3 SEPT NEWS HEADS


Socialist leader accused of hypocrisy over Roma expulsions

French Socialist leader Martine Aubry, a vocal critic of the government’s policy of closing traveller camps and "repatriating" their non-French inhabitants, faces accusations of hypocrisy after ordering camps closed in Lille, where she is mayor.

As the war of words over expulsions of Roma from France escalates, the leader of France’s Socialist Party (PS) has been accused of hypocrisy for herself demanding the dismantling of a gypsy camp at Lille where she is mayor.
Martine Aubry has been vocal in her opposition to French government policy, announced at the end of July, of dismantling illegal traveller camps and “repatriating” their non-French inhabitants, mainly to Romania and Bulgaria. Both countries are members of the European Union.
Last week, in a speech concluding the PS summer conference, Aubry accused French President Nicolas Sarkozy of playing on "irrational fears" in his treatment of Roma, thereby "debasing the French Republic".
Aubry believes the initiative poses a moral problem because it targets a community group, and says it is being used as a pretext by the ruling UMP party to divert attention from its economic problems.
On Wednesday, right-leaning daily Le Figaro published a letter written by Aubry’s lawyer on July 19 to the main court in Lille, asking for an order for police to evict forcibly a Roma encampment in the northern French city.
The letter, according to the Figaro, reads: “Over the last few days a number of vehicles and caravans have arrived [in the Villeneuve d'Ascq district of Lille], constituting a flagrant breach of property law and risking becoming a source of problems for neighbouring residents. There is an urgent need to order their expulsion.”
Aubry hits back
Aubry was quick to defend her actions and distance the “evacuation” of the Lille camp from the government’s more hard-line policy of repatriation.
She said that the dismantling of the Lille camps, which took place at the end of August, had been ordered well before Sarkozy’s speech in Grenoble at the end of July, where he outlined his policy against illegal Roma camps.
She also insisted that closing camps had nothing to do with the “undignified” repatriation of Roma to Romania and Bulgaria, from where the majority of non-French Roma originate.
“We do not want to be complicit in repatriations,” she said in a statement, with the exception of cases where there is a serious security problem with certain individuals “which is certainly not the case in this instance”.
Aubry said that the administrative court at Lille had cancelled the expulsion from France of 11 people who had been arrested recently, on the grounds that “illegal occupation of land does not constitute a risk to public order”.
At a press conference coinciding with the beginning of the school term, Aubry said he had written to the prefect [responsible for policing] of the Nord region [of which Lille is the principal city] to “do nothing, to stop the expulsions”.
She insisted that since Sarkozy had announced measures against illegal Roma encampments in France, there had “been no further demands” for clearing traveller cites in the city of Lille.

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What's the legal status of travelling Roma in the EU?
The majority of Roma originate from Romania and Bulgaria, which both became European Union member states in 2007, allowing their citizens to travel freely to other EU countries. Neither country however, is part of the Schengen area, which comprises 22 of the 27 EU member states.
That means that if they have been in a country for more than three months and have no job or no proof of substantial means on which to support themselves, they can be deported at any moment. The same goes if they are found guilty of a public order offence.

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Friendly fire in Afghanistan injured French soldiers, says inquiry

France's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that three French soldiers injured last month in an operation in Afghanistan had in fact been hit by friendly fire, due to "a series of misunderstandings".

AP - The French Defense Ministry says an investigation shows that friendly fire was behind the injury of three French soldiers during an operation in Afghanistan last month.
The inquiry, published Wednesday, concluded that shots from a French unit were to blame for the Aug. 23 incident, which took place in the dark in an overgrown area where insurgents were known to be present.
The report concludes that “these delicate conditions led to a series of misunderstandings between units on the ground.”
The three soldiers injured in the incident were evacuated to France and two remain in the hospital, one in serious condition.
The report says the risk of friendly fire is “inherent” in such operations, despite measures to reduce that risk to a minimum.

What's the legal status of travelling Roma in the EU?
The majority of Roma originate from Romania and Bulgaria, which both became European Union member states in 2007, allowing their citizens to travel freely to other EU countries. Neither country however, is part of the Schengen area, which comprises 22 of the 27 EU member states.
That means that if they have been in a country for more than three months and have no job or no proof of substantial means on which to support themselves, they can be deported at any moment. The same goes if they are found guilty of a public order offence.




What's the legal status of travelling Roma in the EU?
The majority of Roma originate from Romania and Bulgaria, which both became European Union member states in 2007, allowing their citizens to travel freely to other EU countries. Neither country however, is part of the Schengen area, which comprises 22 of the 27 EU member states.
That means that if they have been in a country for more than three months and have no job or no proof of substantial means on which to support themselves, they can be deported at any moment. The same goes if they are found guilty of a public order offence.



~~~

2 Sept NEWS HEADS

• EUROPEAN UNION: French ministers defend Roma evictions
France's Immigration Minister Eric Besson and European Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche defended France's tough policy towards Roma people in Brussels Tuesday as the European Commission voiced concerns.

• FRANCE: Police search home of L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt
French police have searched the home of France's richest woman, the billionaire L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, over ongoing allegations a Parisian society photographer took advantage of her to get written into her will.

• IRAN: Govt slams media for calling France's first lady a 'prostitute'
Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday criticised an Iranian hardline media outlet for calling French first lady Carla Bruni a "prostitute" after she expressed support for an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning.

French railway faces criticism in US for WWII role
By ANTONIO GONZALEZ (AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. — The French national railway's hope to bid on the first high-speed tracks in the United States is running into resistance from Holocaust survivors because of the company's role in transporting Jews to Nazi death camps.

One of those leading the charge against the railway is Florida resident Rosette Goldstein, who says her father was taken away by French authorities, shoved in a cattle train and delivered to his death during World War II. Goldstein plans to voice her opposition on behalf of many Holocaust survivors to the railway Thursday when the Florida Department of Transportation holds a public meeting in Orlando on the $2.6 billion high-speed rail project, which would connect Tampa and Orlando.

Goldstein and others — including legislators — want the railway, known as the SNCF, to formally apologize for its role in the war, give full access to its records and make reparations.

"Why does this company deserve my tax dollars when they cooperated with the Nazis and let their trains transport people to be murdered?" said Goldstein, 71, who lives in Boca Raton.

SNCF stands for Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais. The company has argued that it had no control over operations when France was under Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944 and was under orders to transport Jews to death camps. The firm also has said the French government has made an apology and offered reparations, although survivors contend the company itself has never made such amends.

"We plan to have a full disclosure of our records and complete transparency," said Peter Kelly, an American-based attorney for SNCF. "The fact is many railway workers were killed by Nazis, many were bullied and the company was under control of an occupied government."

Not everybody accepts that explanation.

Rositta Ehrlich Kenigsberg, vice president at the Holocaust Documentation & Education Center in South Florida, said corporations such as SNCF have long used coercion as an excuse. She said SNCF profited greatly from the transports, charging per person and kilometer.

"Being a collaborator and saying you were coerced is not acceptable," she said. "Nobody bought that at the Nuremberg Trials, Rwanda, Darfur and other genocides. You can't help murder people and then just say, 'Well, we were coerced.'"

In California, lawmakers passed a bill last month that forces companies hoping to compete for a piece of California's $45 billion high-speed rail project to disclose whether they transported Holocaust victims. SNCF is also hoping for that project and said it has no problems with the bill.

Florida lawmakers are also stepping into the fray.

U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, a Democrat who represents portions of Broward and Palm Beach counties, a district with a high Jewish population, said he was writing a letter to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist asking for some of the same things Goldstein wants.

"This was a company that was taken and used by the Nazis that profited from the deaths of tens of thousands of people," said Klein, who is also Jewish and serves on the board at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

SNCF employs 175,000 people and operates 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) of high-speed lines in France, and is generally respected as a heavyweight in French industry. But the company has had a hard time erasing its past.

Between 1941 and 1944, 3,000 wagons — originally designed for the transportation of cattle — were used by the SNCF to transport Jews to Nazi death camps, according to a study by French historian Christian Bachelier, ordered by SNCF in 1996. The study points out that there were acts of resistance, but they were sparse, isolated and mostly by workers — not SNCF administration.

SNCF is among about 30 companies hoping to bid for the Florida contract. Transportation officials are going through paperwork the companies have submitted.

Plans for high-speed rails were announced by President Barack Obama in January. Florida would get $1.25 billion in stimulus money and trains are expected to begin operating at speeds up to 168 mph by 2015.

At the very least, SNCF faces big challenges trying to win U.S bids.

"The court of public opinion may already have convicted them, and politicians don't want to be called soft on the Holocaust or anything," said Winston Nagan, a professor of international law and human rights at the University of Florida.

Goldstein and others whose families were wiped out have vowed to raise their voices.

Goldstein was 4 years old when she hid with another family on a farm outside Paris as her father enlisted at a nearby labor camp to avoid internment. He often sneaked away at night to see her, then one night he didn't come.

She said he was transported by an SNCF train — Convoy No. 64 — to Auschwitz, then Buchenwald and finally Langenstein-Zwieberge, where he was killed by Nazis just five days before the camp was liberated by Americans.

"If SNCF had resisted even a little, more people could have been spared," she said. "What's worse, is the way they've ignored us. Is it so hard to say, 'I'm sorry?' I'm one of the youngest survivors — soon there's not going to be any. We have to make sure people don't forget what happened."




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1 Sept NEWS HEADS

The fires on Monday in the Herault, were the largest this summer and were considered "extinguished" by fire fighters this morning, but vigilance is still up because of wind and a persistent risk of re-ignition.

The interior minister, Brice Hortefeux, who visited on Tuesday said that almost 4000 hectares have been affected by the three fires which occurred almost simultaneously.

The fire, that started on Monday near Valmagne Abbey, north of Meze, is still under surveillance.

No-one was injured in the fires.
It is now time to investigate whether this was a case of Arson.
The Minister of the Interior, said that because of the simultaneous fires "over two early fires, at least, there is an obvious question mark."

~

French court blocks deportation of Roma
PARIS — A French court has blocked the deportation of seven Roma people, also known as gypsies, in a blow to President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to dismantle illegal camps.
The administrative tribunal in Lille canceled the deportation orders yesterday, saying the cases didn’t meet the legal standard of posing “a real, immediate, and sufficiently grave threat,’’ according to a statement.
Sarkozy ordered camp demolitions and expulsions after itinerant workers went on a rampage in central France following the death of a man during an identity check. Although the rioters were French citizens, most of the dismantled camps are inhabited by gypsies who hold Romanian or Bulgarian citizenship.
French authorities dismantled 128 camps and deported 977 people to Romanian and Bulgaria in August, the government said Monday.
Meanwhile, France yesterday defended its deportation of foreigners, including hundreds of Roma, and demanded that the Romanian government spend more of the money it gets from the European Union on integrating minority groups at home.
After talks with the European Commission, two French ministers said that the controversial policy is in line with French and European law, rejecting claims of discrimination.
At a press conference in Brussels, the French minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche, criticized the Romanian government, which, he said, spends only 0.4 percent of the $5 billion it receives annually in subsidies from the European Union on integrating its Roma minority.
Lellouche called on the Romanian government to outline a plan for better integration, focusing on education, housing, health, and training.
The French government argued that the Roma were not targeted specifically as a group.

~~~

ROYAL NAVY TO SHARE carriers with France
CARREFOUR announces profits of €82m
FRANCE: tackles student housing crisis with shipping containers
FRANCE: Minister cites crime statistics to justify Roma deportations

More below

A9 re-opened after fire fighters work through the night around Meze - full report below.

Inches from the house - the fire is halted


Grapes baked on vine


Fire "jumped" A 9 and surrounded Loupian industrial area




LA ROYALE ........

The Royal Navy could share the use of its aircraft carriers with French forces, it has been revealed. Any such move will be seen as an attempt to cut costs while maintaining military strength.
It would mean British and French ships working together to protect the interests of both countries, allowing Britain to stop work on two replacement carriers, which are already under construction at a cost of £5.2bn.

It is believed the proposal will be announced by David Cameron and French President Nicholas Sarkozy in November
Critics warn sharing carriers would threaten thousands of shipyard jobs and point out that historically British interests often differ from the French.
It is thought the proposal could be announced by David Cameron and President Sarkozy in a summit in November.
The arrangement-which would come into force soon after, would mean that at all times one of three ships - one French, two are British - would be protecting British interests at sea.

Currently, there are times when Britain's two ships - HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious - are both docked.

It is thought that the British vessels will still only take orders from Royal Navy officers.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox will meet with French counterparts on Friday to discuss a possible share arrangement.
As part of a defence spending review, the Armed Forces are under pressure to cut costs while not weakening Britain's ability to protect its national interests.
Other options available include scrapping one carrier, building it to a lower specification or selling it to another nation.

'The advantage is that if we are going to have one carrier, then at least we can project our power on the sea even if we go down to a single carrier.'

~~

CARREFOUR announces profits of €82m
French retailer Carrefour has announced it made an €82m net profit in the first half of the year.
The result compares with a net loss in the same period a year earlier.
Under new chief executive Lars Olofsson, the company has taken a greater market share in France, which currently accounts for 40% of its sales.
The European market remains lacklustre however, and rumours are rife that Olofsson's focus is now firmly fixed on China and India.


DIPLOMACY: France, Egypt want Med Union summit to underpin Mideast talks
The presidents of France and Egypt met on Monday in Paris to discuss how a planned November summit of the Mediterranean Union could contribute to a Middle East peace accord after the resumption of direct Israeli – Palestinian talks.

FRANCE: Minister cites crime statistics to justify Roma deportations
In response to the growing condemnation over the deportation of Roma from France, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said crime perpetrated by Roma had skyrocketed over the past 18 months.
France’s Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said Wednesday that over the past 18 months crime committed by Roma people has increased by 259 percent in Paris alone.

The minister’s statement came after a flood of criticism and mounting party division over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s summer campaign to dismantle illegal gypsy camps and to deport Roma on a large scale to Eastern Europe. The controversy has been fuelled by declarations by the president that link Roma, Gypsies and travelling people to crime.

"These voluntary repatriations in exchange for money that our fellow Roma citizens receive for coming back to Romania are not a solution."

"We are counting on honest cooperation from Paris. Lodging, better access to education (and) the health system are needed. That can't be done in 48 hours."

“Today, in Paris, the reality is that almost one in five perpetrators of a theft is a Romanian,” Hortefeux said on Wednesday at the joint press conference with immigration minister Eric Besson. “This is not about stigmatising this or that population, but we cannot close our eyes to reality.”

Besson went on to say, "We must broaden the possibilities for issuing deportation orders (for people who pose) a threat to public order by repeated acts of theft or aggressive begging." Besson told reporters he planned to add two amendments to this end to an immigration bill that will be presented to parliament late next month.

FRANCE: New probe into minister’s role in Bettencourt scandal
A French prosecutor has launched a new inquiry into Labour Minister Eric Woerth's role in the tax affairs of a L'Oreal heiress and allegations that he was treated with favouritism in a land deal. Woerth was cleared in the L'Oreal affair in July.

FRANCE: France to tackle student housing crisis with… shipping containers
Taking inspiration from their Dutch neighbours, French officials have inaugurated 99 refashioned shipping containers in a novel approach to solving the chronic lack of housing for university students.

The French government’s fight against its chronic lack of student housing took an unusual turn in the north-western city of Le Havre Monday. In an event presided by the junior minister of higher education Valérie Pécresse, 99 students were handed keys to their brand new… shipping containers.

The massive sheet metal boxes, which have been transformed into no-frills, 25 metre-square student apartments, are efficiently stacked on top of each other and hailed as an affordable housing solution for budget-strained university students.

This novel student housing approach is actually an idea borrowed from the Dutch. However, their long-term sustainability and economic soundness have already called into question in the Netherlands.

The containers first sprouted up in the outlying Ketwoonen neighbourhood of Amsterdam. Here, in 2005, the municipality decided to enlist the help of the Tempohousing Company to come up with a new kind of student housing.

Ketwoonen, whose only previous claim to fame was a prison facility, became instantly renowned after it unveiled 1,000 of these refashioned cargo containers in 2006. “They became very popular with students… even if it takes some getting used to,” says Tempohousing president Quinten of Gooijer.

According to DeKey, Amsterdam’s main rental agency among students, there is now a two-year waiting list for an opening in Ketwoonen’s container city, which also features cafes, a supermarket and sports fields.

Dave Van Der Pol, a container pioneer, remembers his four years in Ketwoonen fondly. “It's perfect for a young student who has just left their parents’ nest,” he says. “You experience a true campus atmosphere.”

The financial advantages for living in a metal box are obvious. According to Van Der Pol, his monthly rent was 430 euros, but he got back 130 euros as a subsidy from the city. The 300 euro rent for his 27 metre-square container, which included a balcony and unlimited Internet, compared well to the average rent for a similar-sized flat elsewhere in Amsterdam.

Today Amsterdam hosts around 2,800 container apartments, which house up to 15 percent of the city’s entire student population, according to DeKey student housing manager Wim De Waard.

But no new container projects have been launched in the past two years.

Apparently, the container flats are not economically viable. De Waard says that at 430 month, it takes an average of 10 years to recover the initial investment of transforming the container into a livable apartment. However, Dutch authorities have ruled that the containers no longer comply with safety standards after just five years.

Tempohousing has been allowed to continue operating the containers in Ketwoonen until 2015, but have been ordered to renovate them in order to comply with the safety standards.

The next generation of Dutch container apartments is being built to withstand a minimum of 15 years of use. There are currently 1,800 containers under construction, but none are yet for sale.

Despite the lessons learned from the Dutch experiment, French authorities have elected for the original less-sustainable Dutch design. Therefore, in five years France could once again face a large bill to address its chronic student housing shortage.



FRANCE: Socialists wrap up summer conference with stinging attack on Sarkozy
After years of bitter squabbling and three successive defeats in presidential elections, French Socialists wrapped up their summer conference with a united front and a defiant challenge to President Nicolas Sarkozy.



FIRES SHUT A9 last night


Evening fell early on Meze on Monday 30th August - at 8 in the evening it was almost as dark as night

A number of fires, North of the A9, stopped traffic for hours near Meze. Trains were also reported to have been stopped.

The fires broke out in the afternoon near Villeveyrac and close to the Abbey Valamagne, north of Sete/Meze. According to some reports it destroyed two or even 3 thousand hectares and closed the A9 highway,

A hundred men and four Canadair firefighting planes fought the fire.

The fire, fanned by the wind from the North, headed initially for Loupian and crossed the highway A9.

One house was burned near Villeyrac sector.

Evacuations have taken place in Villeyrac and near Meze, twenty families were evacuated.

Because of potential for smoke caused accidents and to help firefighter Motorways South of France (ASF) decided to close the highway near Meze in both directions shortly before 18.30

Other fires broke out between Sommières and Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréviers and in an area between Juvignac and Grabbels, where families were evacuated from their homes according to the prefecture.

Reports this morning suggest as many as two thousand hectares may have been burned - one report suggests as many as three thousand.

