French News and weather - 10 February
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 10:15PM 
Provence and Corsica - snow
The presence of a large anticyclone from Russia to France means a northeast wind so the east of Francewill remain cold.
Temperatures will remain very cold until the weekend in the East side.
In contrast, a depression off the coast of Var will promote the development of new snow in Provence and Corsica on Friday.
Find your local time on, hour by hour, on your phone at 32.01 *
Air France resumes normal operations as strike ends
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Air France said on Friday that its services were returning to normal after a four-day staff strike over a draft law that would require workers to give 48 hrs notice before striking. The strike caused hundreds of flight cancellations.
AFP - French flag-carrier Air France said it expected its services to return to normal Friday after a four-day strike that saw hundreds of fights cancelled at airports across the country.
But the airline warned in a statement that there could be some delays as it worked to get its schedules back on track amid freezing conditions and snow in some parts of France.
Air France cancelled around a third of its long-haul flights and a quarter of shorter journeys every day since the start of the strike Monday by aviation workers.
The strike by pilots, flight attendants and ground staff was costing Air France eight to 10 million euros ($11-$13 million) per day, the company said.
Air France, the firm the worst hit by the industrial action, had urged customers to postpone travel and sent out tens of thousands of emails and text messages to clients warning them their flights had been cancelled or delayed.
The strike hit services at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, a global aviation hub, as well as several French regional airports.
Unions called the strike to protest against a draft law that would require aviation workers to individually give 48 hours notice prior to striking, saying this limits labour rights.
The bill was approved by France's lower house last month and is due to be debated in the Senate.
The head of the SNPL pilots' union, Yves Deshayes, said the union was to meet transport ministry officials on Friday and then decide whether to pursue further action against the bill.
But Transport Minister Thierry Mariani said the government would not drop the bill, which he said was aimed at protecting passengers' rights.
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Greek austerity plans not ready, say eurozone ministers
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Eurozone ministers have cast doubt on Greece's ability to push through austerity measures needed to release a 130bn euro ($170bn; £110bn) bailout.
At a meeting of finance ministers in Brussels, Germany's Wolfgang Schaeuble said a plan agreed by Greece's fragile coalition after days of talks was "not at a stage where it can be signed off".
The EU and IMF demanded stringent cuts in return for the bailout money.
Unions have already called a 48-hour strike in protest at the measures.
The BBC's Chris Morris, in Brussels, says European ministers want to see more evidence that the measures will actually be implemented.
There is also serious concern that the overall plan for Greece - involving the new bailout as well as an agreement for private banks to write off a substantial chunk of Greek debt - still doesn't do enough to put the country on a sustainable economic path, our correspondent says.
Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the so-called eurogroup of finance ministers, also said he doubted whether the Greek plan was ready for approval.
"I do not have reasons to believe that there will be a definitive deal this evening," he told reporters as he arrived for the Brussels meeting.
But he hailed the progress Greece had made and said eurozone countries were likely to thrash out a deal with Athens by next week.
Greece is trying to negotiate the bailout from the EU and IMF
It is the second such bailout, and lenders insisted on more austerity measures in return for the loan.
The mood among eurozone countries appears to be toughening on Greece, our correspondent says.
While the official view is still that Greece must be saved, he says there is more and more talk on the margins that a Greek default would not be a disaster.
'Painful measures'The plan agreed by the Greek government includes 15,000 public-sector job cuts, liberalisation of labour laws, lowering the minimum wage by 22% and negotiating a debt write-off with banks.
But a key demand of the EU, IMF and European Central Bank was reform of the pension system, an issue that proved to be a stumbling block.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos tried to convince his coalition partners to overhaul pensions and save 300m euros a year.
Talks broke up without an agreement, but officials later announced that a compromise had been reached. It was not clear how the 300m euro saving would be made.
The government needs the backing of the eurozone ministers and the approval of the Greek parliament before the deal can be finalised.
Neither Mr Juncker nor Mr Schaeuble detailed their doubts about the plan, but IMF officials had earlier hinted that it lacked any proposals for major institutional reform.
