one of the world's best known guerrillas after a hostage-taking of OPEC oil ministers in the name of the Palestinian struggle in 1975.

12/11/2011 | World

French gay 'wedding' reopens debate ahead of election

The mayor of a small French town challenged the country's ban on same-sex marriage by presiding over the wedding of two men, reviving the debate on gay marriage as France's presidential election campaign heats up.

03/11/2011 | World

Obama in Cannes: 'Our task is to resolve the financial crisis in Europe'

US President Barack Obama said today during the Group of 20 Summit in Cannes, France, that "the most important aspect of our task over the next two days is to resolve the financial crisis here in Europe."

03/11/2011 | World

G20: Greek PM ready to go, dump referendum, for euro deal

Fast-moving events in Athens overshadowed the first day of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies on the French Riviera, with anxious world leaders urging Europe to act to stop contagion from its sovereign debt crisis.

04/11/2011 | World

Carlos the Jackal back in court over 1980s bombs

Gray hair and a paunch have replaced the beret, leather jacket and dark glasses but Carlos the Jackal's defiance remains intact before he stands trial in France for a series of bombings in the 1980s.

19/10/2011 | World

Bruni gives birth to baby girl

French first lady Carla Bruni gave birth to a baby girl, French media reported, her first child with husband President Nicolas Sarkozy and the first baby born to a French presidential couple in office.

25/10/2011 | World

ECB row, Italy flare on eve of euro rescue summit

A flare-up over the European Central Bank and political turmoil in Italy kept the euro zone on edge on the eve of a summit meant to confront the currency bloc's worsening sovereign debt crisis.

02/11/2011 | World

Merkel, Sarkozy say no more aid until Greece decides on euro

Greece will receive no more European bailout aid until it has put an end to uncertainty and agreed to meet its commitments to the euro zone, the leaders of France and Germany said.

19/09/2011 | World

Gaddafi spokesman says UK, French mercenaries caught

Muammar Gaddafi's loyalists said they had captured 17 mercenaries - some British and French - in what would amount to a severe blow to Libya's new rulers and their international backers.

01/10/2011 | World

Three men investigated over US$130 million French art heist

Three men are being formally investigated over the theft of five famous paintings by artists including Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse from a French museum, the Paris Prosecutor's office said, in a heist worth US$130 million.

17/10/2011 | World

Judge gives L'Oreal heiress's daughter control

L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt's daughter won control over her mother's business affairs today, the daughter's lawyer said, almost two years after she first asked to take over on the grounds her mother had been exploited.

03/09/2011 | World

Medical report says Chirac unfit to face trial

A medical report submitted this week argues that former French president Jacques Chirac is mentally unfit to face trial, his lawyers said today, two days before he is due to face charges of misusing public funds.

12/09/2011 | World

Explosion at French nuclear site kills one, injures four

A furnace exploded at the Marcoule nuclear waste treatment site in southern France, killing one person, but there was no leak of radioactive material outside the furnace, France's ASN nuclear safety watchdog said.

12/09/2011 | World

IAEA says seeks info from France about blast

The UN atomic agency is seeking information from France about today's explosion at a nuclear waste treatment site in the country's south, its head said.

12/08/2011 | World

French economy stagnates in second quarter

French economic growth ground to a halt as household spending shrank in the second quarter, raising pressure on the government to announce cutbacks to convince turbulent markets it will deliver on debt reduction targets.

22/08/2011 | World

France wants transition summit for Libya

France aims to host a meeting of international partners in Paris next week to lay out a roadmap for Libya's future, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, as rebels swept into Tripoli.

24/08/2011 | World

France, partners working on new Libya UN resolution

France and its partners at the United Nations are working on a draft resolution that would enable Libyan assets to be unfrozen and sanctions to be unlocked, a French diplomatic source said.

03/08/2011 | World

Row flares as pilots boycott Rio crash probe

French pilots suspended cooperation with an inquiry into the 2009 crash of an Air France jet as a dispute over the causes of the disaster opened deep wounds in France's prestigious aeronautics industry.

04/08/2011 | World

IMF's Lagarde to be investigated for misconduct

A French court ordered an investigation into possible misconduct by IMF head Christine Lagarde when, as finance minister, she approved a settlement to a businessman friend of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

10/08/2011 | World

Rating agencies confirm France as triple A

Moody’s, Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Fitch confimed today that France still rates as a triple-A country with a stable outlook. Rumors that France could be downgraded earlier led to a sharp sell-off in French banking shares.

27/06/2011 | World

E. coli outbreak: French-German gov’t advise to avoid sprouts

Dutch and British health officials advised people to avoid raw sprouts and seeds today after scientists linked an outbreak of E. coli in France to a highly toxic one in Germany that has killed 43 people.