Standing still - vehicles from Perpignan


Fire tenders returning for more water


Heading for Nimes - sometime


Note - the West bound carriageway is empty


~

30 Aug LOCAL NEWS HEADS

PEZENAS 'Spiderman' Alain Robert arrested after climbing Sydney's Lumiere building

Robert - nicknamed 'Spiderman' was arrested today after scaling a 57-storey building in Sydney with his bare hands.
Alain Robert, known for climbing some of the world's tallest and best-known buildings without ropes or other equipment, was detained at the top of the Lumiere building.

He had climbed the building in around 20 minutes as dozens of people cheered him on from below.

His agent, Max Markson, said: 'I'm told he's been arrested, but hopefully he'll get out soon and we can have some champagne.'
Mr Robert, a climate change protester, unfurled a banner which he attached to the building using suction cups.
He has not yet been charged. Last year, Mr Roberts was fined £435 for climbing the 41-storey Royal Bank of Scotland building in Sydney.

Mr Roberts has climbed more than 70 skyscrapers including the Empire State Building and Petronas Towers

Mr Robert attached this banner to the building, which refers to the amount of time that it will take for greenhouse gases to reach irreversible levels
Many of his past climbs have resulted in arrests and fines.
The 48-year-old has climbed more than 70 skyscrapers around the world, including the Empire State Building in New York, the Sears Tower in Chicago


MONTPELLIER
6 months after defeat in the elections - there is a Cold War in the town.

She ran against him who had been queen of Montpellier. Evil has taken him – reports say. The low score of Helen Mandroux regional elections against George Frêche has destabilized her.
Six months later, the Socialist majority competes to govern the city, in an atmosphere of Blitzkrieg.
What is the scope of the mayor, facing the President of Region and Community? Can it take until 2014 for a solution?

BEZIERS

The downtown is impoverished, there is high unemployment, there is collapse in the viticulture, etc.. They say Béziers is in difficulty. And yet, in the shadow of Montpellier, the sub-prefecture of Hérault returns inhabitants and a huge shopping mall (the polygon) will be open September 15. The Sleeping Beauty is she perhaps waking up?


MONTPELLIER

Official opening: September 3

This will be the second largest auditorium in France after Bercy in Paris. It will be opened officially on September 3,

The Arena is a multipurpose complex new generation, both concert hall, sports palace and congress hall.


After 20 months of work, Montpellier Arena is ready for the opening.

An inaugural concert will be held September 8 by the legendary group, Indochina.

Around a million spectators are expected in the New Arena which cost € 68 million.
A third paid was paid by the Region and the Agglomeration of Montpellier and € 4 million is private investment.

The remaining € 41 million will be borrowed by “Enjoy Montpellier” which now runs the Corum, Zenith Park and exhibitions.
No name has yet been decided but could incorporate the name of a sponsor.

~~


TV3 - tonight an English actor from Pezenas makes his first appearance on the French equivalent of East Enders/Coronation Street


~~~
29 Aug NEWS HEADS

L'Oreal heiress cuts photographer Banier from will

AFP - France's richest woman has cut celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier out of her will, depriving him of an estimated 1.25 billion euros, in the latest twist in a family saga that has gripped France and shaken the government.

"Liliane Bettencourt feels she had already given a lot to Mr. Banier, so she ended the arrangement which made him her sole named heir," her lawyer Georges Kiejman told AFP on Saturday.

Liliane Bettencourt is the sole heir of L'Oreal, the global shampoo and beauty products company that her father founded.

The change was made in mid-July, and no one else had been added to the will in his place, said Kiejman.

Banier has received gifts worth nearly a billion euros from the 87-year-old L'Oreal heiress over the years, sparking accusations from her daughter that he has abused their friendship.

Several judicial investigations are under way into affairs linked to Bettencourt's fortune, including allegations of tax evasion and illegal campaign funding that have implicated French Labour Minister Eric Woerth.

Bettencourt's estranged daughter Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers alleges people close to her mother, including Banier, have taken advantage of the heiress, who she claims is no longer in a fit mental state to manage her 16-billion-euro (20-billion-dollar) fortune.

Dubbed "photographer to the stars" after shooting the likes of US actor Johnny Depp and Princess Caroline of Monaco, Banier became close friends with Bettencourt after meeting her at a dinner party in 1969.

Among gifts he received from her were masterpiece paintings including works by Matisse and Mondrian worth 15 million euros (19 million dollars), several cheques and life insurance policies, according to Bettencourt-Meyers.

Banier, 63, was Bettencourt's sole named beneficiary in the will drawn up in December 2007, and was to receive around eight percent of Bettencourt's fortune, or an estimated 1.25 billion euros, a member of Bettencourt's entourage said in July.

Bettencourt's daughter and grandchildren would have received the rest of her fortune.

The 30 percent stake in the global cosmetics giant that lies behind Bettencourt's fortune is already in her daughter's name, although Bettencourt receives all dividends.

The Bettencourt saga enveloped the government after the leaking in June of secretly recorded tapes that appeared to reveal a 2007 conversation between Bettencourt and a business adviser in which they allegedly discussed means of avoiding French tax.

The name of Woerth, then budget minister and the campaign fundraiser for President Nicolas Sarkozy, also came up in the recordings, during which the cosmetics billionaire appears to sign cheques for political donations.

Reports in June revealed that when Woerth was budget minister and tasked with chasing tax dodgers, his wife Florence worked for the estate of Bettencourt, who is being investigated for alleged tax evasion.

Florence Woerth has since stepped down from her post linked to the Bettencourt fortune.

Woerth has denied any wrongdoing and Sarkozy has suggested they are part of a smear campaign.


~~~
28 Aug NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: French socialists gather in La Rochelle for annual summer retreat
As France's right-wing government grapples with cash scandals and sliding poll ratings, Martine Aubry and her French Socialist Party gather at their annual summer retreat feeling confident their exile from power is about to end soon.

FRANCE: French government deports hundreds more Roma
France's controversial deportations of Roma migrants continued apace on Thursday as Romanian officials discussed the French government's crackdown on illegal immigrants during talks in Paris.

FRANCE: Afghanistan, G20 presidency top Sarkozy's foreign policy agenda
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has unveiled an ambitious agenda for France’s forthcoming G20 presidency and ruled out an early exit from Afghanistan in a speech detailing his foreign policy priorities for the coming year.

RFI: Sarkozy joins fight to stop Iran woman stoning
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has thrown his weight behind the campaign to stop the stoning to death of an Iranian woman. “France considers that it is responsible" for the woman, he declared on Wednesday.

~~
French fighter jets killed 4,800 of my chickens, claims farmer
A French poultry farmer is suing his country’s defence ministry, claiming that two low-flying fighter jets frightened almost 5,000 of his chickens to death.
A vet who conducted an autopsy on a batch of dead chickens confirmed that they had all been alive before the aircraft's fly-past
Etienne Le Mahauté, a farmer in the village of Pléguien, Brittany, western France, claims that the military aircraft caused a chicken stampede in which 4,800 of the terrified fowl died of suffocation.

Mr Mahauté said he was having lunch on Tuesday when two military aircraft shot over his farm at very low altitude.

The Active Denial System: the weapon that's a hot topic“We were in the house eating. When (the planes) passed overhead, we had vibrations in our backs it was so loud,” he said.

He ran straight to the giant coops where the chickens are kept only to find they had rushed into the same side and lay lifeless in their thousands.

“The chickens were terrified. They were stacked up on top of each in several layers on the same side of the three buildings,” he told the newspaper Ouest France. “If we hadn’t been there, it could have been worse. We separated those we could.”

A vet who conducted an autopsy on a batch of dead chickens confirmed that they had all been alive before the aircraft’s fly-past.

The farmer, who is in charge of 68,000 fowl belonging to an agricultural co-operative, is demanding between 12,000 and 15,000 euros in compensation.

Frédéric Solano, a French air force official, confirmed that two jets had flown past the farm on Tuesday at midday as part of a “scheduled flight at an altitude respecting current rules”.

The defence ministry said its complaints department would look into the incident but it remained “cautious as to a link between the military planes and the animals’ death”.

Last year, Britain’s Ministry of Defence paid out £42,000 to a Staffordshire farmer whose chickens laid fewer eggs because they were frightened by the Red Arrows display team.

And a Yorkshire racehorse owner received £117,000 after one of his steeds injured itself while running amok to escape passing jets.