They were also seeking assurances that the agreed measures would not be affected by elections due in April.
Greece is already feeling the effects of an earlier round of austerity, put in place as part of a deal to release funds from a previous bailout.
Those cuts triggered widespread unrest and violent protests.
Greece is deep in recession with unemployment rising above 20%.
Unions have already said they will go out on strike over the latest austerity plans, condemning them as "painful measures" that would create misery.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama reaffirmed America's willingness to help stabilise the eurozone.
In a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, he also urged European countries to promote a strategy of growth.
Analysis
The pieces of an overall deal on Greece are beginning to fall into place. But the agreement between political parties in Athens is just one part of a complex set of negotiations involving the second financial bailout and a deal with private banks to write off 100bn euros of Greek debt.
Crucially the whole package has to satisfy the demand from creditors like the IMF that it will make Greek debt sustainable - and it's not clear that that point has yet been reached. So no-one will be signing any cheques straight away.
The question is who's going to pay. Eurozone countries like Germany believe they're contributing enough already. Private banks feel the same. Some have suggested that the European Central Bank could, under strict conditions, play a role. But there will be considerable argument over this complex choreography - not least because it involves vast amounts of money, and significant political risk.
French airport unions keep up pressure on final day of strike
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French flag-carrier Air France cancelled more than a third of its long-haul flights and a quarter of medium and short-haul flights on Thursday as a four-day strike by aviation workers entered its final day.
About the same proportion of flights had been cancelled on the third day of the strike on Wednesday.
The strike hit services at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, a global aviation hub, as well as several French regional airports. Air France says the strike by pilots, flight attendants and ground staff is costing eight to 10 million euros per day.
Unions said more than 60 per cent of pilots were participating in the strike, but Air France said only 30 per cent of pilots and 15 per cent of flight attendants were taking part.
Unions called the industrial action to protest against a draft law that would require aviation workers to individually give 48 hours notice prior to striking, saying this limits labour rights.
The bill was approved by France's lower house last month and is due to be debated in the Senate.
The head of the SNPL pilots' union, Yves Deshayes, said the union was to meet transport ministry officials on Friday and then decide whether to pursue further action against the bill.
"Depending on the proposals made we will decide whether to continue the strike or not," he said, adding that industrial action could take place during France's February school holidays.
But Transport Minister Thierry Mariani said the government would not drop the bill, which he said was aimed at protecting passengers' rights.
"It is out of the question that we move on this text because it is not only useful but indispensable," he told AFP. "French policy is decided in parliament and not in a union headquarters."
Sarkozy vows to keep Fessenheim nuclear plant running
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy told cheering workers at France's oldest nuclear power plant at Fessenheim that he will keep it running and slammed his Socialist opponent François Hollande for promising to close it down.
Without mentioning Hollande by name, Sarkozy said the closure of the plant would come "at the cost of jobs in the nuclear industry, the cost of our industrial competitiveness and the cost of our energy independence.
"We will not close this station, it's out of the question," Sarkozy said during his visit to the plant, in Alsace in northeastern France on Thursday
Ahead of a two-round presidential election in April and May, Socialist frontrunner Hollande has promised to reduce France's reliance on nuclear energy from 75 per cent to 50 per cent by shutting down 24 reactors by 2025.
The Socialist plan includes closing the two reactors at the Fessenheim plant, which dates from 1977.
"I will never accept the closing of the Fessenheim station for political reasons," Sarkozy said. "Wanting to close Fessenheim is a scandal, because it would mean sacrificing your jobs for backward political thinking."
France, the world's most nuclear-dependent country, operates 58 reactors and has been a leading international proponent of atomic energy.
But the country's reliance on nuclear power has been called into question since the Fukushima disaster in Japan, which prompted Germany to announce plans to shut all of its reactors by the end of 2022.
Greece leaders agree bailout cuts package
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Greece has been convulsed by strikes, protests and riots over existing austerity measures
Greek politicians have reached a deal on austerity measures needed for a new 130bn euro ($170bn; £110bn) bailout, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos says.