29/06/2011 | World

Francois Baroin to replace Lagarde as finance minister in France

Francois Baroin, France's budget minister and government spokesman, was named finance minister, replacing Christine Lagarde who is leaving to be the new head of the International Monetary Fund.

11/07/2011 | World

Diplomats say Assad loyalists attack US, French embassies

French embassy guards in Damascus fired live ammunition to disperse loyalists to President Bashar al-Assad who tried to break into the compound and are still surrounding it, diplomats in the Syrian capital said. A similar crowd broke into the US embassy but later left, they added.

07/06/2011 | World

French media can tweet,- but can't mention Twitter

French TV and radio stations can tweet as much as they like but must stop telling people to consult them on Twitter and Facebook, which amounts to advertising for those sites, France's media regulator says.

18/06/2011 | World

Greeks protest, almost half oppose austerity

Thousands of Greeks marched on parliament in a show of unabated public anger after Prime Minister George Papandreou vowed to push on with an austerity campaign that a poll showed half the country opposed.

23/06/2011 | World

France says to start gradual Afghan withdrawal

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would follow the United States in starting a gradual troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, a move that could shore up his popularity before a 2012 election.

26/05/2011 | World

G8 Summit: Powers urge Yemen leader to go

Leaders of the Group of Eight called on Yemen's president to quit, hoping to avert civil war flaring up in one part of the Arab world as they prepared to help new democracies flourish in another.

27/05/2011 | World

G8 Leaders pledge initial US$20 billion to back Arab Spring

Group of Eight leaders promised US$20 billion in aid to Tunisia and Egypt today and held out the prospect of billions more to foster the Arab Spring and the new democracies emerging from popular uprisings.

29/05/2011 | World

French minister quits over sex harassment case

A junior minister in French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right government resigned after he was accused of sexual harassment by two women, the government said.

06/05/2011 | World

Libya: France expels 14 diplomats, Russia opposes foreign intervention

France expelled 14 Libyan diplomats loyal to the government of Muammar Gaddafi, the French foreign ministry said. France, the United States, Britain and others are trying to go beyond the NATO bombing campaign. Russia said opposes any foreign ground operation in Libya.

20/05/2011 | World

Europeans race to nominate Strauss-Kahn successor

European leaders raced today to nominate a successor for fallen IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn before a G8 summit in France next week, with French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde in pole position.

26/05/2011 | World

G8 leaders gather in France, eyes on Arabs, IMF

French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosts an opening lunch for the 24-hour annual summit in the northern seaside resort of Deauville. Bilateral meetings among the leaders of the G8 have already begun before lunch.

11/04/2011 | World

France starts ban on full-face veil

France's ban on full face veils, a first in Europe, went into force today, making anyone wearing the Muslim niqab or burqa in public liable to a fine of 150 euros ($216) or lessons in French citizenship.

12/04/2011 | World

Libya campaign continues until Gaddafi goes

Leaders of Britain, France and the United States vowed on to keep up their military campaign in Libya until Muammar Gaddafi leaves power, and rebels said his forces pounded the city of Misrata with missiles.

20/04/2011 | World

France promises Libyan rebels it will intensify air strikes

In Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged stronger military action at his first meeting with the leader of the opposition Libyan National Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the Elysee presidential office said in a statement.

30/03/2011 | World

IAEA suggests Japan widen exclusion zone near nuclear plant

The UN nuclear watchdog suggested Japan consider widening an evacuation zone around a stricken nuclear plant as French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to arrive on Thursday, the first leader to visit since a devastating earthquake and tsunami sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

31/03/2011 | World

France calls for world nuclear reforms after Japan crisis

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a reform of global nuclear standards by the end of the year during a first visit by a foreign leader toJapan since the earthquake and tsunami that triggered its atomic disaster.

04/04/2011 | World

France says finds bodies in Atlantic crash wreckage

France has located the bodies of some passengers who perished when an Air France plane crashed off Brazil in 2009, as well as wreckage from the aircraft, the government said.

26/03/2011 | World

Libyan rebels rout Gaddafi forces in strategic town

Libyan rebels backed by allied air strikes recaptured the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiyah, pushing out Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

27/03/2011 | World

Sarkozy squeezed by left and right in French polls

The opposition Socialist Party comprehensively won French local elections as the far-right National Front surged, between them pressuring President Nicolas Sarkozy a year before he faces the electorate.

29/03/2011 | World

France, US to help Japan in nuclear crisis

France and the United States are to help Japan in its battle to contain radiation from a crippled nuclear complex where plutonium finds have raised public alarm over the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

20/03/2011 | World

Libyan army says immediate ceasefire ordered

23/03/2011 | World

Gaddafi tanks move in again on besieged Libyan city

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces resumed their attack on the rebel-held town of Misrata, moving back onto the offensive just hours after Western strikes silenced their guns.