Recent documents show that a total of £7.6 million has been paid out in damages over the past four years because of military noise pollution.


~~~

27 NEWS HEADS -

French politics resumes
Tough-guy Sarko
Drowning in unpopularity and beset by scandal, the French president lashes out at some easy targets

AFTER a three-week holiday at his wife’s family villa on France’s Mediterranean coast, President Nicolas Sarkozy returned to work this week for what could be the most testing autumn of his presidency. Deeply unpopular—a poll this week found that 62% of the French do not want him to seek re-election in 2012—the president faces four sources of trouble in the coming weeks: pension reform, the budget, nationality law and the expulsion of Roma (gypsies), and an ongoing political scandal linked to Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to the L’Oréal cosmetics empire. Mr Sarkozy’s management of them will set the tone for the remainder of his presidency.

The first two will test Mr Sarkozy’s reformist resolve. On September 7th parliament will start to debate his proposal to raise France’s legal retirement age from 60 to 62. The plan may not look revolutionary. But it breaks a cherished French pattern of progressively shortening the amount of time people spend at work. Trade unions are furious, and plan a series of strikes starting on the same date. The opposition Socialist Party is also against. But under the close watch of credit-rating agencies, which want to see proof of France’s will to control its public finances, Mr Sarkozy cannot afford to give ground.

For the same reason, the president needs his 2011 budget, due in late September, to look credible. He has pledged to curb France’s budget deficit from 8% of GDP this year to 6% next. But many doubt the government’s ability to see this through. Last week it cut its growth forecast for 2011 from 2.5% to 2%, a figure many analysts still find optimistic. Next to Britain’s drastic austerity budget, French plans look timid. But the government’s promises to prune spending and end tax exemptions worth €10 billion ($12.7 billion) will still draw strong opposition, as policing, teaching and hospital budgets are cut.

Mr Sarkozy needs to stand firm on both fronts if he is to restore his credibility. Yet he has a tendency to cede to populism, and not just in economic matters. Witness the way he has flirted with far-right politics on immigration and nationality this summer.

This theme first surfaced in July, after riots in a banlieue of Grenoble, a town in the French Alps, during which youths shot at police. Mr Sarkozy’s response was to blame “insufficiently controlled immigration” and to declare that anyone “of foreign origin” who deliberately endangered the life of a policeman would be stripped of French nationality. He also announced a clampdown on illegal Roma camps, and the expulsion of illegal Roma immigrants. This followed separate rioting by Roma in a small rural town, after police shot dead a traveller who had charged a checkpoint.

Since then, according to Brice Hortefeux, the interior minister, the authorities have closed 88 of France’s several hundred illegal camps, and deported 850 Roma, mostly to Romania and Bulgaria. The government says that most of them left “voluntarily”, having accepted €300 in resettlement benefit; yet those who decline are being expelled. From September, the authorities will fingerprint deportees to prevent any who return, which they are entitled to do under European Union law, from picking up a second “returnee” payment.

The government insists that it is acting legally. Although Romania and Bulgaria are EU members, transitional provisions allow France (and ten other EU countries) to limit the time people from those countries can spend on its soil. It also says the illegal camps are unhealthy, and that it wants to protect children from criminal bosses. Such repatriations take place regularly: last year, 10,177 Romanians and 863 Bulgarians, mostly Roma, were expelled.

The move has provoked outcry, not all of it reasonable: some on the left drew comparisons with the Vichy regime. Yet Mr Sarkozy’s tone and stage management of the expulsions have been nakedly political. Even figures on the right, including three former prime ministers, have voiced unease. One of them, Dominique de Villepin, who hopes to challenge Mr Sarkozy for the presidency in 2012, called the expulsions a “stain of shame” on the French flag. French Catholic groups have expressed unhappiness. François Fillon, the prime minister, who had kept studiously quiet, this week said that the struggle against illegal immigration “should not be exploited”.

Mr Sarkozy, a former interior minister, has always applied a tough-talking, zero-tolerance approach to illegal immigration and crime. He has been happy to play to xenophobic reflexes in order to court far-right voters, a tactic that robbed the National Front of votes and helped him to the presidency in 2007. In the past, though, Mr Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, has balanced this hard line with progressive talk about giving a voice to French Muslims and promoting black faces into government. All that now seems to have gone. Today, when Mr Sarkozy talks about stripping foreign-born criminals of French nationality, it just sounds nasty.

France certainly has a festering problem in its banlieues. “There is a very strong potential for explosion,” says one presidential adviser. Armed attacks on the police are becoming common. Drug gangs draw in ever-younger recruits. All of this calls for serious efforts on policing, education and youth employment. Not for directly linking crime to immigration.

Mr Sarkozy is betting that high-minded Paris opinion is out of tune with the average French voter; one poll this week found that 48% of the French support the Roma expulsion. But the affair leaves a sour taste, particularly after a series of mini-scandals that have raised questions about the president’s judgment. The biggest is the Bettencourt case, an alleged illegal party-financing and tax-evasion affair, which links Mrs Bettencourt and Eric Woerth, the labour minister, who happens to be in charge of pension reform. After a summer respite, judicial inquiries are resuming, and Mr Woerth will come under renewed scrutiny. Mr Sarkozy may have hoped his tough talk would eclipse the affair. Instead, it has looked like a shoddy attempt by a weakened leader to prop up his popularity.






And more - courtesy The Connexion
Read the full story at www.connexionfrance.com - or buy the paper!


3,600 complaints over gas bills
More than 3,600 customers have lodged complaints with France's energy watchdog over the billing practices of GDF-Suez. The focus of most complaints is the company's policy of over-estimating the amount of gas that households will use, billing them and then not refunding the difference.


U-turn on student benefit cutbacks
The government has abandoned plans to cut student housing benefits and tax breaks for parents, after the move was condemned by unions. The cuts would have forced parents to choose between applying for housing benefit for their child’s rented accommodation or claiming an extra half-part in their tax return.


LD Lines drops Dover-Boulogne route
Ferry company LD Lines is ending its Dover-Boulogne passenger service on September 5 after failing to get the traffic expected when it launched the route less than two years ago. Passengers on later ferries will be offered alternatives, including the company's other routes, and compensated with travel offers for future crossings.


Tragic rise in pet abandonments
The number of abandoned pets over the summer holidays has risen 25% on last year. Animal shelters are overwhelmed and associations defending animals are very concerned.


Lycée textbooks up to six weeks late
Half a million schoolchildren will start lycée next week without textbooks because of a printing delay. Fifteen-year-olds starting seconde - the first year of lycée - have been told they may have to wait until mid-October for the books to be supplied. Six subjects are affected: history, geography, physics, economics, management and biology.

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26 NEWS HEADS

ROMA CRACKDOWN 'breaches EU law'

BRUSSELS — France has breached laws of the European Union by deporting hundreds of Roma migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, the Socialist bloc of the European parliament said on Thursday.

The parliament's second largest group urged the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, and the European Council, the body representing the bloc's 27 states, to condemn the French government's crackdown.

"The recent treatment of Roma people in France was appalling and cannot go unchallenged," Martin Schulz, head of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, said in a statement.

"Their rights have been abused for populist, electoral reasons by a government that is fast losing support," Schulz said.

The Socialists, following a similar call by the parliament's Liberal bloc, asked the commission and the council to issue a declaration on the issue at the legislature's next session in Strasbourg, which begins September 6.

The Socialists accused France of "breaching EU law" on the free movement of EU citizens.

"Scenes like those we have recently witnessed in France must never be repeated," Schulz said, urging the commission to implement an action plan to promote the inclusion of Roma in society.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, citing concerns about crime, has ordered police to step up deportations of Roma from eastern Europe and to dismantle unauthorised Gypsy camps.

Since July 28, the French authorities have returned 681 people back to Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, in a crackdown that has drawn fire from the left and right as well as the Vatican.

EU Justice Commission Viviane Reding expressed concern about the crackdown on Wednesday and said her office was analysing whether the French government's actions complied with EU law.

Under an arrangement to protect the labour market that expires in December 2013, France can expel Romanians and Bulgarians after three months in the country if they cannot show they have the financial means to stay.

~~

DIPLOMACY: France and Romania agree to cooperate on Roma
Two Romanian ministers were in France Wednesday at a time of unease between the two countries over President Sarkozy’s crackdown on Roma in France. The countries have agreed to closer cooperation on reintegration of Roma into Romanian society.

AFGHANISTAN: France opens probe into possible friendly fire incident
France has opened an investigation into whether three French soldiers wounded in Afghanistan were victims of friendly fire, a military spokesman in Paris said Tuesday.

FRANCE: Sarkozy says France will stay in Afghanistan 'as long as necessary'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Wednesday that French forces will remain in Afghanistan as long as they are needed and enjoy the support of the Afghan people. He faces calls to withdraw from a conflict that has cost 47 French lives.

FRANCE: Jacques Chirac pays half million euros to settle graft case
Former French President Jacques Chirac has agreed to pay Paris city hall 550,000 euros to drop its graft case against him, officials have said, but his corruption trial will go ahead.
City hall confirmed a press report that it would accept the sum from Chirac and a further 1.65 million euros from his right-wing UMP party to cover costs in the case in return for dropping its civil suit.

The settlement has yet to be formally approved by the city council.
It boosts Chirac's chances of escaping conviction because state prosecutors, who will continue the case if and when the city hall pulls out, are widely expected to call for the former president to be acquitted.

Chirac, 77, is one of France's most popular political figures despite being accused of using the city payroll to pay salaries to aides who were actually working for his party when he was mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.
As president from 1995 to 2007, Chirac was immune from prosecution, but he is now due to go on trial by early next year -- possibly as early as November this year, depending on judicial procedures.
"From the moment we sign this agreement which indemnifies us for the harm suffered, we have no longer any reason to be a civil plaintiff," an official at the mayor's office told AFP on Wednesday.
The city hall insisted there was no negotiation with the UMP over the sum, which covers salaries, interest and lawyers' fees linked to the case, despite a report in the satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine of "secret negotiations."
Former prime minister Alain Juppe was convicted in 2004 for corruption while he was Chirac's financial director at the city hall.


FRANCE: Authorities drain mountain water to avert flood
French authorities have started draining a vast underground lake beneath the Alpine glacier of Mont Blanc to avert a flood. The water has dangerously raised the pressure beneath the mountain, a favourite spot for holidaymakers.French authorities Wednesday set about draining a vast underground lake beneath the Alpine glacier of Mont Blanc to avert a potentially disatrous flood.

Some 65,000 cubic metres (2.3 million cubic feet) of water have gathered in a cavity, dangerously raising the pressure beneath the mountain, a favourite spot for holidaymakers, officials said.

They estimated that if the water burst out it could flood the nearby valley of Saint-Gervais in half an hour and "nearly 900 families could be affected," Saint-Gervais-les-Bains mayor Jean-Marc Peillex told AFP.
He said teams were setting up a pump on Wednesday to tap some of the water trapped some 75 metres (250 feet) below the surface, "to let out an initial jet of water in the afternoon to avoid the pressure-cooker effect."
The pump is targeting the main cavity containing 25,000 cubic metres and could also drain other surrounding pockets, he added. Three other pumps will be brought by helicopter to help with the job, due to last until next month.
An eruption from a similar subterranean lake in the glacier in 1892 caused a torrential flood of water, rocks and earth which engulfed the valley and killed 175 people.

~

SARKOZY HAS PLAN FOR G20 - which France chairs this autumn

By RFI
Before meeting ambassadors at the Elysee Palace yesterday, Nicolas Sarkozy detailed the new projects he intends to submit to the G20, which France is presiding from November.

Headway on the reform of international monetary system and the regulation of commodity prices.

The worst of the crisis is past, says the French president.
The forum of the 20 richest countries must continue its efforts to carry out further reforms, he
stressed.
"The instability of exchange rates threatens global growth," according to Nicolas Sarkozy, be it the yo-yo or the euro-dollar currency reserves
The French president has proposed a seminar brings together world experts on this subject, why not in China he asked?.

Second major project, in which Nicolas Sarkozy says he does not want to leave the U.S. to act alone is the volatility of commodity prices.

We need to make the markets more transparent to avoid speculation, a policy of storage, and why not create tools food bank insurance for the benefit of countries importing food.
The G20 is the best framework for such projects, this forum should have a permanent administration.

~


News, views, reviews and previews…

Home is a Yurt but watch out for the grey areas in the law. Read all about people who are doing it in French Week, out on Friday August 27

Find out how to obtain the grant for buying this year's school stationery – on page 11 of the coming issue of French Week.

Also, the love affair with Yves Saint Laurent lingers on in two exhibitions in Paris

French Week is in all shops stocking foreign press, price €1. If you can't find it, go to www.trouverlapresse.com, type in "French Week", click "Valider" until you are asked to type in your address. A map shows you your nearest stockists.


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25 AUG NEWS HEADS

French bank SocGen fined £1.575 million by FSA UK regulator
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulator fined French bank Societe Generale £1.575 million on Wednesday for failing to provide accurate transaction reports.
The FSA said that between November 2007 and February 2010, SocGen had either failed to report, or inaccurately reported, 18.8 million of its 23.5 million reportable transactions.
It added that the SocGen breaches occurred despite the FSA sending out repeated reminders to companies of their obligations to provide accurate data, and of the importance of complying with FSA rules concerning the reporting of transactions.
"SocGen failed to accurately report a very high proportion of its transactions for a significant length of time," Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement and financial crime, said in a statement.
"This failure is a serious breach of our rules as it can have a damaging impact on our ability to detect and investigate suspected market abuse," she added.
A spokesman for SocGen in London said the French bank had fully cooperated with the FSA and had taken and would continue to take all the necessary steps to ensure it would meet its transaction reporting obligations to the FSA in the future.
Earlier this week, the FSA slapped a £2.28 million fine on Zurich Insurance for data security failings

~
FRENCH PARLIAMENT

From next Tuesday, September 7, deputies and senators will focus their work on four priorities:
pension system,
the republican values and the security of French,
the effects of the financial crisis and ongoing structural reforms.

The bill on pension reform, one of the major projects of the legislature will be discussed at the National Assembly at the opening of the special session and the Senate early in October.

To reaffirm their commitment to the French republican values and ensure the safety of their fellow parliamentarians will also examine:

Bill and programming guidance for the performance of homeland security, to adapt the legislation to new forms of violence;
Bill on immigration, integration and citizenship, to promote integration and professional immigration and strengthen the fight against illegal immigration;

Bill prohibiting the concealment of the face in public space, to ensure respect for fundamental values of the Republic;

Draft law on truancy, to empower families (elimination of family allowances paid to parents of truants).

Drawing lessons from the financial crisis, the Parliament will consider 13 agreements to fight more effectively against fraud and tax evasion.
Moreover, it would further consider the text on banking regulation and financial, which is part of the dynamics of decisions taken by the G20, which France will hold the presidency for the month of November.

Finally, the parliamentarians will lead the structural reforms necessary to modernize France. The Senate will consider the bill on the reorganization of the electricity market. The National Assembly will resume in the second reading consideration of the proposed local government reforms

~

UK - Near 6% fall in numbers taking GCSE French
LAST week saw A level results published, and a three per cent fall in the number of sixth formers studying French, this week it's the turn of CGSE students to turn their backs on modern languages.

This year's results show that 11,000 fewer students took French GCSE this year, a drop of 5.9 per cent on 12 months ago, according to figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "Yet again, of real concern is the decline in the study of modern foreign languages, particularly French and German."


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24 Aug NEWS HEADS

POLL SHOWS 55% want change of government
According to a poll published by French daily newspaper Liberation, 55% of voters want the left to win the next presidential election in 2012

~~
PARIS—France's leading trade unions have set down details for big protests against government plans to overhaul the national pension system.
In a joint statement, seven unions are calling on public - and private-sector employees as well as on retirees to stage a "day of massive strikes and demonstrations" on Sept. 7, the day Parliament starts discussing the government's pension plans.
Unions claim that the government's proposals will make employees bear most of the brunt of pension reform amid persistently high unemployment, while stressing that employees will pay a heavy toll from the government's recently announced budget cuts.
That's adding to the pressure mounting on President Nicolas Sarkozy as he tries to overhaul the pension system, a move that could define his presidency and the reputation of France's public finances.
Demonstrators already took to the streets against pension reform on June 24, with unions estimating their number at 2 million, although the Interior Ministry's official count was around 800,000.

~~

TW FRENCH SOLDIERS DIE IN Afghanistan
Two French soldiers were killed and three more have been wounded in fighting in Afghanistan, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office has said.
The deaths bring the total number of French soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 47.
The dead personnel were an officer and soldier from the 21st Marine Regiment based in Frejus, southern France.
They were fatally shot during a night operation near Tagab, 55km (34 miles) north-east of Kabul.
"These soldiers gave their lives in the service of France's commitment to the peace and security of the Afghan people," Mr Sarkozy said in a statement on Monday.
The president also condemned "murderous attacks" on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

~~
FORMER PM CALLS security crackdown ‘stain of shame’ on French flag

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent proposals on security and immigration have opened up a can of worms, earning him sharp criticism from both sides of the French political divide.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent tough talk on immigration, seen by some political analysts as a strategy to boost flagging poll numbers, has now earned him sharp rebukes from across the political spectrum.
Following criticism from the Vatican and the UN, a trio of heavyweight French politicians weighed in on the matter with editorials in top French daily Le Monde. Perhaps the fiercest response came from former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who recently squared off against Sarkozy in the closely followed Clearstream trial, and is seen as a possible challenger in the 2012 presidential race (de Villepin launched his own centre-right party earlier this summer).
Villepin writes of ‘national indignity’
"There is today a stain of shame on our flag," de Villepin wrote, referring to Sarkozy’s recent comments linking immigrants to crime and proposing that foreign-born criminals be stripped of French nationality. De Villepin said the president was guilty of "a moral fault, a collective fault committed in all our names, against the republic and against France".
He also noted that Sarkozy’s recent security crackdown had been widely denounced in the foreign press, bringing “national indignity” upon France. A recent editorial in The New York Times bluntly accused Sarkozy of “fanning dangerous anti-immigrant passions for short-term political gain”. That piece specifically cited Sarkozy’s recent initiative to break up camps of Roma and send them back to their country of birth, namely Romania.
Another voice from within Sarkozy’s own party, that of former justice minister and Sarkozy protégée Rachida Dati, was also published in Le Monde on Monday. While Dati took a more measured stance than de Villepin, she also distanced herself from the French government’s recent discourse on immigration and security.
Dati, who is of North African descent, urged readers to embrace immigrants and their children as French citizens like any other. Stopping short of directly criticising the man credited with propelling her to the forefront of the French political stage, Dati wrote nevertheless "I regret that certain people have let themselves lump together immigration and crime", and called for politicians to “stop pitting French people against one another".

The third editorial in Le Monde was written by former Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who alleged that Sarkozy’s crackdown on security obscured the fact that his administration had cut police numbers by more than 9,000 in three years.

Security focus fails to reap political gains
Sarkozy’s success as a presidential candidate in 2007 was partly attributed to his focus on issues of security, which allowed him to attract voters from France’s far right National Front party.
In the past few weeks, French police have carried out several raids targeting unauthorised Roma campsites. The raids have been widely painted as an effort by Sarkozy to revamp his image which suffered as the global economic crisis took hold in France and by what has been perceived by some as a flashy leadership style.
An Ifop poll published August 6 in right leaning newspaper Le Figaro said 79 percent of the French population were in favour of dismantling the camps.
Sarkozy himself enjoyed a small bump in poll numbers after launching the new security initiatives. But a new poll done for left-wing French daily Libération showed Sarkozy's approval rating falling back slightly to 34 percent, his lowest number since his election. The same pollsters found that a majority of French voters, 55 percent, would like to see Sarkozy defeated by a left-wing opponent in the 2012 presidential race.


POPE OPPOSES Roma Policy
The Pope has joined the growing chorus of French clergymen who have rebuked Nicolas Sarkozy's government over its policy of sending Roma people back to their home countries.
Pope Benedict XVI voiced his discontent with French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s policy of deporting Roma people on Sunday, echoing numerous similar statements from French clergymen over the past few weeks.
The Pope urged French pilgrims to welcome people of all origins, saying that the scriptures were “an invitation to know how to accept legitimate differences among humans, just like Jesus came to pull men together from every nation, speaking every language."

While ambiguous, the pontiff’s statements came just few days after France flew around 200 Roma to Bulgaria and Romania on “a voluntary basis”. His words were delivered in French to a group of French pilgrims visiting Rome.

The pope also asked parents to educate their children in tolerance. "Dear parents, may you be able to educate your children to universal fraternity," he told pilgrims from Paris in French.

The Vatican had already criticised the crackdown in a statement on Friday. "One cannot generalise and take an entire group of people and kick them out," said Agostino Marchetto, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, a Vatican body.
In France, the archbishop of Aix-en-Provence and Arles on Sunday decried the “talk of security which may suggest that inferior populations exist.”

The cardinal before the Pope

These latest statements follow an avalanche of like-minded criticism from members of the French clergy during the Feast of the Assumption celebrated on August 15.

In his homily, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris and president of the French Bishop’s Conference, asked parishioners “Can we take part in the growing gap between citizens who enjoy the security of civil rights and those who are marginalised and pushed slowly into exclusion? What price do we pay for our security? Or rather, whom are we forcing to pay for it?”

The previous day, the cardinal – who usually steers clear of politics - told reporters that he regretted the “protectionist reflexes of those who fear the future, fear losing what they have, as more and more people are marginalised.”
Furthermore, a French Roman Catholic priest active in defending Roma rights, Father Arthur Hervet, wrote to French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux to refuse a national medal of honour that he was due to receive. Speaking to reporters after mass, Father Arthur went so far as to say: "I pray for Mr Sarkozy to have a heart attack." However, Father Arthur stated later on Sunday that he regretted the strength of his remarks.

UMP party divisions

Besides interior minister Brice Hortefeux, who on Monday told radio station Europe 1 that he was “fully prepared to meet [...] cardinal André Vingt-Trois,” the rest of Sarkozy’s ruling party has remained silent to the Church’s criticism.

On the France 2 television channel, agriculture minister Bruno Le Maire, only briefly made vague allusions to the "separation of church and state” when prodded on the issue.

But the measures against the Roma seem to be fuelling discontent within the party, including its Christian Democrat wing. Etienne Pinte, an UMP MP for the Yvelines department, railed against his own party members last winter after Afghans were deported to their war-torn country.

In early August, writing in the Christian magazine La Vie Pinte warned the government against a rebellion within the party. “If the government ventures down the path drawn by the president, we can expect a showdown with the Christian Democrats,” he said.



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23 Aug NEWS HEADS

ANTI CORRUPTION LAWYER EYES FRENCH PRESIDENCY

Eva Joly, a Norwegian-born French magistrate known for hounding corrupt businessmen and politicians, will likely stand as a presidential candidate for France’s Greens in the 2012 election.

She is the bane of corrupt businessmen and politicians, and received death threats while working as an investigating judge in France.
Now Norwegian-born Eva Jolie has turned her hand to politics - and looks set to stand as a presidential candidate for the French Green Party (Europe Ecologie) in the 2012 elections.
“If the party chooses me, then so be it,” said the 66-year-old MEP, who has been in politics for barely two years.
Some in the party, including senior members, initially doubted her aptitude for leadership. Most have come round.
French senator and Green Party member Dominique Voynet told France’s left-leaning Le Monde newspaper that Joly had taken to politics like a duck to water.
“She’s a quick learner,” she said. “She absorbs everything and she has taken the green movement as her new identity.”
Crusade against corruption
Not always so – Eva Joly is best known in France for her personal crusade against corruption to which she has dedicated 30 years of her working life, both as a judge in financial cases on the Paris bench and also as a corruption trouble-shooter in her native Norway.

The upper echelons of politics and finance have vivid and often painful memories of her – Eva Joly is known for her absolute fearlessness in the face of power.
She made her name in big corruption scandals in the early 90s, including the prosecution of infamous businessman and then government minister Bernard Tapie.
In 1993 a case landed on her desk that was to cement her reputation.
At first glance the dossier concerned a textiles company with suspect financing. However, Joly began to uncover a vast network of corruption and money laundering that pointed to French petroleum giant Elf as well as a number of senior political and business figures.
The case resulted in a swath of criminal convictions, including Elf’s top two executives Loïk Le Floch-Prigent end Alfred Sirven, and led to the resignation of Roland Dumas, president of France’s Constitutional Court.

Death threats
In her eight years handling the Elf case, Joly came under harsh criticism, including relying too much on her contacts in the media at the expense of the integrity of the legal system and levelling unfair accusations against innocent people.
The threats got increasingly menacing – one day she found pinned to her office door a list of assassinated judges with their names crossed out. Her name was at the bottom of the list, implying that she was next. Later, her car was sabotaged.
The message was clear – one does not attack the powerful with impunity. But Joly, despite having to have personal bodyguards, not only survived the threats but came through with a reputation for honesty and incorruptibility.

Off to Norway
Exhausted, Joly resigned from the bench in 2002 – where she had earned the nickname “Eva the Diva” – and left for her native Norway, where she became a government advisor on international corruption.
Her work for the Norwegian government took her across the globe. In seven years her name was barely mentioned in France, surfacing only in 2003, when she published, with Italian anti-corruption judge Antonio Di Pietro, the “Paris Declaration”, denouncing "the devastating impact of high-level corruption and the levels of impunity that facilitate it" and calling for "national and international measures to combat it".
At the same time Joly, under the auspices of the Norwegian government, created “Network”, a private grouping of senior judges and investigators involved in the fight against corruption which gives advice and assistance to a number of developing countries.

The political fray
She returned to France in 2008, convinced that only by entering politics could she continue the fight against corruption.
“I was a magistrate for 20 years, a diplomat for Norway for seven more and I have learned a lot,” Joly said in Febrary 2010 in a FRANCE 24 interview on the eve of local elections in France.
“I am going into politics because I recognise the limitations of voluntary action … I have a strong desire to improve relations between the developed and developing world. I want to change power structures within society. I am desperate to see a more just and more united society.”
In 2008 Joly joined Europe Ecologie, a grouping of France’s various Green movements and the following year was elected to represent the Paris area at the European Parliament.
Since her election she has criticised the French government continuously, demanding Labour Minister Eric Woerth’s resignation as soon as the scandal involving L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt exploded, and accusing the government of “State Racism” over its recent anti-immigration policies.Priest says prayed for Sarkozy heart attack over Roma

~~

PARIS (Reuters) - Several churchmen joined the chorus on Sunday criticising President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to expel dozens of Roma from France, with one priest praying for Sarkozy to be divinely struck by a heart attack.
Father Arthur Hervet of the church of St. Martin Esquermes of Lille in northern of France said he was turning to God because he did not believe those in power have any plans to help the Roma, except deport them.
"I pray, I beg your pardon, that Mr. Sarkozy has a heart attack," said the 71 years-old priest, saying a war was being waged on the Roma community.
Father Hervet said would return his national order of merit medal to Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux as a sign of protest.
"I will like to tell Mr Hortefeux that I feel he does not know the situation, he does not know what these people are going through," Father Hervet said after mass on Sunday.
France on Thursday began sending back to Romania and Bulgaria, hundreds of Roma in a crackdown on crime and illegal immigration by Sarkozy.
Human rights groups and opposition parties have condemned the move and said the decision could further stigmatise the Roma community. About 200 Roma people were repatriated on Thursday and Friday.
Christophe Dufour, the Archbishop of Aix and Arles, also criticised the crackdown and the dismantling of Roma camps.
"The security discourse seems to suggest that there people who are less acceptable in France," he said in a statement asking for the respect of people's rights and dignity under French law.

~~

TOURISTS TRAPPED on island by Corsican nationalist protest
RFI
Tourists on the French island of Corsica were unable to leave for several hours Saturday morning because of Corsican nationalist demonstrations.The demonstrations were part of long-running - sometimes violent - nationalist agitation.
About 200 nationalist protesters blocked access to Ajaccio airport and the seaport at Bastia, calling for prisoners who support their cause to be transferred from the mainland to the island. The blockade was lifted at the beginning of the afternoon.

About 3,000 passengers were due to leave Ajaccio but the only link to the airport was blocked by demonstrators, led by the group Sulidarita (Solidarity in the local language). The town was paralysed by a massive traffic jam.

Air France decided not to cancel flights, however.

Nationalist groups, some of which use bombings and assassination to further their cause, say they want the implementation of an agreement that “political prisoners” should be transferred to jails in Corsica.

“The prisoners’ families decided to blockade Ajaccio airport and the port at Bastia to show how difficult it is to get home,” Sulidarita official Dominique Tafani told the AFP news agency.


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21 Aug NEWS HEADS

• FRANCE: Sarkozy to cut 10bn in tax rebates following gloomy figures
President Sarkozy will abolish around 10 billion euros in tax breaks after top ministers warned him that growth in 2011 will be lower than previously expected at a meeting on Friday.
France has cut its growth forecast for next year to two percent from 2.5 percent, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said Friday, after he met senior economic officials.

A government statement said it expects France's gross domestic product to "meet or exceed" this year's target of 1.4 percent but that economic growth in 2011 would be slower than had been hoped.

France -- Europe's biggest economy after Germany -- has begun to recover since shrinking 2.5 percent last year but the International Monetary Fund had warned that its growth forecasts were too optimistic.

The government has pledged to narrow the public deficit, covering central and regional government spending along with social welfare, from a record 8.0 percent of GDP this year to 6.0 percent in 2011.

But at the same time, Sarkozy has promised not to raise general taxation.
Friday's statement promised to abolish around 10 billion euros per year in tax breaks for specific groups and professions, while freezing public spending and maintaining a policy of only replacing only one retiring public servant in two.

• FRANCE: Roma expelled by French government land in Bucharest
Some 130 Roma were flown by the French government to Romania on Friday as Paris continued the voluntary deportation strategy it launched Thursday. Many of the Roma on board the flight pledged to return to France as soon as possible.

• FRANCE: Normandy town mourns D-Day piper’s death
Bill Millin landed on the beaches of Normandy playing the bagpipes, an act of heroism immortalised in the 1962 film "The Longest Day". His death, aged 88, has touched hearts in the Normandy town he helped liberate.
A town in Normandy is in mourning after the death of bagpiper Bill Millin, who played his comrades ashore during the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944.

The Scotsman, who died in Torbay, Devon, England, aged 88, landed at the head of Lord Lovat’s 1st Commando Brigade wearing a kilt and armed only with the traditional dagger in his sock.
His morale-boosting playing of “Highland Laddie” and “Blue Bonnets over the Border” under heavy fire was immortalised in the 1962 film “The Longest Day”.
Guy Legrand, Mayor of Colleville-Montgomery, the village next to Sword Beach where the commandos came ashore, paid tribute to the piper whose bravery has touched the hearts of many generations of townsfolk.
“We have been raising funds since last year to erect a statue of Bill Millin, and it will be unveiled next year,” Mayor Legrand told FRANCE 24.
“We were hoping that he would be there - it is very sad that he will not be there to see it.
“He has been coming back to Colleville-Montgomery for many years to pay respects to his fallen comrades. We knew him well and everyone in this town has a sentimental attachment to him.
“He was undoubtedly a very brave man. But he was also kind, understanding and a great diplomat.”
The statue will be unveiled on June 6, 2011 in Avenue de Bruxelles in Colleville, 200 metres from where the 1st Commando Brigade came ashore in 1944.
Millin’s family are understood to be holding a private ceremony, but Mayor Legrand said a ceremony will be held at nearby Pegasus Bridge on Sunday.
Pegasus Bridge, a vital tactical target for the invasion, was taken by British airborne troops the night before the D-Day invasion, and was relieved by Lovat’s commandos the following day to the sound of Millin’s pipes.

• FRANCE: Sarkozy's immigration crackdown could backfire, analysts warn
The French government is pursuing inflammatory security policies, particularly regarding immigration, which some analysts think could be self-defeating come election time.

• FRANCE: Diary farmers strike deal on 10 percent wholesale price hike
French dairy farmers have obtained a 10 percent increase in wholesale prices for the third quarter over prices for the same period in 2009, staving off farmers' threats of a nationwide boycott.


FRENCH WOMAN FINDS DEAD SON while burying her brother in cemetery
A French mother discovered by chance that her son had died and had been buried last month when she stumbled on his freshly-dug grave while attending her brother's funeral.

Josiane Vermeersch had intended to pay her son a visit after the funeral
Josiane Vermeersch attended the funeral of her 54-year-old brother in a cemetery in Hellemmes, northern France this week with her ex-husband, Elie Langlet and other relations.

After the brother was laid to rest in the family vault, the congregation were walking back down a cemetery path when a 19-year-old niece noticed a new gravestone 50 yards away and let out a cry.

This was the name and date of birth of Miss Vermeersch's 42-year old son. He lived alone nearby, and the mother had left a message on his mobile phone for him to attend his uncle's funeral but could not get through. She had intended to pay him a visit after the funeral.

But to her horror, the local undertakers and town hall confirmed that her son had died on July 5, and that a letter had been sent to next of kin informing them of his demise. However, it appears they had sent it to the wrong address. After receiving no response from the family, the town hall ordered the deceased son's burial on July 18.

"My son was buried like a dog," the mother told Europe 1 radio.

The family intends to file a legal complaint against the local authorities.

~

LOCAL NEWS

LOCAL Brit from London plays Scot on French TV3
Och aye mes amis
Coming soon to a telly near you... Paul Elliott , in 'Plus Belle La Vie' on FR3 playing Scotsman Ray Murray speaking French with an Edinburgh accent.
Click below to find out more. Visit Ray on the facepage. Feel free to add your own comment and help Ray become a regular character. Every hit counts.
Thanks for your support .
www.pblv-plusbellelavie.fr/archive/2010/08/05/personnage-ray.html