He announced the deal after days of talks with his coalition partners.
The plan needs to be approved by eurozone finance ministers, who are meeting in Brussels later.
Continuing austerity measures have led to widespread unrest, and unions have already promised a 48-hour strike to protest against the latest proposals.
Greece is trying to negotiate the bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
It is the second such bailout, and lenders have insisted on more austerity measures in return for the loan.
'Social uprising'
The prime minister held talks for eight hours on Wednesday night with the leaders of the three parties in his coalition - Pasok, New Democracy and the far-right Laos party.
The talks ended with no agreement on pension reform, but hours later the prime minister announced a compromise.
Mr Papademos said in a statement that the EU, IMF and European Central Bank (ECB) - the so-called troika - were happy with the deal.
Greek deadlines
- · Thursday: Eurozone finance ministers to hold a meeting to approve the latest bailout
- · 15 February: Deadline for plan to be finalised, to allow time for Greek debt exchange
- · 20 March: Greece must have received its next tranche of bailout cash to meet a 14bn euro debt payment
- · April: Elections expected
"The consultations between the government and the troika on the issue which remained open for further discussion were successfully completed this morning," Mr Papademos said.
The IMF later said it was still in talks with the Greek government.
The fund was reportedly seeking assurances that the agreed measures would not be affected by elections due in April.
Specific details of the deal have not yet been released.
The IMF, EU and ECB were demanding that the Greeks make cuts of 1.5% of GDP, slash pensions and make thousands more civil service job cuts
They also told Athens to make its economy more competitive by introducing flexible labour laws and cutting the minimum wage.
ECB chief Mario Draghi said Mr Papademos had spoken to him about the deal.
"This afternoon we will be having a euro group meeting with the ministers, and we will be having a full report of this, the agreement, and also a discussion of the further steps," he said.
Last year Greece agreed to huge public sector job cuts and tax rises as part of a deal to release funds for a previous bailout.
The previous round of cuts to public spending sparked huge unrest, general strikes and riots.
The socialist government eventually fell late last year and was replaced by a government led by technocrats.
But Greece remains mired in recession with an unemployment rate of about 20%, and the austerity policies remain deeply unpopular with much of the public.
Even before the new proposals were announced, unions representing about half of Greece's workforce said they were calling a strike for Friday and Saturday - the second strike this week.
"The painful measures that create misery for the youth, the unemployed and pensioners do not leave us much room," Ilias Iliopoulos of the ADEDY union told Reuters news agency.
"We won't accept them. There will be a social uprising."
Debt restructuring
A situation in which a borrower renegotiates the terms of its debts, usually in order to reduce short-term debt repayments and to increase the amount of time it has to repay them. If lenders do not agree to the change in repayment terms, or if the restructuring results in an obvious loss to lenders, then it is generally considered a default by the borrower. However, restructurings can also occur through a voluntary debt swap, in which case it can be very hard to determine whether it counts as a default.
Sarkozy promises populist unemployment referendum
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview that he intends to hold a referendum on whether unemployed people receiving benefits should be allowed to turn down jobs. He also said he was hoping to reform policy on illegal immigration.
AFP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy took another big step towards confirming he will stand for re-election on Thursday, taking a populist turn with promises of referendums on jobs and immigration.
Le Monde reported he might declare his candidacy as early as next Thursday, but there was no official confirmation from the office of the right-wing leader, who polls say would lose the vote to a Socialist rival.
Sources in his UMP party said that, in an interview with Le Figaro magazine to be published this weekend, Sarkozy proposes holding a referendum on whether the unemployed should be allowed turn down a job and still keep their benefits.
He also said he was hoping to reform the way in which illegal immigrants could be kicked out of France, and tabled a series of other propositions that could be seen as an electoral programme, the sources said.
Sarkozy places great emphasis on "values" in the Figaro interview, rather than on his economic programme, they said.
Last month, the president gave his strongest hint yet he will be a candidate in the two-round election to be held in April and May. "I have a rendezvous with the French people. I will not shy away from it," he said.