25/03/2011 | World

West targets Libyan forces in bid to end stalemate

Western warplanes bombed Muammar Gaddafi's tanks and artillery in eastern Libya to try to break a battlefield stalemate and help rebels take the strategic town of Ajdabiyah.

08/01/2011 | World

Germany and France want Portugal to accept aid

Germany and France want Portugal to accept an international bailout as soon as possible in order to prevent its debt crisis spreading to other countries, German magazine Der Spiegel reported.

08/03/2011 | World

French court postpones trial of ex-president Chirac

A French court postponed the trial of former President Jacques Chirac yesterday over misuse of public funds while it seeks advice on a constitutional challenge that will hold the case up for months.

16/03/2011 | World

G7 to discuss Japan as yen soars

The Group of Seven rich nations will discuss on possible steps to calm volatile financial markets roiled by fears about the deepening crisis in Japan.

16/10/2012 | Latin America

France snatch last-gasp equaliser to hold Spain

France substitute Olivier Giroud headed past a diving Iker Casillas with almost the last touch of the game to snatch a 1-1 draw against world champions Spain in their World Cup Group I qualifier.

03/04/2011 | Latin America

France says locates wreckage from Atlantic crash

France has discovered what appears to be part of an Air France aircraft that crashed in the Atlantic almost two years ago killing all 228 people on board, accident investigators said.

30/04/2012 | Latin America

France holds Colombian FARC responsible for journalist

France said it held FARC rebels responsible for the life of a French journalist in Colombia, calling on the drug-funded group to release him immediately in line with a pledge it made to stop taking hostages for ransom.

07/05/2012 | Latin America

FARC wants media debate for Frenchman's release

Colombia's leftist FARC rebels accused the government of manipulating journalists and demanded a debate on freedom of information as a step that may lead to the release of a French reporter kidnapped nine days ago.

28/09/2012 | Sports

New French taxes will be 'disastrous' for football

Clubs and players lashed out after the French government unveiled its 2013 budget, saying new tax plans would have a "disastrous effect" on domestic football.

25/01/2013 | Sports

France back Dulin out of Six Nations squad with injury

France fullback Brice Dulin will be out of action for several weeks because of a hamstring injury and is set to miss most of the Six Nations championship, the French federation (FFR) said today.

02/08/2012 | Sports

Argentina beat Tunisia to improve record

08/08/2012 | Sports

Basketball: Spain beat France in bad-tempered clash

Spain broke open a fierce defensive battle in the final minute to beat France 66-59 and reach the semi-finals of the Olympic men's basketball tournament in a bad-tempered contest that threatened to turn into a brawl.

26/09/2012 | Sports

Zidane head-butt on permanent display in Paris

Zinedine Zidane's infamous headbutt on Italian Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final has been immortalised in a statue now on display in Paris.

23/06/2012 | Sports

Spain ease into semis without breaking sweat

Xabi Alonso marked his 100th Spain appearance by scoring both goals as the holders eased to a comfortable 2-0 win over a feeble France and into a Euro 2012 semi-final against Portugal back in Donetsk on Wednesday.

29/07/2012 | Sports

USA men in joyful romp over France

The US men's basketball team launched their Olympic title defence with a joyful display of high-flying skill fuelled by camaraderie, soaring past France 98-71.

31/07/2012 | Sports

France defeat Argentina in tough match

09/04/2012 | Sports

Bitter fans want Marseille to lose again to deny PSG

Olympique Marseille have lost 10 of their last 11 matches and their biggest supporters group wants that miserable run to continue on Wednesday.

15/06/2012 | Sports

France storm past Ukraine in wet Donetsk

Sparkling attacking football and goals from Jeremy Menez and Yohan Cabaye earned France a 2-0 win over Ukraine in their Euro 2012 Group D match after the game was halted for 55 minutes due to a thunderstorm.

21/06/2012 | Sports

Frustrated France defuse tension before Spain game

Tensions may have risen in the France dressing room after they lost their final Euro 2012 group game but they are ready to start from scratch against Spain in Saturday's quarter-final.

15/10/2011 | Sports

Heroic Wales fall just short of first final

Wales fell agonisingly short of reaching their first rugby World Cup final today after playing three-quarters of their semi-final against France without captain Sam Warburton who had been sent off in the first 20 minutes.

20/10/2011 | Sports

New Zealand unchanged for World Cup final

New Zealand coach Graham Henry named an unchanged team for the World Cup final against France at Eden Park on Sunday, keeping faith with the same players who overwhelmed Australia to reach the global showpiece.

08/04/2012 | Sports

Spain, US to meet in Davis Cup semi-finals

Holders Spain clinched a Davis Cup semi-final berth at home to the United States when David Ferrer cruised to a 7-5 6-3 6-3 victory over Austria's Juergen Melzer to give the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead.