~~~

19 Aug NEWS HEADS


FRANCE: EU monitoring France's deportation of Roma 'very closely'
The EU Rights and Justice Commission has said it will closely monitor the deportation of hundreds of Roma people from France to Romania and Bulgaria, while Romanian officials will visit Paris to discuss the issue with the foreign ministry.
More below..

FRANCE: Dairy farmers ask for 10% wholesale price hike by Friday
French dairy farmers say they have obtained a 10 percent wholesale price hike with one major dairy producer, and have set a deadline for other companies to match that agreement by Friday.

RFI: Spiked coffee knocks out Paris medics
Six members of the medical team at the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Paris fell into a deep sleep Tuesday after their coffee was spiked with a powerful anti-psychotic drug, French daily Le Parisien reports.

FOOTBALL: Anelka calls French Federation 'clowns' after suspension
Striker Nicolas Anelka has called the French Football Federation (FFF) a "bunch of clowns" after they banned him from 18 national team matches for his role in the team's practice session walkout at the World Cup in South Africa.


Have your Roma back - from the ECONOMIST

BUCHAREST

THE French government has begun expelling hundreds of Roma it says have settled in the country illegally. Most of them are Romanian nationals. In Bucharest, many see the move as unfair and opportunistic—a PR stunt designed to raise the ailing popularity of Nicolas Sarkozy.

“I don't think Sarkozy is a racist, but he is using the Roma to raise his popularity,” says Florin Cioaba, Romania's self-styled “King of all Gypsies.”

Announced last month by the French president and his ministers, the decision to dismantle Gypsy camps will see some 700 people with Romanian passports sent back to the country by the end of August. A first batch of 79 travellers is due to arrive in Bucharest today; another 131 have been sent to Timisoara.

So far, the returns are “voluntary”, meaning that each adult who opts to board a plane has received €300 ($385), along with €100 for each of their children. Acknowledging that they will not be able to stop the Roma from coming straight back, French officials have taken fingerprints in order to make sure such returnees do not receive any more handouts.

"It's a waste of money with no result. They just opened up a way for our Gypsies to get some money," Gheorghe Radulescu, an adviser to the foreign minister and himself ethnic Roma, told RFI.

Determined not to let the matter rest, Paris is pressing the Romanian authorities to “integrate” their Roma—estimated to number anything between 530,000 and 2.5m. The biggest concern in Bucharest, which usually considers Paris an ally in EU negotiations, is that France might block Romania's planned accession to Europe's passport-free travel Schengen zone, which is due next March. Pierre Lellouche, France's EU affairs minister, said that the "Roma issue" meant his country had “reservations” about the planned Schengen enlargement.

Teodor Baconschi, Romania's foreign minister, replied that “no political dialogue should be underscored with threats” and warned against “collective stigmatisation of an ethnic group.” He added that the Roma issue cannot be solved “in 48 hours” or through “police measures”, but only by pursuing an EU-wide integration policy.

Romania has appointed a special secretary of state to deal with the issue of Romanian Roma abroad. The new minister will fly to Paris later this month to set out a strategy for Roma reintegration. His appointment came despite 18 similar posts being slashed as part of austerity plans put in place to keep IMF loans flowing to the cash-strapped country.

But with unemployment set to surpass 8.5% this year, government programmes and salaries slashed and consumption taxes increased, it will be difficult to find work and decent housing for the returned Roma, and to avoid their descent into petty crime.


MONTPELLIER

Cinq statues de « grands hommes du 20e siècle » érigées à Montpellier

Georges Frêche a posé fièrement devant la statue de Lénine, hier, aux côtés du sculpteur François Cacheux. Photo : AFP.
Cinq statues dites « des grands hommes du 20e siècle » ont été installées mercredi matin dans le nouveau quartier d'Odysseum, à l'est de Montpellier.
Il s'agit de statues de bronze de 3,30 m, pesant entre 850 kilos et une tonne et représentant
Jean Jaurès,
Winston Churchill,
Charles de Gaulle,
Franklin Roosevelt
et Lénine.
Commandées par l'agglomération de Montpellier, elles seront officiellement inaugurées à la mi-septembre. Mais dès hier, Georges Frêche, président de l'agglo (et du conseil régional), est venu assister à la pose de ces impressionnantes figures de bronze sur leur stèle.

Sur une place entourée de colonnes, qui sera baptisée « place du XXe siècle », les statues de Charles de Gaulle, Roosevelt, Churchill, Lénine et Jaurès ont été agencées en un demi-arc de cercle. Ravi du battage médiatique, Georges Frêche se réjouit d'une « polémique extraordinaire » qui « fera connaître la place dans toute la France. Erasme pensait que la politique était morale et Machiavel pensait autrement. C'est Machiavel qui avait raison. La politique n'est pas morale, la politique est politique », a-t-il dit hier, réagissant à ceux qui condamnent ses choix. Selon lui, Lénine « a changé la face du monde au XXe siècle. Sans la Révolution d'octobre, il n'y aurait pas eu la décolonisation de l'Inde, de la Chine, du Moyen-Orient, du Maghreb, de l'Afrique noire. Ce n'est pas le nombre de morts, c'est le nombre de déclics créés dans l'Histoire qui compte, voilà pourquoi j'ai choisi Lénine. »

L'idée de ce projet est née lors d'un voyage de Georges Frêche à Seattle (nord-ouest des Etats-Unis) début 2008, au cours duquel il a découvert une statue du père de la révolution bolchévique, conçue par l'artiste Emil Venkov. Dix autres statues ont été commandées, dont cinq - celles de Mao, Mandela, Nasser, Gandhi et Golda Meir - devraient être livrées par le sculpteur François Cacheux, 87 ans, fin 2011-début 2012, en attendant les statues de Léopold Sédar Senghor, probablement Pancho Villa, Deng Xiaoping, Lula et peut-être Staline. « Je suis anti-stalinien, mais il se peut qu'un jour je le mette en tant que vainqueur de Stalingrad (...) J'ai toujours un peu d'avance sur l'Histoire », a commenté l'ancien maire de Montpellier, taxant d'« imbéciles » ses détracteurs.

En première ligne, les Verts ont menacé de déboulonner les statues. Georges Frêche « se sert de son pouvoir personnel pour imposer ses visions de l'Histoire », juge Emmanuel Reynaud, secrétaire régional des Verts, qui a créé un groupe sur le réseau social Facebook. Si à droite, le député villepiniste Jean-Pierre Grand se dit « très content » de la présence d'une statue du général de Gaulle, estimant que Mao et lui « vont bien ensemble », l'opposition municipale critique le coût de l'opération: 1,81 million d'euros pour les dix premières statues. « La période ne s'y prête pas », s'insurge Jacques Domergue, député UMP et conseiller municipal de Montpellier. « On aurait pu utiliser le vote des Montpelliérains pour désigner qui sont ces grands hommes. Or là c'est un diktat de plus de Frêche, c'est un signe ultime de mégalomanie d'un homme qui veut peut-être un jour avoir sa propre statue ». « Pourquoi pas ? », répond, goguenard, l'intéressé...


~~~

18 Aug NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: First deportation of illegal Roma to happen Thursday, says French minister
Nearly 70 Roma expelled from their camp site are being lodged in a gymnasium in a suburb of Paris. Associations are pushing for reinsertion programs, and twenty families have found shelter.
PARIS—France is preparing to deport hundreds of foreign Gypsies as part of a drive to clamp down on lawbreaking by Roma, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said Tuesday.

The deportations, scheduled to start Thursday, follow the dismantling of 51 illegal camps—set up by Roma of eastern origin and by other Gypsies, including French citizens—over the past three weeks. Around 700 of the people expelled from their camps who were staying in France illegally will be flown home to Central and Eastern Europe, he said.

"We are not stigmatizing a community, but making people respect the law," Mr. Hortefeux said in a speech in Toulon, southern France.

Around 15,000 Gypsies in France are Roma from Eastern Europe, in particular Romania. Because the European Union guarantees freedom of movement, they can travel to France—but can settle there only if they can support themselves. After three months in France, they must leave unless they can prove that they are working or studying and that they have sufficient funds and health care.

The French government is interviewing the Roma to determine where they are from. It plans to put those who aren't allowed to remain legally in France on flights home, and is offering them €300 (about $390) per adult and €100 per child as "aid for a humanitarian return."

To prevent them from returning and claiming such payments again, the government plans to collect biometric data on those who are deported. Most of the foreign Roma don't appear to be resisting deportation.

Officials at the Romanian Embassy in Paris couldn't be reached to comment.


FRANCE: Embattled minister Woerth faces new fraud accusations
French labour minister Eric Woerth, who is already facing criticism over his connection to the questionable financial affairs of L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, has been accused of lying to a lender about his income.

FOOTBALL: Four Bleus handed suspensions over World Cup walkout
Striker Nicolas Anelka was banned from 18 national team matches by the French Football Federation, while his 2010 World Cup teammates Ribery and Evra received lesser sanctions for leading the squad's training session walkout.


PARIS TAXI drivers rudest in the world (after London!)
Taxi drivers in Paris are the most rude in the world. This is the result of a study commissioned by Site Hotels.com: 1900 passengers gave their opinions on the conditions of taxi transport in major world capitals. London is a top the list with Paris a close second.
(WoW note - so the UK can still lead the world in some things apart from government debt!)

MONTPELLIER
Five statues of great men of the 20th century were erected in Montpellier today.

Five statues called "the great men of the 20th century" were installed this morning in the new district Odysseum, east of Montpellier.

These bronze statues of 3.30m, weighing 850 a ton, representing
Jean Jaures,
Winston Churchill,
Charles de Gaulle,
Franklin Roosevelt
and Lenin.
Commissioned by the town of Montpellier, chaired by Georges Frêche, they will be officially launched in mid-September.

Not everyone was in favour - the opposition denounced the cost, estimated at 200,000 euros each and the Greens have threatened to unseat the statues.

Those tempted to condemn the choice of Lenin, George Frêche explained in a recent interview with the weekly La Gazette de Montpellier that Lenin was "not a bloody dictator."

To be chosen people have to pass the test "is this one of the Men who changed the world in the twentieth century.

Ten sculptures have been commissioned. Those of Gandhi, Golda Meir, Nasser, Mao and Mandela are to be delivered in late 2011, one year later than originally planned, by the sculptor Francois Cacheux.


~~
17 Aug NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: French govt urged to pay back Haiti's 'independence debt'
Leading international academics and authors have written an open letter to France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, urging him to repay a €17 billion "independence debt" imposed on Haiti two centuries ago.

FRANCE: French minister slams mayors over lax security
French Industry Minister Christian Estrosi has slammed French mayors for shirking responsibility and called for fines against municipalities that fail to take strong security measures to prevent crime.

AVIATION: France looks into sanctions on easyJet for denying service to disabled passengers
France is looking into levying sanctions on budget airline easyJet for not allowing disabled passengers to board flights unaccompanied, the transport ministry said on Friday after three passengers claimed the carrier had refused them service.

FRANCE: Travellers block highway in protest at immigrant crackdown
Members of France's traveller minorities blocked a major highway outside of Bordeaux on Sunday in their first counter-protest to a new crackdown on immigrant camps launched by President Nicolas Sarkozy.


Tourists banned from swimming on French Riviera beach after
shark alert
The chilling alert was issued yesterday after lifeguards patrolling in a motorboat spotted a creature measuring more than seven feet long.
‘We were taking no chances and issued the swimming ban immediately,’ said Michel Cagnaire, who is in charge of public safety in the resort of Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice.
Don't go into the water: French lifeguards scan the shoreline in Cagnes-sur-Mer yesterday

Red for danger: A lifeguard raises the alert flag in Cagnes-sur-Mer yesterday after the mysterious creature was spotted
As swimmers ran out of the warm Mediterranean, the scenes resembled those in the famous movie Jaws, which is about a man-eating white shark which terrorises a holiday island on the east coast of America.

Red ‘no swimming’ flags were also raised in the resorts of Villeneuve - Loubet and St. Laurent-du-Var, as people in boats telephoned warnings about the suspected shark, which had a large dorsal fin and a white belly.

It was swimming some 150 feet off the coast, prompting fears that it might be wounded or ill, and might start attacking holidaymakers.
But Veronique Vienet, chief veterinary officer for the area, underplayed the fears, saying that the creature might actually be a large dolphin.

She pointed to the fact that there has only been one fatal shark attack in French coastal waters since the 1840s.

In July last year there was another shark scare at Antibes, but the creature turned out to be a harmeless ocean sunfish which only eats jellyfish.
The French ban was lifted by this morning.
It is high season on the Riviera at the moment, meaning beaches are packed out, often with Britons who are enjoying the school holidays in the South of France.


~~~

16 Aug NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Lourdes shrines reopen after bomb scare
A bomb scare forced the evacuation of Roman Catholic shrines at Lourdes in France on Sunday as some 30,000 worshippers celebrated the Feast of the Assumption. Police said they received a warning that four bombs were set to go off around 3pm.