"I am determined," he added, in an interview to unveil reforms aimed at lifting France out of the economic doldrums and boosting his credibility ahead of the vote in which Socialist Francois Hollande is the frontrunner.
Members of Sarkozy's entourage have said he will stand for re-election, but Sarkozy himself has never done so publicly.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel threw her weight Sarkozy in his tough re-election battle, saying the two right-wingers were from the same "political family".
Despite accusations in both countries of interference, Merkel used a visit to Paris for a joint Franco-German cabinet session to make clear her support for Sarkozy, who has increasingly cited Germany as a model for France.
Study claims French weight loss drug, Mediator, killed at least 1,300
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At least 1,300 people died from Mediator, a drug licensed for use by diabetics that was used in France as a slimming aid before it was withdrawn, according to a study published by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, Inserm, on Thursday.
The study gives a more accurate figure for the number of deaths from the drug, known by the lab name as benfluorex, which had previously been put at between 1,000 and 2,000.
Its French manufacturer, Servier, is being probed on suspicion of dishonest practices and deception.
Mahmoud Sureik of Inserm, who co-led the investigation into the drug, estimates 3,100 people had required hospitilisation during the 33 years the drug was sold.
In 2009, the drug was pulled from the European market amid evidence that it damaged heart valves and caused pulmonary hypertension. The figures for the deaths are based on those from faulty heart valves, and not from hypertension, among major users of the drug.
According to Servier, 145 million packets of Mediator were sold on the French market before it was pulled.
Mediator was initially licensed as a way of reducing levels of fatty proteins, lipids, with the claim that it helped diabetics control their blood sugar level. But it also suppressed the appetite which meant it gained a second official use to help obese diabetics lose weight.
The Mediator case came to light after a scandal involving a similar type of anti-obesity drug, fenfluramine, in the late 1990s.
The French will vote in Presidential elections
on 22 April,
with a probable second round
on 5 May.
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Perfumier Guerlain on trial for racist slur
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Perfume impresario Jean-Paul Guerlain went on trial in Paris Thursday over a 2010 incident in which he described himself as working like a "negre" – a racist slur - and then implying that black people were lazy.
AFP - French parfumier Jean-Paul Guerlain, for decades the "nose" behind the world-famous perfume brand, went on trial Thursday on racism charges after televised remarks caused widespread offence.
Asked in an October 2010 interview about how he created the Samsara scent, Guerlain replied using a racial slur -- the French term "negre" -- and implied that black people are lazy.
"For once, I set to work like a negro. I don't know if negroes have always worked like that, but anyway..." he said.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation, with anti-racism groups saying it highlighted deep prejudice in French society.
On Thursday, the 75-year-old heir to one of the world's oldest perfume houses appeared in court here to face charges of making "racist insults" during an interview on French public television.
Guerlain, who entered the court on crutches, faces up to six months in prison and a 22,500 euro ($30,000) fine.
At the time, his comments were quickly denounced, with France's Movement Against Racism and for Friendship (MRAP) saying the remarks revealed "the state of ordinary racism that still permeates French society."
Guerlain apologised but protests erupted outside the company's boutique on the Champs Elysees in Paris and there were calls for a boycott of Guerlain and its owner, luxury brand giant Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH).
"I offer my apologies to all those who might have been hurt by my shocking words," Guerlain said in a statement after the interview. He said the comments "in no way reflect my true thinking, but were a slip of the tongue."
The Guerlain company also distanced itself from the remarks, saying his words were "unacceptable" and noting that Guerlain had not been a shareholder since 1996 or on salary since 2002.
Guerlain took over the family perfume house from his grandfather, Jacques, in 1959, by which time he could recognise 3,000 subtly different smells.
The perfume house was run by the Guerlain family for five generations and created over 300 fragrances since doctor and chemist Pierre Francois Pascal Guerlain opened his first perfume boutique in Paris 183 years ago.
LVMH purchased the company in 1994 and Guerlain remained as master perfumer until he retired in 2002.