27/05/2011 | Sports

Heinze to leave Olympique Marseille

Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze will leave the Olympique Marseille team at the end of the season, the former Manchester United player said in a statement today.

30/07/2011 | Sports

World champions Spain face France in World Cup

World champions Spain will face former world champions France in their campaign to qualify for the World Cup finals in Brazil in 2014 following the gala preliminary round draw.

13/10/2011 | Sports

Wales bring form and lack of fear to semis

Wales bring form, confidence and a fearless attitude to the first rugby World Cup semi-final against France at Eden Park on Saturday.

11/01/2013 | Entertainment

French comedian rallies broad front against gay marriage

When the opponents of gay-marriage take to the streets in Paris on Sunday, their protest will be led neither by politicians nor priests, but by a sassy comedian in a pink T-shirt who goes by the stage name Frigide Barjot.

22/01/2013 | Entertainment

Lagerfeld backs French gay marriage with Chanel catwalk finale

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld sent two models dressed as brides alongside his tiny godson down the catwalk in a public show of support for French government plans to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption.

13/12/2012 | Entertainment

Actor Depardieu puts Paris house up for sale

French actor Gerard Depardieu, accused of trying to escape the taxman by buying a house just over the border in Belgium, has put his sumptuous Parisian home up for sale.

20/12/2012 | Entertainment

Putin offers Depardieu a Russian passport

President Vladimir Putin offered French actor Gerard Depardieu a Russian passport today, saying he would welcome the 63-year-old celebrity who is embroiled in a bitter tax row with France's socialist government.

05/01/2013 | Entertainment

French actor Depardieu in Russia to meet Putin

French film star Gerard Depardieu arrived in Russia today to meet President Vladimir Putin, who granted him citizenship after a public spat in France over his efforts to avoid a potential 75 percent income tax.

31/08/2012 | Entertainment

Depardieu, Adjani to star in France's Strauss-Kahn movie

The disgraced power couple of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair will be played by two of France's best-known actors, Gerard Depardieu and Isabelle Adjani, in an upcoming movie about sex, politics and love on the rocks.

08/09/2012 | Entertainment

Paul McCartney decorated with France's highest award

Former Beatle Paul McCartney received France's highest public distinction for his contribution to music on Saturday when President Francois Hollande made him an officer of the Legion of Honour in a short ceremony at the presidential palace.

29/11/2012 | Entertainment

France’s Depardieu detained for drunken driving

French actor Gerard Depardieu was detained for driving his scooter while drunk after he had a minor accident in Paris, prosecutors said.

26/07/2012 | Entertainment

Madonna voices love for tolerant France in Paris show

Pop star Madonna treated fans to an intimate show at Paris' famed Olympia theatre, voicing her love for a France that is open to minorities and artists and reinterpreting "Je t'aime moi non plus," a song laced with sexual innuendo.

09/08/2012 | Entertainment

Rumoured 'Brangelina' nuptials draw blank looks in South France

Rumours of a weekend wedding between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie sent photographers and reporters rushing to the couple's chateau in southern France, but local officials said they had no knowledge of any impending nuptials.

14/08/2012 | Entertainment

French mayor denies 'Brangelina' to wed at weekend

A French mayor denied a report in celebrity magazine Hello that quoted him saying Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who own a chateau nearby, were due to get married this weekend.

10/05/2011 | Entertainment

Cannes: Carla Bruni´s absence fuels pregnancy rumors

France's First Lady Carla Bruni said she had canceled a red-carpet appearance at the Cannes film festival because of "personal reasons," feeding rumors that she might be pregnant.

25/01/2012 | Entertainment

France's Jean Dujardin plays down Hollywood success

His suave Clark Gable looks have made him an international heartthrob, while his role as silent movie icon George Valentin in French film "The Artist" has earned him a best actor Oscar nomination.

09/07/2012 | Entertainment

Quidditch nerds target Games to promote their sport

Quidditch players riding broomsticks tagged on to the Olympics, acknowledging the game adapted from the Harry Potter series was for nerds but arguing that it was a legitimate sport worthy of being in the Olympics.

21/01/2011 | Entertainment

US returns stolen Impressionist painting to France

A stolen painting by French Impressionist Edgar Degas was formally returned to France at the residence of the French ambassador to the United States after it surfaced at an auction in New York.

01/03/2011 | Entertainment

Dior fires 'odious' Galliano over racist slurs

French fashion house Dior said it is firing John Galliano after complaints were lodged with police that their star designer made offensive and anti-Semitic comments.

02/03/2011 | Entertainment

Designer Galliano to go on trial over racist insults

British designer John Galliano will go on trial over accusations he made racist insults, the French public prosecutor's office said.

30/06/2011 | Multimedia

Sarkozy suffers aggresion during handshake tour