FRANCE: Roma, Gypsies block highway to protest immigrant crackdown
Members of France's Roma, Gypsy and other traveller minorities blocked a major highway outside of Bordeaux on Sunday in their first counter-protest to a new crackdown on immigrant camps launched by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

FRANCE: UMP party lawmaker likens Roma evictions to 'wartime roundups'
Following the latest government moves on Saturday to forcibly evict Roma people from illegal immigrant camps, a lawmaker from France's ruling UMP party, Jean-Pierre Grand, denounced the raids by saying they resembled WWII-era "roundups".


~~~

14 AUGUST NEWS HEADS

+ FRENCH THINK SARKOZY INEFFECTUAL - more below

+ SANCTIONS against easyJet disablity policy?

France looks into sanctions on easyJet for denying service to disabled passengers
France is looking into levying sanctions on budget airline easyJet for not allowing disabled passengers to board flights unaccompanied, the transport ministry said on Friday after three passengers claimed the carrier had refused them service.

AFP - French authorities may sanction budget airline easyJet "with the greatest severity" for barring unaccompanied disabled passengers from flights, the transport ministry warned on Friday.

The announcement came after three passengers complained that the carrier refused them access to flights they had bought tickets for on safety grounds because they were unaccompanied.

"EasyJet cannot hide behind safety regulations for refusing to board passengers who have difficulty moving around," the French transport ministry said in a statement.

"It must implement solutions adapted to each case, as most companies do. Otherwise it must be sanctioned with the greatest severity."

A spokeswoman from easyJet told AFP that she was "already in discussion with the French government to find a solution that is suitable for our passengers without compromising their security."

Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau ordered the civil aviation authority DGAC to investigate the passenger complaints, "so procedures can be brought against the company if failings are found, with a view to possible sanctions."

On Thursday a disabled Frenchwoman who asked to be identified only as Maryse told AFP that easyJet staff refused her access to a flight from Paris to Geneva and made her buy new tickets to fly accompanied the following day.

She said she had lodged a complaint against easyJet with the French discrimination watchdog, HALDE.

Another disabled passenger, Jean-Claude Mouton, also lodged a complaint on Wednesday, saying he had been refused a flight from Lyon to Bastia, Corsica, on the same grounds.

After being knocked back by easyJet he bought a new ticket with Air France, which allowed him to travel unaccompanied.

In a similar case reported last month, a disabled man said easyJet barred him from a flight from Biarritz to Paris because he was not accompanied.

A spokeswoman for easyJet, Elisabeth Le Gall, told AFP on Thursday: "European regulations oblige us to evacuate an aircraft in 90 seconds so we are authorised to ask someone to accompany (those needing assistance) to assure the safety of the person and the passengers."


FRENCH THINK SARKOZY INEFFECTUAL
CSA Poll: The French consider the security policy of Nicolas Sarkozy ineffective

A poll delivers a severe blow to Nicolas Sarkozy.
The front page of the weekly Marianne: reports 70% of French feel Sarkozy is "somewhat ineffective" with his security policy.

Very different results from the first opinion poll a week ago in the wake of the speech of Grenoble.

A survey hides another blowr. A week ago, Le Figaro ran a headline on "plebiscite" of Nicolas Sarkozy. 70% of French said they were favorable to the revocation of citizenship for the murderers of police officers, according to the results of the Ifop. But a week later, this time according to CSA a majority, 51%, to oppose it, because "a French foreign-born is a full-fledged French citizen.

A disavowal of the Head of State

So why such different results, beyond the political lines almost paradoxical defended Marianne and Le Figaro?
The questions posed by the CSA institute are at first more detailed

The result of the survey Marianne sounds like a denial to the head of state, not a plebiscite. The French are sceptical about the link between immigration and insecurity. For two thirds of supporters on the right, it is primarily the social inequalities that are responsible for the crime. An explanation the head of state had not even touched upon in his speech in Grenoble.




~~~
13 August NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Prime minister rejects 'shooting galleries' for drug addicts
In other European countries, giving drug addicts a controlled environment to inject themselves has been shown to save lives. But France’s Prime Minister François Fillon has rejected the idea despite calls for a parliamentary commission.

FRANCE: Officials defend policy on Roma after UN cites rise in 'racism'
French officials emphasised the legal grounds for recent actions taken against nomadic immigrants such as Roma after a UN panel on Thursday said a lack of "political will" was allowing a "resurgence of racism and xenophobia" in the country.

FRANCE: Carbon dioxide emissions rise slightly despite reduction efforts
France's carbon dioxide emissions have increased slightly between 1990 and 2007, the most recent year for which figures are available, despite efforts to curb greenhouse gas pollution, the ministry for sustainable development said on Thursday.

TOGO: Video shows French officer threatening journalist at opposition rally
A shocking video has come to light which shows a French military officer threatening and intimidating a journalist in Togo’s capital Lome at an opposition demonstration.


FOREIGN VISITORS returning

According to tourism research body Protourisme, the weak euro has boosted the number of foreign visitors by between 5% and 10%.

Protourisme director Didier Arino said foreign visitors had “saved” the tourist season so far.

The top countries of origin outside the eurozone included Russia, the US, China and India. France is also proving popular with the Germans, Belgians and Dutch who do not want to travel far for a holiday.

However the French are choosing to either stay at home or spend time with friends or family instead of paying for accommodation, the report found.

Hotel occupancy in July was around the 70% mark, increasing to 90.5% for four-star accommodation.

Campsite use was stable on last year at about 80% but is forecast to rise to about 95% this month.

Protourisme said August was looking promising for all of France, especially the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

Other boom areas this summer include the Auvergne, Hautes-Pyrénées and the Arcachon basin.


AND NEWS FROM THE CONNEXION

+ More pickers needed for wine harvest


+ Deal for Dordogne fraud victims


+ French employers are starting to recruit again, but almost all of the contracts available are temporary, new figures reveal.


~~
12 Aug NEWS HEADS

• CHAD: President slams French military presence amid independence celebrations

AFP - Chad's President Idriss Deby Itno criticised France's military presence in the country Wednesday in comments to mark the 50th anniversary of independence from its former colonial ruler.
The veteran leader told reporters that his government would seek financial compensation for allowing France to maintain its military operation, codenamed Epervier (Sparrowhawk), which he said "is no longer playing a role" in Chad.
"It's now 20 years since Epervier exists and it no longer playing a role apart from providing some healthcare for the sick and logistical support in case of an attack somewhere," he said.
"We are going to review the accord....France pays nothing to Chad apart from some goods which come in through customs.
"If France wants to stay in Chad and use its planes, train its men, there is a price to pay and the accord will allow us to clafiry what France must pay Chad."
"On the other hand, if France says that it does not have the means to pay and that it wants to leave, we will maintain the best possible relations but we won't stop Epervier from leaving," he said.
"We have no defence accord with France. And the presence of Epervier has nothing to do with our independence or our sovereignty. Epervier is not here to help or support a government or a regime."
France has around 1,100 soldiers based in Chad and 800 others are serving in a UN-led force to protect refugees in eastern Chad, mostly from Darfur in western Sudan.
However, in January the government said it wanted the 3,300-strong UN Mission to the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) to leave the country.
The UN Security Council in May ordered the withdrawal to be completed by the end of the year, at Chad's request.
Deby said the UN mission was "a failure," and accused the troops of remaining behind the safety of their razor-wire fences and not venturing out to help refugees.
France launched Operation Epervier in 1986, sending forces into Chad to prop up then-president Hissene Habre, who was under attack from Libya. The French troops have since maintained a presence near Ndjamena airport and in the eastern city of Abeche

~~~~~~~~~

TRIAL hears of chef's body found in freezer
LYON, France — A Frenchwoman has admitted killing her partner, a retired chef, and preserving his body in a freezer for two years in France's gastronomic capital Lyon, prosecutors said.
Guylene Collober, 51, confessed to fatally punching her 71-year-old companion Jean-Francois Poinard, in November 2008, prosecutor Marc Desert told a news conference on Wednesday.
She had earlier claimed that her boyfriend could have been killed by racketeers.
Desert described Collober as a person with "pathological tendencies, narcissistic, possessive and violent."
"She isolated her partner from his friends, his family, the neighbours," he said, adding that the victim was often seen in the neighbourhood sporting bruises and other marks.
The body of the former restaurateur was found in the freezer during a search of his home, Desert said, adding that he died after "an altercation turned awry."
The girlfriend, who has been placed under custody, left his body in the bath for a few days before acquiring a chest freezer where she dumped his body.


BRIT TIPS FOR WELCOME
VisitBritain produces tips on how not to upset tourists
Britain's hoteliers, pub landlords and cabbies have been given tips on how to avoid cultural no-nos with the Chinese and faux pas with the French.
Tourism agency VisitBritain has come up with online advice to help give foreign visitors a warmer welcome ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.
It advises against hugging an Indian straight off, implying Poles drink a lot or calling Canadians "American".
It also warns against mentioning the 1845-6 war to a Mexican.
VisitBritain says that, while visitors see Britons as honest, funny and kind, some would like a more exuberant welcome.
It says research has shown overseas visitors anticipate a fairly good welcome when coming to Britain.
The UK is ranked 14 out of 50 in the Nations Brands Index for the quality of welcome behind Canada, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and others.
The guide, written by VisitBritain staff who come from the countries featured, is aimed at enhancing cultural awareness and avoiding misunderstandings.


HERAULT - 180 vélos disponibles pour aller sur la plage du Pilou
Pour la quatrième année consécutive, Montpellier Agglomération, Tam et la municipalité de Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone ont mis en place "Vélomagg", 180 vélos permettant de rejoindre la plage, à la descente de la ligne 32, arrêt Pilou, avenue Henri-Poitevin.



~~
11 AUG - NEWS HEADS


• INDIA: European citizens among those dead in Himalayan flash floods
Three French citizens as well as two more Europeans are reported to have died in flash floods on Friday in north India, officials said on Tuesday. In total, at least 177 people are confirmed dead and authorities expect to find more casualties.


Employment numbers for 2009 lowest since WWII
Craig McGinty of www.thisfrenchlife.com/
FIGURES from the employment service, Pôle Emploi, show that in 2009 those in work were at their lowest level since World War Two.
Nouvel Obs reports on the statistics which show that the number in work fell by 1.5 per cent, with the manufacturing sector struggling most, while the building trade saw more than 44,000 jobs lost after 11 years of growth.
The hardest hit regions were Picardie (-3,8 %), Haute-Normandie (-3%), Lorraine (-2.2%), Centre (-2.3%), Alsace (-2.2%) as well as Poitou-Charentes, Champagne-Ardenne and Bourgogne (all -2.1%).


French World Cup squad left out for friendly
CNN Wire Staff
August 11, 2010 -- Updated 0751 GMT (1551 HKT)
• Laurent Blanc chooses not to select any of France's 23-man World Cup squad friendly
• Blanc makes the decision following the squad's boycott of training during the World Cup
• France's tournament fell into disarray when striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home
(CNN) -- France take on Norway in a friendly Wednesday without the 23 players who took part in the country's disastrous World Cup campaign.
New French coach Laurent Blanc chose not to select any member of the World Cup squad after they collectively refused to take part in a training session during their turbulent stay in South Africa.
Blanc, who took over from Raymond Domenech following France's exit at the group stage of the competition, opted to exclude the whole squad for one match as a punishment for their role in the protest that came just two days before their final match against host nation South Africa.
France's tournament fell into disarray after Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home following a row with Domenech during the group match against Mexico.
Captain Patrice Evra then became involved in a heated public argument with fitness coach Robert Duverne -- resulting in Duverne storming off the training ground with the squad retreating to their team bus and refusing to train.
However, there is no suggestion that the ban will last longer than a single match.
Many of the players are expected to return for the opening Euro 2012 qualifier at home to Belarus -- although it remains to be seen whether Anelka and Evra, who were perceived as the ringleaders, will return to the squad.


EuroCity Express launches London to Paris bus service

More - see Travel news page


~~~
10 Aug NEWS HEADS

Israeli group buys historic Hotel Lutetia, a former Nazi haunt


AFP - The historic Lutetia hotel in Paris, occupied by the Nazis and after liberation serving as a welcome centre for concentration camp survivors, has been purchased by the Israeli Alrov group, the owners said Saturday.

The Louvre Group, Europe's second largest hotelier after Accor, announced the sale in a statement but did not disclose the purchase price.
Back in May sources said the Alrov group was going to buy the Lutetia for 150 million euros (nearly 200 million dollars) with plans to make it a luxury hotel on the left bank of Paris, the Figaro newspaper reported.
Alrov then announced that it had already spent 10 million euros with the aim of buying the hotel which marks its 100th anniversary this year. It would be highly symbolic for an Israeli company to own the hotel where Jews who survived the death camps found support after the Allies defeated Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Alrov Group, founded in 1978, is known for its two luxury hotels in Jerusalem, The David Citadel and The Mamilla Hotel.
Last year Alrov reported revenue of 185.6 million euros with a net profit of 94 million euros.

The Louvre Hotel Group is owned by the US fund Starwood Capital, which has seen its debt grow to 1.6 billion euros and wants to get out of the luxury hotel sector. It wants to concentrate on such economic hotel brands as Kyriad and Campanile.

~

Two squats occupied by Roma evacuated in Herault
Two Roma squats occupied byf about fifty people were evacuated without incident by police on Tuesday in the Herault, one in Montpellier, the second in Lattes, said the prefecture.

These evacuations involved fifty representatives of law enforcement, have been carried out under deportation orders issued by the court of Montpellier a few months ago, at the request of the owners of premises, a private company in Lattes and the University of Montpellier 1.

The prefecture of Hérault had received complaints from owners and elected officials who had "expressed recurring complaints from neighbours about noise and lack of hygiene," said secretary general, Patrice Latron at a press briefing.

These evacuations are in line with the instructions of the President, who announced in late July plans to evacuate 300 illegal camps of Roma and Travellers.

According to Patrice Latron, 13 obligations to leave French territory had been notified to adults and were enforceable since Monday night. But those involved were absent from camp Tuesday morning. "There were half as many people in both camps than we had expected," admitted the secretary general of the prefecture.

The French Office of immigration and integration was represented by its Regional Director in this intervention, to offer assistance to voluntary return. Some evacuees Tuesday morning, however, had already benefited. The Directorate of Social Cohesion, also present, had alerted agencies for emergency accommodation.


~~
9 Aug NEWS HEADS

French Economy to Grow 0.3% in Third Quarter on Output, Central Bank Says
By Gregory Viscusi of Bloomberg
The French economy will grow 0.3 percent in the third quarter, boosted by a pick-up in industrial output, the Bank of France said in its first estimate.
The forecast was included in the central bank’s monthly business confidence report. The bank’s index of sentiment in manufacturing was 101 in July, unchanged from the previous two months after data revisions today.
The Bank of France said last month that the country’s economy expanded about 0.4 percent in the second quarter, compared with a previous forecast of 0.5 percent. Preliminary gross domestic product data for the second quarter are due to be published on Aug. 13.
French exports rose 10 percent in the first six months of the year, boosted by higher sales to China and Brazil, the Trade Ministry said last week.
“Industrial activity increased at a similar pace to the previous month,” according to today’s report, and “order books stayed at close to normal levels.”
The rate of capacity utilization in French industry was 76.4 percent in July compared with 76.8 percent in June. That’s up from a low of 70 in early 2009, though below the long-term average of 82, the central bank said.

~

French Muslim man famous for Islamic-veil case charged with rape
Lies Hebbadj, a French Muslim man earlier charged with polygamy, was charged with aggravated rape Sunday. Hebbadj first entered the news in April, when his wife publicly contested a fine she received for driving while wearing a face-covering veil.

AFP - French police brought rape charges Sunday against a Muslim man targeted by the government in an earlier case of alleged polygamy, a state prosecutor said.
Lies Hebbadj, 35, an Algerian-born shopkeeper from the western city of Nantes, "has been charged with aggravated rapes," public prosecutor Xavier Ronsin told a news conference.
Police had detained Hebbadj on Friday on the latest charges after a former partner accused him of rape and violence against her, and formally placed him under investigation for the alleged offences on Sunday.
Hebbadj came into the public eye in April when his wife publicly contested the police's decision to fine her for driving a car while wearing a face-covering Islamic veil.
That case came at a sensitive time as Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing government prepared a law to ban the wearing of the full-face veil in public. The police claimed the veil dangerously obscured her view.
The government responded to the driver's complaint by going after Hebbadj, charging him with welfare fraud.
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux also accused Hebbadj of polygamy, which is illegal in France, and threatened to strip him of his French passport.
On Sunday Hebbadj's lawyer Cecile de Oliveira rejected the charges of the alleged rapes between 2003 and 2007 as a sign of "manipulation" by the government.
"These are fantastical accusations, very old ones, of an intimate nature that is rather hard to verify," she told reporters.
"I think it is probably a case of manipulation," she added, citing a statement made by Hortefeux on RTL radio on Saturday that Hebbadj was "presumed guilty" of polygamy and welfare fraud.
Sarkozy and Hortefeux last week announced plans to make loss of nationality a fixed punishment for a range of serious crimes by foreign-born offenders, including attacking policemen. They did not list rape among the crimes.
Parliament is due to debate the veil ban in September. Hortefeux said on Saturday he would make formal proposals for stripping criminals of their nationality, part of a broad crime crackdown, by the end of this month.

• 'Maigret' star Bruno Cremer dies at 80:
French actor Bruno Cremer, best known for playing the role of Inspector Jules Maigret, died in a Paris hospital on Saturday at the age of 80, his agent France Degand told AFP on Sunday.
Cremer played Maigret, a pipe-smoking French police detective created by the Belgian writer Georges Simenon, in 54 episodes produced by French public television from 1991 to 2005.


~~

8Aug NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Sarkozy's approval ratings rise after immigrant crackdown
A recent poll has shown that French President Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity crept two points higher to 34 percent following a recent highly publicised crackdown on illegal immigrants.
President Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity inched higher after he announced tough new measures against crime and illegal immigration, but more than half of voters say he is still not tackling the country's problems.

A poll published on Saturday in daily newspaper Le Parisien showed the percentage of French people who trusted Sarkozy rose to 34 percent in early August, two percentage points higher than the previous month's poll.

However, 61 percent of voters said they did not trust the 55-year-old conservative leader, who is widely expected to seek a second five-year term in 2012 despite his weak poll ratings.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon, seen as a possible challenger to Sarkozy from within the ruling UMP party, fared better, with 40 percent saying they trusted him while 54 percent did not. Fillon may be replaced in a cabinet reshuffle which the president has announced for October.

The telephone poll of 1,002 people was conducted on Aug. 4-5, a week after Sarkozy launched his plans for a security crackdown during a visit to the southeastern city of Grenoble, the scene of mid-July riots sparked by the death of a man of Arab origin who was fleeing from police.

A poll published on Thursday showed French people overwhelmingly support the tough new measures proposed by Sarkozy, himself the son of a Hungarian father and French mother of Greek Jewish origin.

Thursday's survey said some 89 percent of people favoured Sarkozy's plan to force criminals to wear electronic tags for years after committing a crime, while 70 percent backed an initiative to strip French nationality from people with immigrant roots found guilty of killing a policeman.

"I will present proposals before the end of the month for legal measures to implement the withdrawal of nationality from those who kill public officials, practice polygamy or excision (female circumcision)," Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said on Saturday.

He added that he would consult with Immigration Minister Eric Besson, who has expressed public doubts about the legality of the move.

FIRST BIG ROMA EVICTION

Opposition parties, human rights groups and unions announced this week that they would stage major demonstrations across France on Sept. 4 to protest against the measures, which they say are xenophobic.

Critics say the measures are populist steps aimed at diverting attention from a series of recent setbacks for the government, which has been rocked by allegations of illegal political donations from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt as well as last month's riots in two towns.

Labour Minister Eric Woerth, the man at the heart of the funding scandal, has vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

On Friday, scores of police dismantled an illegal camp of 135 Roma in the central French city of Saint-Etienne, giving them a one-month ultimatum to leave the country.

It was the first high-profile eviction since the government launched a plan in late July to dismantle 300 illegal camps of travellers and Roma, which it says are linked to crime, prostitution and drug trafficking.



FRANCE: In the run-up to Ramadan, halal advertising reaches fever pitch
France’s huge Muslim population is big business for the producers of halal meats and the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan is attracting innovative and aggressive marketing.