During his time at the company he was hailed as one of the great perfume "noses" of the 20th century and created famous scents including Samsara, Nahema and Jardins de Bagatelle.
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France's Juppé calls Syria's promises "manipulation"
France’s Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said Wednesday that President Bashar al-Assad’s promises to Russia to end the violence in Syria were mere manipulation. The comments came after several EU and Gulf countries recalled their ambassadors from Syria.
Juppé said during a French radio program that he did not believe the commitments made by the Syrian regime and said it was a manipulation “which we are not going to fall for.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron echoed Juppé’s comments, dismissing Assad’s promises. “I think we have very little confidence in that,” he told Parliament.
The statements came after President Assad met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday in Damascus, where he said he was “fully committed” to ending the bloodshed.
Regime forces continued to attack the Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday, which has seen a spike in violence in recent days.
EU leaders are contemplating a ban on flights in and out of Syria, as well as making contingency plans if it needs to evacuate EU citizens from the country.
The 27-member EU bloc is also considering banning phosphate imports from Syria and freezing the Syrian central bank’s assets.
The new raft of sanctions could be adopted during the next meeting of EU ministers on February 27.
EU nations such as France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Belgium have pulled their ambassadors out of Syria, as did the United States on Monday.
The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – have also withdrawn their ambassadors from Damascus.
Russia sparked anger in the West last week when it joined China in vetoing a UN Security Council draft resolution to end the violence in Syria.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the veto a "travesty."
French former government minister charged with corruption
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Eric Woerth alleged to have taken cash from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt to fund Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign
A former government minister has been charged with corruption by judges investigating whether he took envelopes stuffed with cash from France's richest woman to fund Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.
The charge of influence-peddling against Eric Woerth, the one-time labour minister and treasurer of the president's ruling right-wing UMP party, is a blow to Sarkozy's already difficult re-election battle this spring.
It is the first corruption fall-out from a long-running family feud which has torn apart the L'Oreal hairspray dynasty, headed by the elderly billionaire heiress Liliane Bettencourt. If Woerth is found to have used his position of influence to secure favours from Bettencourt's financial manager or to solicit wads of cash from 89-year-old Bettencourt – who suffers from Alzheimer's – he risks up to 10 years in prison and a heavy fine.
The Bettencourt saga began four years ago as a family feud between mother and daughter in one of the richest families in France, but it has sparked a raft of judicial investigations including on tax evasion and illegal party funding. In 2007, Liliane Bettencourt's daughter began legal action claiming that a dandy Paris socialite and photographer had befriended her ageing mother and taken advantage of her frail state of mind to persuade her to give him over €1bn in artworks, insurance policies and cash.
The ensuing legal battle lifted the lid on activities at the Bettencourt mansion west of Paris, including talk of politicians who came to dinner and left with brown envelopes of cash. When a disgruntled butler hid a tape-recorder in the drawing room, the spotlight turned to Woerth and Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.
Bettencourt's former accountant, Claire Thibout, testified to having been asked in 2007 to provide batches of €150,000 to Woerth, who was then Sarkozy's campaign treasurer. She described how on one occasion in January 2007, three months before Sarkozy's election battle, Bettencourt's financial manager Patrick de Maistre asked her for €150,000 which she understood would be given to Woerth for the election campaign. She said she couldn't produce that amount of cash and gave de Maistre €50,000. She understood he intended to take the rest from Swiss accounts. Under French election law, individual election campaign donations cannot exceed €4,600.
The influence-peddling charge is likely to relate to Woerth's links to de Maistre, who secured a job for Woerth's wife, Florence, on the team that managed the heiress's fortune. Allegedly in return, Woerth secured him the Legion of Honour, France's highest award. On the butler's tapes, de Maistre is heard instructing the confused elderly lady to sign cheques for politicians and saying Woerth was a "friend" to whom she should give money.
Woerth has not so far been charged with illegal campaign funding.
Woerth, who has denied any wrongdoing or illegal cash for Sarkozy's election campaign, had to leave government in 2010 over the affair. But he is now on Sarkozy's campaign team for the president's reelection battle in April. De Maitre, who denies wrongdoing, has been charged with abusing Bettencourt's mental frailty.