FRANCE: Police begin evictions as part of Sarkozy crackdown on Gypsies
French police moved in to evict residents of an illegal Gypsy camp in Saint-Etienne on Friday as part of President Nicolas Sarkozy's crackdown on "travelling" peoples. Police sealed off the area to prevent access by journalists and rights groups.



~~~

7 Aug Local News from Midi Libre

TOURISM - The Hérault has suffered from sluggish tourist activity in July according to a study released by the Montpellier Board of Trade and Industry.

Seaside tourism has suffered most - a decrease in July of 31% (against an increase of 35% in July 2009).
Some reduction in activity is also recorded in the hinterland.
Only tourism city has been relatively good but suffered a 4% drop in activity but sales revenue increased by 8%.


6 AUG - NEWS HEADS

Air France crash victims' families to sue for negligence, lawyer says


A lawyer for the families of several victims of the 2009 crash of Air France flight 447 says he will file a negligence suit against the French state for failing to register incidents involving airspeed monitors as required by the European Commission.
By News Wires (text)
AFP - A lawyer representing families of the German and Chinese victims of an Air France crash in the Atlantic last year said he planned to sue the French state for negligence in its oversight.

Ulrich von Jeinsen told AFP he would file suit "against unidentified persons of the French state" for failing to establish a registry of incidents involving airspeed monitors, as ordered in a European Commission directive in 2003.

"As a result of this failure to comply with European norms, it is possible that the French state was unaware of 30 similar incidents in which the air speed measuring instruments froze up at high altitudes," von Jeinsen's practice said in a statement.

His French associate Jean-Pierre Bellecave will hand in the paperwork to a French court "in the coming days", von Jeinsen said.

The German attorney said he was hopeful that French justice authorities would be able to pinpoint who in the French state bore responsibility for such oversight.

Flight 447 between Rio de Janeiro and Paris went down in the Atlantic roughly midway between Brazil and Senegal on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board in the worst crash in Air France's history.

Crash investigators have acknowledged in previous reports that Airbus 330-200's airspeed monitors were faulty, but maintain this could not have been the sole cause of the disaster.

A series of automatic error messages were emitted by the onboard flight computer shortly before the plane disappeared from radar.

The latest findings of France's BEA air accident investigation agency are due in September.


~~

Typical British man 'wears flat caps and rides mobility scooters', French poll finds
The typical British man wears a flat cap, rides a mobility scooter and eats processed cheese, according to a new survey of French opinion.
More than 4,000 English and French residents were asked their opinions of what were the most common characteristics of their neighbours.
According to the YouGov poll almost a third of French respondents associated “Britishness” with an image of a pensioner on a mobility scooter, eating a slice of processed cheese wearing a flat cap.
When questioned about what things British people were “not good at”, the responses included “cooking”, “love”, “dressing”, “speaking French” and “everything”.
In contrast the majority of French people compared themselves to a platter of cheese or a glass of champagne.
When questioned about which things British people were not good at, they responded with cooking, love, eating too much, dressing, speaking French and “everything”.
The majority of British respondents, however, could not name a single French failing although some did list “getting anything done in August”.
When asked about the French, nearly a quarter of British people thought "feeling culturally superior" made them most happy, while almost a fifth suggested "being thought of as attractive".
Others thought the French were happiest when "going on strike" or "boasting about their train network".
The poll was commissioned by Renault, after a series of new adverts for the French carmaker's Megane model caused disquiet for residents in a Lancashire village after poking fun at their area by comparing it to the South of France.
Last month villagers in Gisburn, Lancs, reacted furiously after the advert contrasted a sun-drenched swimming pool in Menton, Cote d'Azur, with a puddle in their village.
While the French could come up with an extensive list of “famous” Brits, in reply the English could only mainly only Napoleon Bonaparte and Charles de Gaulle. Some even named Sasha Distel, the singer, and Inspector Clousseau, the fictional detective character.
Gyles Brandreth, the broadcaster, said in response to the findings: “The English are much more gracious to their neighbours.”
Dr Linda Papadopoulos, a psychologist, added: “Cultural idiosyncrasies are what we often use to draw conclusions about the collective personality of a nation.
“In the case of the French and English, who have such a long standing historical connection both politically and socially, these stereotypes are bound to be both exaggerated and used to banter with.”
A Renault spokesman had previously defended the advertisements as “light-hearted”.


• FRANCE: Embattled Woerth 'used position' to secure tax break for artist legacy
French Labour Minister Eric Woerth is facing fresh accusations of financial misconduct following claims he intervened in the inheritance of artist Cesar Baldaccini to secure a 27-million-euro tax break.

New speed camera signs - see travel page

BANK PROFITS Societe Generale quarterly profits triple SocGen's results were better than expected Quarterly profits at Societe Generale have more than tripled after what it called an "excellent performance" in its retail banking division.

• FRANCE: International media react to police forcibly evicting immigrants
It took almost a week before the international media took notice of last month's controversial video of French riot police forcibly evicting immigrants from a housing settlement outside of Paris. Reactions since have been strong and varied.
It was almost a week later before the popular viral video began to make its way across the Web and on to the agenda of the world’s leading English-language news outlets. In general, the mainstream media coverage in the United States and the United Kingdom were all largely critical of the French police’s handling of the demonstrators. Describing the situation with words like “outrage” and “brutal,” the coverage largely sympathised with the protestors.

• ROMA : What future if they are forced out of France?
The French government has just announced that it will be taking a harder line towards its Roma community, including expulsions. What will happen to the Roma who are sent back to their countries of origin?
The death of a young man from the travelling community of Saint-Aignan, killed by police during a vehicle inspection, led to several incidents between members of the community and the local authorities. On Wednesday, in response to these incidents, the interior ministry announced a number of different measures to tackle the “behaviour problems” of these nomadic communities. These measures will affect both French travellers and Roma immigrants from both Romania and Bulgaria.

Over the next three months, half of the 600 illegal camps established in France will be dismantled. In addition, the authorities will begin “the process of sending Roma who have committed public order offences or fraud back to Bulgaria or Romania”.

In the eyes of Roma associations and human rights groups, these measures represent both an ethnically-based approach to tackling delinquency and the stigmatization of these people.

In 2009, nearly 10,000 Roma were sent back to Romania and Bulgaria, with the French government providing 7,966 of those leaving with some level of support (free plane ticket and a rehabilitation benefit of €300 per person).


~~

4 AUGUST NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Sarkozy urges Zardari to step up fight against terror
Pakistani President Ali Asif Zardari’s meeting with French President Sarkozy reportedly got off to a conciliatory start, but Sarkozy did urge his counterpart to step up his country’s efforts in the fight against terror.

FRANCE: Opposition slams Sarkozy plan to revoke immigrants' citizenship
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal to strip naturalised French nationals of their citizenship if they endanger the lives of police officers has come under fire from opposition groups.

New speed camera signs - see travel page


Societe Generale quarterly profits triple SocGen's results were better than expected Quarterly profits at Societe Generale have more than tripled after what it called an "excellent performance" in its retail banking division.

The French bank said net profit for the three months to June came in at 1.08bn euros ($1.4bn; £900m) compared with a profit of 309m euros a year ago.

The result comfortably beat analysts' forecasts of a 732m euro profit.

But the bank warned that economic recovery was still fragile and growth prospects in Europe remained moderate.

For the first six months of the year, the group reported a net profit of 2.15bn euros.

"[The first half of 2010] testifies to the group's new commercial momentum with an excellent performance from retail banking activities and a satisfactory contribution to the results from corporate and investment banking despite a challenging market environment," chief executive Frederic Oudea said.

Shares in SocGen were up 1.5% in morning trade.


~

ELECTRICITY PRICES RISE in mid-August

The regulated electricity tariffs will rise from August 15, - by 3% for individuals and 4% to 5.5% for companies the Department of Ecology and Energy announced Tuesday.

Rates blue (customers) will increase by 3%, fares blue pros (craftsmen, liberal professions) 4%, tariffs yellow (SMEs) and 4.5% green tariffs (large) 5,5%, the ministry said.

On average, the increase will be 3.4%, the source said.
About 94% of French consumers, or 28.5 million customers and 4 million companies, are currently subject to regulated tariffs, which are offered by EDF.
These rates, revised August 15, traditionally, are set jointly by the Ministries of Energy and Economy.

The electricity bill has increased by 2.3% on average in 2009 (+1.9% for households and 4-5% for companies), 2% in 2008 and 1.1% in 2007.
The French electricity prices are among the lowest in Europe.
According to EU statistics institute Eurostat, the French electricity was 25% cheaper than the European average in late 2009. Taking into account differences in purchasing power between European countries, French is the electricity second cheapest in Europe, just after Finland.


SPORTS NEWS - not normal for WoW but.........

Football : Spahic (Montpellier) vers Arsenal
Le défenseur central international bosniaque de Montpellier, Emir Spahic, a affirmé ce mercredi au site internet bosniaque Sportssport.ba que le club anglais d'Arsenal avait entamé des discussions avec Montpellier au sujet d'un possible transfert. "Le plus important est que jusqu'à présent les négociations se passent comme prévu et que le transfert pourrait être conclu bientôt. Arsenal est un grand club, je suis un admirateur d'Arsène Wenger et j'espère que Montpellier sera coopératif." Des propos largement repris par la presse anglaise.

L'entraîneur français d'Arsenal, Arsène Wenger, qui a perdu William Gallas, Sol Campbell, Philippe Senderos et Mickaël Silvestre cet été, est plus que jamais à la recherche d'un défenseur central pour épauler Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou et la nouvelle recrue venue de Lorient, Laurent Koscielny.



~~~

3 August NEWS HEADS

Zut alors! The French have taken the Palace of Westminster
French company BNP Paribas beats British firms to manage the Houses of Parliament.

In a development that is likely to dismay the Euro-sceptics, the French company BNP Paribas Real Estate has won a five-year contract to manage the Palace of Westminster.
"If MPs need it spelt out to them how Britain is falling down the competition leagues, then they need look no further than their own building," sighs one toiler at the Palace of Westminster.
"The French will be taking over Buckingham Palace next."
After winning the job in a tendering process that complied with European Union competition legislation, the company will take over the management, lease and advisory work for the Houses of Parliament and associated buildings from the British company Lambert Smith Hampton, which had been doing the job since 2003.
The deal will cover the whole parliamentary estate, which is spread over 15 buildings, including the Palace of Westminster, Portcullis House and Broad Sanctuary. The estate in total covers an area of 2.7 million sq ft.
The company will be answerable to John Bercow, the Speaker, for the parts of the Palace of Westminster that are used by MPs.
With 3,500 employees across Europe, BNP Paribas Real Estate has a presence in 29 countries through a network of 129 offices.
Mandrake is certainly relieved that Michael Mates stepped down as a Conservative MP at the election.
The old Dreadnought used to be a fixture at the annual Parliamentary Palace of Varieties events, singing, to the tune of La Mer, an amusing, if xenophobic, song of his own composition which had the constant refrain: "That's why we hate the French."
French and UK police break up human trafficking ring
Cross-Channel operation leads to arrest of 26 people suspected of attempting to smuggle hundreds of migrants to Britain
Damian Green, the immigration minister, said the arrests proved the value of close co-operation between the UK and France. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA
French and British police say they have broken a human trafficking ring, arresting 26 people who were attempting to smuggle hundreds of migrants to the UK.
Scores of officers raided properties in Kent and France today in what is believed to be one of the biggest initiatives of its kind between forces from the two countries.
Damian Green, the immigration minister, said the arrests proved the value of close co-operation between the UK and France.
"Secure border controls are an absolute priority if we are to put an end to abuses of the system, and prevent people from coming to the UK through illegal routes," he said.
"That is why I am committed to working with my French counterpart to continue to improve security, and why we will continue with our successful summer operations against illegal immigration."
The French authorities said 18 suspected traffickers were arrested in France and eight more in Britain.
They are accused of smuggling hundreds of Albanians and Sri Lankans to the UK, charging between £1,500 and £4,000 a person.
Dozens of migrants were also detained during the operation, according to a statement from the French immigration ministry.
Last year France and the UK signed a deal aimed at tackling the growing number of migrants gathered at Calais. The agreement saw the UK allocate £15m to tighten British border controls and France promise to begin voluntary and forced repatriations.
The deal, agreed as Gordon Brown met Nicolas Sarkozy for a pre-G8 summit, was hailed as a breakthrough by the UK authorities who said it was the first time France had explicitly agreed to step up removal flights from northern France.
In September last year the French authorities closed down a makeshift camp in Calais known as "the jungle", which was home to hundreds of migrants, mostly Afghans. It signalled the start of a widespread crackdown by the French authorities that some campaign groups say has lead to the heavy-handed treatment of minority groups across the country.
The French authorities said today's arrests were part of an ongoing operation.
Green said: "This operation demonstrates how crucial it is that the UK Border Agency [UKBA], Serious Organised Crime Agency [Soca], the police, and French law enforcement work together to crack down on immigration crime, and put a stop to the trafficking that preys on the vulnerable and destroys lives."
The Home Office said the operation was co-ordinated by the Joint Intelligence Unit in Folkestone, which consists of the UKBA, Soca, Kent police, the French border police and the French anti-illegal immigration agency.
~~

The 200-metre champion who prefers a nice long sleep

Myriam Soumaré was 18 when she first tried running, comparatively old in the world of athletics. And even after winning a gold medal for the 200 metres on Sunday, running is still not her passion in life.
When Myriam Soumaré leaves the running track, she likes to leave the world of athletics far behind her.
Even her 100 metre bronze medal in the 2008 European Championships did not convince her that athletics was to be the core focus of her life.
“In all honesty I didn’t really like it when I started at 18,” she said after running the 200 metres in 22.32 seconds at the Barcelona championships on Saturday, the third fastest speed recorded this year.
“Today it all went well, but I wouldn’t say it is really a passion of mine. Maybe it will never really be a passion. But I like what I have done.”
Soumaré, a Muslim, is careful to take off her headscarf when she races “in order not to impose my religion on others”, according to her trainer Olivier Darnal.

Darnal spotted the young sprinters potential six years ago. He said the 23-year-old part-time paediatric nurse “had never done any sport” when she turned up to a training session, aged 18, where he was coaching her older sister Aminata.

Natural talent

Darnal said he was thunderstruck when he saw her run for the first time: “Myriam was much, much faster than any of the other girls that I was training.

“But she wasn’t all that interested in putting in the time, but over the years she has become a little more committed to running.

“She is a detached, generous and lively person … Detached meaning when she leaves the stadium, she doesn’t think about athletics any more.”

Soumaré is, however, a prolific sleeper, averaging 12 hours a night, and takes an afternoon nap after getting home from work.

She lives with her parents, who are of Mauritian origin, and her four siblings, in Villiers-le-Bel, one of the French capital’s notorious northern suburbs and the scene of intense anti-police rioting in 2007

~~
Al-Qaeda group threatens France

A jailed leader of Al-Qaeda's North African movement has threatened France and Mauritania with retaliation after forces from the two countries staged a joint military raid against one of the group's bases in Mali.

Six fighters from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) were killed during a last-ditch effort to save Michel Germaneau, a 78-year-old aid worker.
"I say to the infidels and French crusaders ... will not rest until French blood has been spilled," El Khadim Ould Semane, the head of AQIM in Mauritania, said in remarks published on Monday.
In a telephone interview with the private daily Nouakchott Info, Semane said that "fighting hand in hand with French miscreants is sufficient proof that the Mauritanian army is fighting Islam".
"There are men who are prepared to retaliate [for the joint attack]."

Hostage executed
AQIM has claimed Germaneau, who was abducted on April 19, was later executed in revenge for the operation, which took place in neighbouring Mali.
Last week, Francois Fillon, the French prime minister, said France was "at war with al-Qaeda".
The declaration and attack marked a shift in strategy for France, which is usually discreet about its military co-operation with its regional allies - Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Algeria.
Semane has been imprisoned in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, since his arrest during an April 2008 police operation in the city, in which a policeman was killed.
AQIM, whose Mauritanian branch was officially disbanded after Semane's arrest, has also demanded the remains of those slain in the July 22 raid be handed over to their families by the Mauritanian army.
The Nouakchott Info said the interview with Semane was conducted by telephone, although telephone contact with inmates of Nouakchott prison, where 73 suspected fighters are jailed, is theoretically banned.
US warning
The United States warned its citizens on Monday to use extreme caution when travelling to Mauritania due to AQIM's increased activities.
The state department said in a travel warning that AQIM "continues to demonstrate its intent and ability to conduct attacks against foreign nationals, including US citizens".
It said that faith-based groups working in Mauritania may be particularly at riskd.
"As a result of perceived Western involvement in the raid, it is possible that AQIM will attempt additional retaliatory attacks against Western targets of opportunity," the state department said.

~~

French police breakup of immigrant squat brings storm of protest
Video showing rough handling of women and children fuels accusations Sarkozy trying to create 'two-tier' country.
Footage of French police using apparently excessive force while breaking up an immigrant squat has prompted outrage as activists and intellectuals accuse Nicolas Sarkozy of pursuing policies that target the vulnerable while giving free reign to the police.
The video, filmed by a member of the social housing charity Droit au Logement (DAL), shows officers roughly handling women and children as they break up a group of 150 squatters who were evicted from a tower block in La Courneuve, north-east of Paris.
At one point, a woman is shown being pulled by her legs across the ground, her baby – which she had been carrying on her back – dragged along the concrete after her.
The Seine-Saint-Denis police department insisted the level of violence was not extreme. "The operation was carried out within the rules," it said. The squatters had been ordered to leave the premises three times and the expulsion had taken place "in relatively good conditions".
But the footage, captured on 21 July and viewed more than 500,000 times on the internet, aroused strong condemnation by viewers and activists. Jean-Baptiste Ayrault, spokesman for the DAL, demanded an investigation.
"There is clearly a limit [to what is acceptable]," he told French radio. "Normally the police do not behave like this and I am afraid that we are seeing this kind of behaviour increasingly often. The head of state [Sarkozy] governs with the police; they feel protected."
The footage, which the anonymous film-maker claimed in Le Parisien today to have shared in order to "show the degree of violence used" by certain members of the police, comes amid a heated debate in France about a law and order crackdown announced by Sarkozy last week.
In a bellicose speech in the south-eastern city of Grenoble on Friday, the president said he would wage a "real national war" on crime, announcing plans to revoke the French citizenship of anyone "of foreign origin" who threatened the life of a police officer.
Implying a clear link between France's levels of immigration and its crime, Sarkozy said: "We are suffering the consequences of 50 years of insufficiently regulated immigration, which have led to a failure of integration."
His tough rhetoric was followed yesterday by the interior minister, Brice Hortefeux, who warned that citizenship could also be revoked for those found guilty of other offences such as polygamy, female circumcision or other "serious criminal acts".
"The only thing that interests me is responding to the legitimate expectation of our fellow countrymen, without concerning myself with feelings or declarations," he said.
The tactic of turning French nationality into a retractable status for those of non-French origin has provoked a storm of protest from most of the mainstream media and the opposition, with accusations that Sarkozy is trying to turn the country into a two-tier society.
"[The president] wants to discriminate against French people with the same crimes, the same offences, according to a person's origin, according to the means with which they acquired French nationality," Robert Badinter, the former justice minister and socialist, told radio France Inter today. "It runs contrary to the republican spirit."
Commentators said they doubted that such a measure – which the government intends to try to make law as of September – would be legal given the constitution's promise to ensure "the equality before the law of all citizens regardless of origin, race or religion".
"I do not see how one can distinguish between two classes of citizens on the basis of whether they were born French or whether they became it," said Guy Carcassonne, a constitutional expert.
Sarkozy's sudden return to his "top cop" roots comes as he tries to distract the media and the electorate from the ongoing scandal surrounding the L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and the labour minister, Eric Woerth. Previous efforts to restate his roots have resulted in a resurgence in his popularity among rightwing and far-right voters.