The case calls into question Sarkozy's election pledge to inject some "morals" into descredited French politics. The president's entourage is already under fire over allegedly trying to hush up the affair. Two close Sarkozy allies, a top prosecutor and the head of France's domestic secret services, have been charged with spying on journalists to unmask their sources for reports on the Bettencourt case.
Sarkozy, who as president is immune from criminal prosecution, has denied any wrongdoing. But if he loses the election, which pollsters currently predict will be won by the Socialist favourite François Hollande, judges could request to question him. The case is one of several corruption investigations that have damaged Sarkozy's closest circle.
French press review
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The cordial handshake between Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, a warning over French public spending by the financial watchdog, the Cour des Comptes, the industrial espionage at the heart of French industry and the school for lottery winners are among the top stories in today’s French papers.
We start with the conservative Le Figaro. On its front page, it features the handshake betweenthe Socialist candidate François Hollande and President Sarkozy during a dinner last night.
“A duel between Sarkozy and Hollande will definitely take place,” claims the weekly on its politics pages.
According to a pollster quoted by Le Figaro, it looks like public opinion is entering the “crystallisation stage”, where the two main candidates are leaving the rest of the competition behind.
The second round of the presidential election could become a pure referendum “for or against Sarkozy”, says the daily.
On its special reports page, the daily publishes a piece on Libya. “Tripoli under control of war lords”, reads the title.
The paper’s correspondent tells a riveting story of rivalry between former fighters from Misrata, Zentane or Nalut. Once revolutionaries who risked their lives in battles, they are now fighting for military and political control of the Libyan capital.
According to the journalist, the armed groups who helped to topple the Khadafi regime, are refusing the central government’s efforts to make them lay down their arms.
They claim they are protecting the “weak government “. There is also the armed group of Abdalhakim Beklhadj who became the “Chief of the Tripoli military council”. The rival groups suspect him of having a “hidden islamist agenda”.
Moustapha Abdeljalil, the head of the NTC tells the paper that most of the fighters will soon become part of the national army. But some of the armed groups plan on entering politics.
The article concludes by saying “Tomorrow’s Libya will have two kinds of political parties. Those with an armed wing and those without”.
“The financial watchdog asks for real austerity”, announces centrist Le Monde. In its annual 1,000-page report, la Cour des Comptes gives Sarkozy's government kudos for keeping spending in check - the most progress they say since 1994.
However the paper says that if the structural deficit stays at its 2011 level, French state debt could reach 100 per cent of GDP by 2015.
Le Figaro’s media pages reads “The incredible health of Time Warner”. The “Harry Potter magic” is still intact, reports the paper, since the group’s profits last year increased by 12 per cent.
The Harry Potter sequel has for the 10th consecutive time boosted the profits of the legendary Warner Bros studios.
But Harry Potter is not the only reason for the exceptional profits of the company. The group’s television assets, like CNN or the HBO cable channel are in great shape. Must be thanks to addictive HBO TV series like Boardwalk Empire or the Game of Thrones.
The popular Aujourd’hui en France features two fascinating stories on its front page. “The curious practices of our companies" is a special report on industrial espionage conducted in some of France’s leading companies. Spying on competitors, employees or potential rivals – the report reads like a true spy novel.
And finally, how can you overcome your shyness if your are a freshly minted multi-millionaire? Aujourd’hui en France invites us to follow a workshop organised by the national lottery.
We follow 27 winners of the French Loto, Euromillions or other lotteries as they discover the delights of the Parisian capital.
This time the workshop includes a tour of the l’Opera Garnier.The aim is to make them feel comfortable in an unfamiliar setting. And if by the end of the day, they are still not at ease, they shouldn’t worry – more workshops are planned at the famous Le Drouot auction house or a gastronomic discovery lesson with Michelin star winner, Guy Martin.
Probably, a good recipe to teach the nouveaux riches how to spend their money in style!
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