~~
2nd August NEWS HEADS

ECONOMY - Lower sales of new cars in France in July
Sales of new cars in France fell 12.9% in July compared to July 2009, raw data, while the premium for scrap, which had been reduced earlier this year, fell again.
The decline in July was 8.7%. In total, 169,804 new cars were registered in the month, according to figures released Monday by the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers.

Registrations of new cars are divided down since May, following the reduction of car scrapping in January. This premium has declined further in July and now stands at 500 euros, against 700 in the first half and 1,000 euros last year.
In the first seven months of 2010, registrations of new cars were up 2.8%.

In July, the sales decline affected both French carmakers: PSA Peugeot Citroen sales fell by 15% and Renault had a 7.6% fall.

Overall, the French brands fell 15.4% compared while foreign brands declined less and fell back 9.9%.

French brands hold a majority market share of 52.6% in July.

~

Al Qaeda group says Paris negotiated to free French hostage

An al Qaeda linked group in the Sahara said Sunday that France had launched its raid in Mauritania while in negotiations with the group to free French hostage Michel Germaneau. This message contradicts earlier French government statements.

AFP - The head of an Al-Qaeda-linked gang in the Sahara desert said he held negotiations with Paris about freeing a kidnapped Frenchman before the hostage was killed, in an Internet message on Sunday.

"Shame on France and its president (Nicolas Sarkozy), who launched their raids while negotiations were under way," Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chief Abdelmalek Droukdal said, according to the message posted on jihadist websites.

The French authorities never reported that they were in negotiations for the release of the hostage, Michel Germaneau, a 78-year-old aid worker who was abducted in northern Niger on April 19.

The Al-Qaeda offshoot said that it had executed Germaneau on July 24 in revenge for the killing of six comrades in a failed Mauritanian-French rescue raid in Mali.

French Defence Minister Herve Morin said later that Paris had no direct negotiations with Germaneau's captors, while Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the gang may have killed the hostage nearly two weeks before the raid.

"We never had any specific claims" from them, Morin said at the time on France Inter radio. "They even refused any discussion aimed at getting him the medicines he needed for his heart problems."

In Mali, a local elected official told AFP that Germaneau had been beheaded after the raid, in the presence of Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, the leader of an AQIM cell that has been blamed for killing a Briton, Edwin Dyer, in 2009.

Fillon said Germaneau's body had not been recovered and pointed out that Dyer's had never been found either.

Sarkozy vowed on Monday to avenge the murder.

"Dear compatriots, this crime committed against Michel Germaneau will not go unpunished," Sarkozy said, warning French nationals to avoid the arid Sahel region running through Mauritania, Mali, Niger and southern Algeria.

Sarkozy did not reveal what France planned to do in response to the killing, but experts and military officers told AFP to expect an increased use of spies and special forces to target militant groups in the Sahel.

France is the former colonial ruler of most of the Sahel, and retains influence with regional leaders.

Paris already has military cooperation agreements with its former West African colonies, and helps to train and coordinate local anti-terror forces, in an area which receives around 30,000 French tourists per year.



~~~


31 July NEWS HEADS

Sarkozy looks to strip citizenship from those who threaten police
President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday that he would look into stripping French citizenship from anyone of foreign origin who "threatened the life of a police officer" following a spate of riots around Grenoble earlier this month.

Video of forced eviction in Paris suburb prompts shock
French politicians as well as advocates for immigrants and housing rights are reacting strongly to a video shot last week of police forcibly removing women and children of African descent from a makeshift tent housing camp in a poor Paris suburb.

~~~
30 July News Heads

News items for The Connexion

Worst jams of year this weekend
July 30, 2010
THIS weekend will be the worst for travelling in France, according to road monitor Bison Futé.

The annual migration of juillettistes (July holidaymakers heading home) and aoûtiens (August travellers heading away on holiday), known as the chassé croisé meaning “to-ing and fro-ing,” creates enormous tailbacks in France every year.

Bison Futé has put a black alert, its worst, on most main roads in France from 5.00 to 18.00 on Saturday, extended to 22.00 for routes along the Mediterranean.

Its advice to motorists is firstly not to drive on Saturday, and secondly, if heading out, to make sure the car is well stocked with water and refreshments.
The SNCF is expecting 1.6million passengers through stations at Paris over the weekend. An extra 400 'red vest' station helpers are on hand to help travellers.

Nearly one million people are expected to pass through Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports in Paris over the weekend according to the Aéroports de Paris.
www.connexionfrance.com/
Water restrictions in 32 departments
July 28, 2010
WATER restrictions are now in force in 32 French departments.

The west of France is especially concerned, from the Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques in the south-west to all of the Poitou-Charentes and the Pays-de-la-Loire.

In the areas with bans you should not fill swimming pools, wash cars or use hosepipes. It is also recommended to take showers rather than baths.

The Ecology Ministry said the lack of rain is not comparable with more severe droughts such as those in 2003 and 2006 but it added it is “not a wet year either, so we need to use water sparingly.”

To check if your department is concerned visit: water bans

You could also check the website of your department’s prefecture, or visit your mairie: if there are restrictions they should usually put a notice up.

While there are some checks by state officials relating to such measures, and you can be fined, they are uncommon and respecting them is seen more as a “civic duty,” an official at one prefecture said.
www.connexionfrance.com/
Tax checks raise half billion less
July 26, 2010
CHECKS by the authorities on income tax declarations brought in half a billion euros less than last year an official report shows.

The amount recuperated, €14.7bn, is down from €15.2bn in 2008 and €16.4bn in 2007.

Out of the money collected last year, €4.8bn followed demands for extra documentation, while €9.9 billion followed checks in person. The latter brought in slightly more than last year while the former brought in less.

In total the government raised €49bn for 2008 via income tax.

Personal visits are mainly carried out on businesses, with 51,615 taking place in 2009. This figure also included 3,912 checks on private individuals, bringing in €577 million – slightly more than last year.

There were 939 charges brought for tax fraud.

The report also shows that nearly one million people, 9% more than in 2008, made use of demandes gracieuses - requests for lowered tax because of financial difficulty. More than half of these concerned the taxe d’habitation or television tax.

There were also 3.8 million applications from people contesting their tax bills, slightly up on last year.
www.connexionfrance.com/
France.fr down until late August
July 23, 2010
FRANCE'S flagship website, which crashed within hours of launching last week, will remain unavailable until at least the end of August.

The government says it is switching to a more reliable web host and carrying out a series of checks to work out what went wrong and ensure the site is stable when it launches for the second time.

France.fr went live on Bastille Day, promising information about France in five languages: French, English, German, Italian and Spanish.

The site's aim was to promote the country to tourists, investors and students and provide residents with practical information about all elements of life in France.

Some 65,000 people visited the website in the 16 hours that it was available online.

According to Les Echos, France.fr has already cost €862,705 - a figure that will grow further now that the repairs need to be made.
www.connexionfrance.com/

'The best mum there is': French baby killer's two adult daughters defend their mother
By Peter Allen – Daily Mail

The two surviving daughters of French multiple-baby killer Dominique Cottrez have paid tribute to their mother as ‘the best there is’.
Showing extraordinary support for the 45-year-old, Emeline and Virginia - who both have young children of their own - said she was a ‘model mother who supported us at all times’.
Emeline, 22, actually lived with the self-confessed killer of eight babies at the family home in Villers-au-Tertre, near Lille, along with her own two-year-old son.
It was there that many of the tiny corpses were found stuffed into black bin bags.


LUNEL - La délégation chinoise savoure le Muscat de Lunel
Le voyage est très officiel : une délégation de fonctionnaires chinois de la ville de Wuxi (près de Shangaï) vient de passer deux jours en Lunellois dans le cadre d'un voyage d'étude.
Fonctionnement des collectivités locales, mais aussi découverte de la stratégie de développement touristique du Pays de Lunel étaient au programme.
Ce qui passait, forcément, en pays viticole, par des dégustations. Et l'une des choses qui leur a le plus plu, dans tout cela, ils ne le cachaient pas, c'est bien le Muscat !

~~~
29 JULY NEWS HEADS


French first lady Carla Bruni is Woody Allen's latest star

AMERICAN film director Woody Allen found himself issuing instructions to French first lady Carla Bruni on the streets of the French capital during shooting for his latest movie, Midnight in Paris.
Ms Bruni is making her debut as an actress, and the former supermodel was watched by her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, who turned up on the Left Bank set to see her latest creative venture.

Allen, beloved by the French, recruited Ms Bruni last year for a small role in the romantic comedy, which follows a family travelling in Paris for business. She plays a museum director.

When she announced her acceptance of Allen's offer of a role, the 42-year-old said she was unsure of her acting skills.

"I'm not at all an actress. Maybe I'll be absolutely terrible," she said.

~~

FRANCE to dismantle half of all illegal itinerant camps
France's Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux announced Wednesday that half the country's illegal "travelling people" and Roma camps would be dismantled within three months, and that any caught breaking the law would be deported.

Hortefeux made the announcement after a meeting of ministers called by President Nicolas Sarkozy in the wake of violence between itinerant groups and police.

“Travelling people” (“gens du voyage”) is the legal term established in 1969 to refer collectively to nomadic communities on French territory that live in mobile homes or trailers and have both French nationality and a permit allowing them to move freely around the country.

The Roma, who come mainly from Romania and Bulgaria, are not included in this category under French law.

Hortefeux vowed that itinerants who committed offences would undergo "virtually immediate" deportation to their countries of origin.

A communiqué issued by the Elysée’s press service following Wednesday’s meeting took particular issue with the Roma population, stating that Sarkozy had judged the illegal camps of Roma communities on French territory to be “inadmissible”. The text specified that 300 illegal camps had been identified as sources of “illicit trafficing, unacceptable living conditions, exploitation of children, prostitution or delinquency”.

The communiqué explained that France was going to be establishing measures of cooperation with Romania in order to crack down on the situation. One of those measures will include Romanian and Bulgarian police officers working in Paris to aid French security forces in their efforts.

‘Fanning the flames’

In an interview with France24.com, Malik Salemkour, vice president of the French Human Rights League, called the announcement “scandalous”. “Evacuating shantytowns simply because their inhabitants are Roma amounts to racist targeting”, he said.
Roma people in France: easy target for discrimination?

Salemkour also accused the government of “fanning the flames” and finding “easy scapegoats to avoid dealing with the underlying issues”.

The controversy exploded last week when Sarkozy spoke of “the problems posed by the behaviour of some of the travelling people and Roma" while condemning the destruction of a police station and government property by approximately 50 “travelling-people” rioters. The rioters had taken to the streets with axes in the Cher region, in central France to protest against the death of a 22-year-old who was shot by the police.

The rioters were part of a nomadic community the French call “gens du voyage” or “travelling people”. The community is made up of French nationals, who, like Roma or Irish travellers, choose to live a nomadic lifestyle. Most of them reside in mobile homes or trailers and have both French nationality and a permit allowing them to move freely around the country.

Sarkozy’s comments angered advocacy groups, who accused him stirring up racist sentiment and pandering to the far-right. According to FRANCE 24’s French politics editor Marc Perelman, Sarkozy’s statements and Wednesday’s meeting may be part of a strategy to combat floundering approval ratings. “Sarkozy feels like he has to regain some ground on the issue of crime”, Perelman explained. Security was one of the issues Sarkozy emphasised during his successful presidential campaign in 2007.

~~~

28 July NEWS HEADS

• FRANCE: State electricity giant EDF to link with Areva in nuclear energy deal
The French government announced on Tuesday that state-owned electricity firm EDF will sign a broad partnership deal with Areva, which manufactures nuclear reactors, to help France regain a leading role in the nuclear energy sector.

• DIPLOMACY: French PM declares 'war' on al Qaeda after hostage killed
France is now at war with Al Qaeda, France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday, after the group's North African branch executed 78-year old French national Michel Germaneau.

• FRANCE: French army disputes veracity of Wikileaks report
One of the secret reports published by Wikileaks states that French soldiers wounded eight Afghan children during an incident in 2008.The French army says that procedures were followed and that only four civilians were slightly injured.

• ARGENTINA: Students solve mystery of Frenchman murdered 34 years ago
High school students in Argentina helped identify the remains of Yves Domergue and Cristina Cialceta, a Frenchman and his Mexican girlfriend who had disappeared during the country's 1976-1983 brutal military regime.

• FRANCE: L'Oreal heiress tells police that financing politics is not her 'centre of interest'
Questioned by police on Monday over allegations of illegal donations to Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt said financing politics was not her "centre of interest".


Vietnam rejects French officer's ashes request
Vietnam has turned down a request to scatter the ashes of a French war veteran at the site of a battle which helped end colonial rule by France.
General Marcel Bigeard, one of France's most decorated soldiers, who died last month, reportedly asked to rejoin his fallen comrades.
But a Vietnamese official is quoted as saying this would "create a precedent".
The refusal is thought to be a reference to American soldiers who might request similar treatment.
Gen Bigeard was a commanding officer during the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, where French troops were surrounded and defeated by the forces of the Vietnamese Communists, the Viet Minh.
'Sensitive and complicated'
Before he died in France last month, aged 94, Gen Bigeard had asked for his ashes to be taken to the battlefield, where they would "rejoin his comrades who fell in battle", an aide said.
But as Herve Morin this week becomes the first French defence minister to visit Vietnam since Dien Bien Phu, the country's foreign and defence ministries have rejected Gen Bigeard's last request.
"We do not wish to create a precedent," an official was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
"One never knows if one day another former foreign soldier would want to do the same thing elsewhere in the country. That would be sensitive and complicated."
Mr Morin described his trip on Tuesday as "highly symbolic". He said he did not raise the matter of Gen Bigeard's ashes.
Gen Bigeard, who was also a commanding officer during the Battle of Algiers, began his military career as an enlisted man, and retired from the army as State Secretary for Defence in 1976.
The former paratroop regiment commander caused controversy in France in 2000 when he told a newspaper that torture had been a "necessary evil" in Algeria.
He was believed to be one of the most decorated soldiers in France and had received medals from both France and Britain for his wartime service.



Two Muslim women thrown out of pool for wearing 'burkinis'
From Craig McGinty www.thisfrenchlife.com/
Two Muslim women were ordered to leave a swimming pool in a French holiday village on the southwest coast for wearing body-covering "burkinis".

The women had plunged into the pool at le Port Leucate wearing full body swimsuits, including a head-covering hijab veil, but were immediately told to get out of the water.
The incident occurred less than two weeks after French MPs voted to ban body and face-covering garments, including the full Islamic veil, from public places including the street.
Under the new law, due to come into force early next year, women face a fine or community service for hiding their faces in public and those forcing women to wear the full veil risk prison.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has described the garment as "not welcome" in the staunchly secular French republic.
In this case, the women at the Rives des Corbieres holiday camp were told to leave as they had breached the camp's rules allowing only conventional bikinis or one-piece swimsuits "for hygiene reasons".
Police received conflicting accounts of what happened next.
The pool's lifeguard filed a complaint saying the husband of one of the women threatened him with a bowling ball.
The husband filed a complaint claiming security personnel beat him up.
Marie-Paule Bardeche, a regional government official said: "This is above all an issue stemming from the holiday centre's internal regulations, in place for hygiene and sanitary reasons.
"Access to the swimming pool is reserved for ordinary swimsuit wearers. Even long shorts are forbidden." Last year a Muslim woman was banned from wearing a "burkini" at a public pool in a Paris suburb, also for hygiene reasons.
She later tried and failed to sue the council for discrimination.
Police have this year also stopped and fined two women for wearing a burka while driving, saying it contravened road rules as it impaired their field of vision.
The holiday camp where the burkini incident took place is run by a staunchly secular organisation called the "Aude federation of secular works".



Water use restrictions in France
By Craig McGinty - of This French Life www.thisfrenchlife.com/

A NUMBER of regions in France are currently facing water use restrictions, so it may be worth checking with your mairie if you are in one of the areas.
The Ministry of Ecology website has a .pdf map you can download highlighting the different areas affected.
At present the regions concerned are: Ain (01), Charente (16), Charente-Maritime (17), Côte-d’Or (21), Eure (27), Gers (32), Ille-et-Vilaine (35), Indre-et-Loire (37), Landes (40), Loire-Atlantique (44), Loiret (45), Maine-et-Loire (49).
Also: Marne (51), Mayenne (53), Rhône (69), Sarthe (72), Seine-Maritime (76), Seine-et-Marne (77), Yvelines (78), Deux-Sèvres (79), Vendée (85) Vienne (86) et Essonne (91).
There are different measures that departments can turn to including restricted watering of crops, to complete banning of watering including domestic use such as filling pools and washing cars.


BULL FIGHTING
Le parlement de Catalogne approuve l'interdiction des corridas – from Midi Libre
Il n'y aura plus de corrida en Catalogne à partir du 1er janvier 2012. Une décision qui « préfigure ce qui va se passer en France dans quelques années », selon Claire Starozinski, présidente de l'Alliance anti-corrida.
Les députés du parlement régional de Catalogne (nord-est de l'Espagne) ont approuvé mercredi l'interdiction des corridas, à partir du 1er janvier 2012, par 68 voix pour, 55 contre et neuf abstentions.

Les députés régionaux ont approuvé une "initiative législative populaire" (ILP) qui, appuyée par 180 000 signatures, réclamait la fin de ce spectacle "barbare".

Cette interdiction dans une région importante d'Espagne constitue un coup dur pour le monde taurin dans un contexte de morosité en raison d'une relative désaffection des spectateurs et de la crise économique sévère que traverse le pays.

Les milieux conservateurs espagnols ont accusé les parlementaires catalans d'arrière-pensées nationalistes et identitaires dans ce vote contre une tradition séculaire espagnole, dans un contexte tendu lié à la récente remise en cause par le justice espagnole du statut d'autonomie catalan.

Mais le débat mercredi, avant le vote au parlement catalan, a tourné essentiellement autour du caractère "cruel" ou non des courses de taureaux et de la "liberté" de ceux qui veulent y assister, dans une région où la tauromachie fait de moins en moins recette.

De nombreux pro et antitaurins s'étaient rassemblés devant le parlement pour manifester avant le vote. Le résultat du scrutin a été applaudi par le public dans l'enceinte du parlement.
Interrogée par l'AFP, la présidente de l'Alliance anti-corrida, Claire Starozinski estime que le vote des députés du parlement régional de Catalogne est "une grande victoire" qui "préfigure ce qui va se passer en France dans quelques années". Selon elle, "c'était écrit, comme est écrite la fin des corridas en France et partout dans le monde. Une tradition, lorsqu'elle est cruelle, doit être abolie. Le sentiment anti-corrida se développe en Europe, mais aussi dans le monde entier. On n'en veut plus".


~~~
27 JULY NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Sarkozy condemns French hostage 'assassination'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has condemned the killing of French hostage Michel Germaneau, held captive since April by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, confirming the group's claim on Sunday that they killed the 78-year-old aid worker.

FRANCE: Police question L'Oreal heiress in donations probe
Police questioned L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt (pictured) on Monday over allegations of illegal donations to Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign. Labour Minister Eric Woerth will be questioned later this week.

FRANCE: Saudi clerics says women exempt from wearing burqa in France
Muslim women living or visiting France are exempt from wearing the full veil two Saudi clerics have declared. The statement comes two weeks after French lawmakers passed a bill where women could be fined for wearing the full veil in public


~~~

26 JULY NEWS HEADS


France's President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that a 78-year-old French hostage held by Al Qaeda's North African wing was dead and urged French citizens to avoid travel to the Sahel region

~~~

Fires ravage coast near Marseille
Firefighters look at a fire burning through a pine forest in Sausset les pins

Fires raged overnight in the south of France, destroying 900 hectares of pine forest and brush and forcing the evacuation of a camp site housing about 2,000 holiday makers. Firefighters say that the flames should soon be under control.

The fires, which started at 9pm Saturday were spread by seasonal Mistral winds across the area between Sausset les Pins and St Julien les Martigues on the Mediterranean coast near Marseille.

They are believed to have been started by a vehicle being deliberately set on fire.

About 2,000 people staying at a campsite at Carry-le-Rouet were allowed to return on Sunday morning after being moved out overnight. At daybreak firefighters were struggling to keep the flames at bay as they approached houses but so far little damage to property or people is reported.

Airplanes and helicopters dropped water on the flames on Sunday morning and Colonel Gérard Patimo, who heads the operation, told reporters that the fires are “well on the way to being under control”.

The weekend’s fires are “a tragedy” for the area, according to Sausset mayor Eric Diard. It was badly affected by fires in the 70s and 80s, he told France Info radio.

“Since then nature took over again. Tomorrow we’re going to find a lunar landscape.”

~~~
24 JULY - NEWS HEADS

MAURITANIA : France aids terror raid in Mauritania, bids to free hostage
The French Defense Ministry confirmed on Friday that it provided logistical and technical support to a Mauritanian military operation to rescue a French citizen held captive by militants linked to Al Qaeda.

FOOTBALL: France axes all 23 World Cup players for Norway friendly
New French manager Laurent Blanc (pictured) has dropped all of the 23 players who played in the World Cup in South Africa for his first match as coach against Norway in August.

FRANCE: Judge rejects legal guardianship of L'Oréal heiress
A French judge has rejected a request by the daughter of Liliane Bettencourt, the billionaire L'Oréal heiress at the heart of a politically-charged tax fraud and corruption scandal, to place her mother under legal guardianship.



~~~

23 July - NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Outrage as Sarkozy says nomadic groups pose 'problems'
French rights groups have accused President Nicolas Sarkozy of stigmatising "travelling people" and Roma, following his comments about "problems" posed by these communities. Sarkozy’s tough talk comes amid a renewed focus on security issues.

MEXICO: Investigation into possible miscarriage of justice raises hopes for Cassez
Mexican police have confirmed that a probe has been launched against federal agents responsible for the 2005 arrest of Frenchwoman Florence Cassez on charges of kidnapping. Allegations have been made that Cassez’s arrest was staged.

FRANCE: The Bettencourt scandal: Sarkozy and the media face-off
Amid a growing scandal involving Labour Minister Eric Woerth, in which new revelations seemingly appear daily, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s already tense relations with the French press are being further strained.

FRANCE: Air traffic back to normal after strike ends at Paris airports
Air traffic in and out of France returned to normal on Thursday after traffic controllers ended a 24-hour strike that heavily disrupted flights in major French airports even as travellers prepared to leave for the summer break.

FRANCE: Labour Minister and his wife face questions in Bettencourt probe
French police questioned the wife of embattled Labour Minister Eric Woerth Wednesday over alleged tax evasion by her former employer, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Woerth himself is also set to be questioned.


AND MORE NEWS - courtesy of The Connexion - the English Language monthly for Anglophones


Old-age insurance to meet care costs
Over-50s living in France could be required to take out compulsory insurance to help pay for their future care needs, a parliamentary report has recommended. The National Assembly's social affairs committee says the state cannot afford to spend more than the current €22bn a year on elderly people who have lost their autonomy.


Students condemn 'illegal' university fees
Almost a third of universities are charging excessive fees to first-year students due to start this autumn, France's national student union has claimed. Unef has named 28 universities that it claims are breaking the law by asking for up to €2,200 from new students to register for their course.


Civil partner wins inheritance tax refund
A french court has ordered the tax authorities to pay back inheritance tax paid by a British man after his civil partner died. Jerry Lea has so far paid instalments of £31,800 on a £98,000 bill after inheriting the Loir-et-Cher holiday home that he shared with partner Geoff Page. Mr Page died in 2008, when France did not recognise British civil partnerships
More on this story...


Food makers agree to use less salt
Nineteen of France's biggest food manufacturers have signed a deal with the government promising to cut the amount of salt they use in products. Brands including Findus, McCain and Fleury-Michon are among those that have agreed to the recipe changes between now and 2012. Average salt content will fall between 5% and 25%, depending on the product concerned.


Heatwave loan for Paris residents
Residents in Paris are being offered a special loan to help pay for air-conditioning during a heatwave. The new scheme, run by the Crédit Muncipal de Paris, can also be used to pay for home help for elderly or vulnerable people who need assistance during the hot weather. Alternatively it can help pay for travel for an elderly person in Paris who wishes to leave the capital during a heatwave and spend time with family elsewhere in the country

Find out how to have the paper sent to your home
www.connexionfrance.com/expatriate-life-France-subscribe.php

~~~
21 July NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Strike to cause massive delays at Paris airports
Up to 20 percent of flights into Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport and 50 percent of flights into Orly may be cancelled due to a walkout by air-traffic controllers that began on Tuesday evening and is expected to last until Thursday morning.

FRANCE - FOOTBALL: Police question Ribery and Benzema again in under-age sex probe
Police questioned French football stars Franck Ribery (left) and Karim Benzema (right) again on Tuesday in an ongoing probe into an underage prostitution ring at a Parisian nightclub on the Champs Elysees.

FRANCE: Prosecutors issue request to question embattled labour minister
French prosecutors have issued a request to question Labour Minister Eric Woerth over allegations of corruption related to political campaign donations from a L'Oreal heiress. The French cabinet will discuss the request on Wednesday.

FRANCE: The beach comes to Paris for the summer
Sun, sand and Seine – Paris has created a huge artificial beach along the banks of the river, with sporting activities and a programme of concerts running until August 20.

FRANCE: GM’s Strasbourg staff vote ‘yes’ to pay freeze to protect jobs
Employees of the General Motors plant in Strasbourg gave a ringing endorsement Monday of a plan that includes stringent new cost-cutting measures and harsher working condition so General Motors can take back the plant from administrators.

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20 july NEWS HEADS

Strike to cause massive delays at Paris airports
Up to 20 percent of flights into Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport and 50 percent of flights into Orly may be cancelled due to a walk-out by air traffic controllers beginning this evening and lasting until Thursday morning.

AFP - An air traffic controller strike due Wednesday will force the cancellation of one in five flights from the main Paris hub Roissy and half of all flights from the smaller Orly airport, officials said.
France’s DGAC civil aviation authority also warned in a statement that stormy weather forecast for the day of the strike was likely to add to the travel disruption and advised potential travellers to contact their airlines.
French unions have called on air traffic controllers to strike to protest against plans to integrate French air traffic control into a European system.


FRANCE: Police come under gunfire again in riot-hit suburb of Grenoble
French police say the situation has calmed down in the outskirts of Grenoble, where weekend riots saw dozens of cars torched and gunshots fired at security forces in scenes reminiscent of the unrest that swept across the country’s suburbs in 2005.

FRANCE: Oil giant Total reopens Dunkirk plant after nationwide strikes
French oil giant Total was set to reopen its Dunkirk refinery in northern France on Monday, but the long-term future of the site remained unclear. A decision to shut the plant sparked nationwide strikes earlier this year.

FRANCE: L'Oreal fund manager's claims turn up heat on labour minister
The finance manager for France's richest woman says Labour Minister Eric Woerth sought career advice for his wife, Florence, months before she was hired to help manage the L'Oreal heiress's fortune, Le Monde news daily reports.


MONTPELLIER - Une mairie à 128 millions d'euros
Le chantier de la future mairie, sur les bords du Lez, atteint à ce jour les 128 millions d'euros. C?est ce chiffre que donnera Philippe Saurel, adjoint à l?urbanisme, lors du prochain conseil municipal, lundi 26 juillet. A cette occasion, il fera un nouveau compte-rendu à la collectivité sur l?état d?avancement de la réalisation du futur hôtel de ville.

"Because you are worth it?" sigh the people of the town.


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NEWS HEADS - 18 July

FRANCE: Five arrested amid riots in Grenoble after fatal police shooting
Police arrested five people in the southern French city of Grenoble early on Saturday after rioters exchanged gunfire with authorities and set fire to buildings following the fatal shooting by police of a man accused of robbing a casino.

FRANCE: L'Oreal fund manager's claims turn up heat on labour minister
The finance manager for France's richest woman says Labour Minister Eric Woerth sought career advice for his wife, Florence , months before she was hired to help manage the L'Oreal heiress's fortune, Le Monde news daily said Saturday.

FRANCE: Police release l'Oreal quartet after two days of questioning
Four associates of l'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, including her financial adviser Patrice de Maistre, have been released after they were questioned by police for 36 hours in connection with a tax fraud scandal that has rocked the government.

FRANCE: PM Fillon uses dreaded 'austerity' word on Japan trip
French Prime Minister François Fillon has created a stir by bringing up France's "budgetary austerity" in a speech during an official visit to Japan. The French government has taken great pains to steer clear of the dreaded "A" word.

FRANCE: Football Federation to investigate Les Bleus' World Cup strike
The French Football Federation has launched an investigation into Les Bleus' training strike, in which players refused to train in protest at the exclusion of Nicolas Anelka from the World Cup squad.

~~~
NEWS HEADS - 16 July

Air traffic strike next Wednesday
July 16, 2010 from the English Language paper – The Connexion – new edition out now

HOLIDAYMAKERS planning to fly to or from France next week are facing delays and cancellations because of a strike by air traffic controllers.

Five unions representing civil aviation workers have given formal notice of a walkout from Tuesday evening (July 20) to Thursday morning (July 22), potentially affecting summer holiday travel.

The Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile, which manages France's airspace, will publish an update on Monday evening detailing what percentage of flights are cancelled.

The controllers are protesting against a proposal to cut 500 jobs out of 4,400.

The cuts are part of a plan to merge the French, German, Swiss, Belgian and Dutch airspace, creating a new central European air traffic operation.

WoW hopes to bring you updates on this

~~

Air France signs FlyBe sharing deal from the English Language paper – The Connexion new edition out now
Air passengers in France will be able to mix and match between Flybe and Air France routes under a new sharing deal due to launch in the autumn. The two airlines have agreed to begin marketing each other's routes, with Flybe moving to Terminal 2 at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to allow easier connections
New rules on school canteen food from the English Language paper – The Connexion new edition out now
School canteens are to be required by law to serve less fried food and more fruit and veg by the end of this year. The new law sets a limit of four fried items in 20 days. There are also new limits on fatty and sugary desserts and the use of salt.

• FRANCE: Police arrest four as L’Oreal scandal escalates
French police have detained a financial advisor, lawyer, society photographer and island manager connected to France’s richest woman and L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, in the latest chapter in a scandal that has rocked French politics.

• USA - FRANCE: US reiterates disappointment over French burqa ban
US officials have reiterated Washington's disapproval of a measure approved by French lawmakers earlier this week banning the wearing of face-covering Islamic veils in public. France's Senate will vote on the controversial bill in September.

• FRANCE: Beleaguered Labour Minister beset by fresh corruption allegations
A month-long political scandal intensified Wednesday amid fresh reports that Eric Woerth insisted that a state-owned facility be sold below market value to an acquaintance.

60,000 new creche places by 2016 from the English Language paper – The Connexion new edition out now

An extra 60,000 creche places are to be created around France between now and 2016 to help cope with growing demand. The Caisse Nationale d'Allocations Familiales has announced the €330m plan to increase capacity as 350,000 families are on the waiting list for a place in a municipal creche



MONTPELLIER - Opening 8 September - the second largest arena in France - it will hold 14,000 people!

Go to What's On - August on for the programe so far - meanwhile have a look at the place
www.enjoy-montpellier.com/67918702/0/fiche___pagelibre/&RH=ENJOY_FR&RF=ARENA
WoW spent hours trying to load the pictures - but failed! Sorry!

~~

NEWS HEADS - 15 JULY

FRANCE: 'Colonial nostalgia' accusations taint Bastille Day parade
Troops from 13 African nations marched in Paris Wednesday at the annual Bastille Day celebrations, marking half a century of independence from colonial rule. Their participation has drawn fire from human rights and pressure groups.

RFI: Kathmandu judges postpone Bikini Killer appeal decision
Nepal’s Supreme Court has put off ruling on the appeal of French so-called “Bikini Killer” Charles Sobhraj, who is serving a life sentence for the 1975 murder of an American tourist.

FOOTBALL: Thierry Henry signs with New York Red Bulls
French football star Thierry Henry has been signed by the New York Red Bulls, the team announced Wednesday. The former Barcelona striker will debut with the US club on July 22.

FRANCE: Beleaguered Labour Minister beset by fresh corruption allegations
A month-long political scandal intensified Wednesday amid fresh reports that Eric Woerth insisted that a state-owned facility be sold below market value to an acquaintance.

FRANCE: Sex, dance and blablabla at Avignon's 2010 theatre festival
The French city of Avignon is famous for its theatre festival, which kicked off this week. The city invites prestigious directors and playwrights to create plays and perform them in its medieval palaces and churches.

~~~
NEWS HEADS 14 July

• FRANCE: Several African soldiers in July 14 parade 'could be war criminals'
Soldiers from 13 former French African colonies will march down the Champs Elysées in Paris on July 14 as part of France’s Bastille Day celebrations. However, human rights groups are concerned that some of the soldiers involved may be war criminals.

• FRANCE: Lawmakers pass bill to ban 'burqa' in public spaces
French lawmakers have approved a controversial draft law that would ban face-covering Islamic veils from being worn in public spaces. The bill will now go to the French Senate, which is expected to approve it in September.

• FRANCE: Sarkozy refutes corruption charges in live TV interview
In a live TV interview, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has defended embattled Labour Minister Eric Woerth, who is at the centre of corruption allegations involving France's richest woman, and asserted that France is "not a corrupt country".

• FRANCE: Govt approves draft law to raise retirement age to 62
The French government on Tuesday approved a draft law that would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, a focus of President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform agenda that has come under fire from unions and sparked protests across the nation.


AMAZON OPENS ONLINE FOOD SHOP - delivers in France
By Craig McGinty from This French Life website.
www.thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/

IF you can't find a particular foodie favourite in France, then a new service launched by Amazon.co.uk may be able to help.
The online retailer has opened a Grocery Store within its UK site, enabling people to buy items from the likes of Kraft, Nestle and Proctor & Gamble.
Over 22,000 products are available including Pampers, Ariel, Uncle Ben’s and Walkers as well as leading pet food products Bakers and Purina One.
The Amazon.co.uk grocery store allows customers to take advantage of the savings and convenience provided by bulk-buying items such as nappies, washing powders, pasta, rice, herbs, cooking oils and spices.
Delivery of many products is available to France.

www.amazon.co.uk/Grocery-Breakfast-Foods-Organic-Snacks/b?ie=UTF8&node=340834031&ref_=topnav_storetab_grocery



~~
NEWS HEADS 13 July

French parliament set to approve ban on face veils – more below

French Minister Quits Over Cash Scandal
France's Labour Minister Eric Woerth has stepped down as treasurer of the ruling UMP party after allegations of illegal donations by France's richest woman.
Mr Woerth had been accused of accepting over £125,000 from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt when he was chief fundraiser for Mr Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.
He told reporters of the move after a cabinet meeting at which he launched a key pensions reform bill.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy had gone on national television to deny claims of corruption and back Mr Woerth, declaring "France is not a corrupt country".
"The political class, left and right alike, is in general honest. French public officials are people of great rigour," the president said in the prime time interview on French television.
The president has insisted that as Labour Minister Mr Woerth would still lead the pensions reform which he hopes will be passed by the end of October.
Mr Sarkozy, whose poll ratings have slipped to their lowest point in three years in office, has described the party financing allegations as a "campaign" against him while he is fighting a difficult battle on raising the pension age.
Speaking to France 2 television in the garden of the presidential Elysee Palace, he steered the questions away from the scandal toward his efforts to modernise the country.
He cast himself as a tireless leader willing to put his reputation on the line to save France from untenable expectations about government social protections.
President Sarkozy denied the claims against him in the television interview
"When you carry out reforms ... you bother a certain number of people.
"And the response is often slander."
Mr Sarkozy is trying to win back voter support amid worries about the scandal that has destabilised the government, especially Mr Woerth.
Politicians on the left and right had urged Mr Sarkozy to respond publicly to allegations by a former accountant to L'Oreal heiress Ms Bettencourt that she gave £125,000 in cash to party treasurer Mr Woerth during the 2007 presidential campaign.
The alleged sum would greatly exceed legal limits for campaign donations.
After the 2007 election it is claimed Mr Woerth turned a blind eye to tax evasion by Ms Bettencourt.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Nicolas Sarkozy in London last month
And the French President's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has been dramatically drawn into the financial scandal after claims one of her charities is receiving large cash donations from Ms Bettencourt.
The Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Foundation, which raises money for disadvantaged youngsters, receives money from Lancome, owned by L'Oreal since 1964.
There is no suggestion of anything illegal about the Lancome donations to the foundation but there could be a conflict of interest if Ms Bettencourt was seen to have benefited financially from her links with the Sarkozy government.

~~~

French parliament set to approve ban on face veils
By ANGELA DOLAND (AP)
PARIS — France's lower house of parliament appeared ready Tuesday to approve a ban on burqa-like Islamic veils, a move that is popular among French voters despite concerns from Muslim groups and human rights advocates.
The issue is potent in Europe: Several other countries have similar proposals in the works, including Belgium and Spain, and they are closely watching the bill's progress in France.
After Tuesday's vote, the ban on face-covering veils will go in September to the Senate, where it is also likely to pass. Its biggest hurdle will likely come after that, when France's constitutional watchdog scrutinizes it. Some legal scholars say there is a chance it could be deemed unconstitutional.
The main body representing French Muslims says face-covering veils are not required by Islam and not suitable in France, but it worries that the law will stigmatize Muslims in general.
France's has Europe's largest Muslim population, estimated to be about 5 million of the country's 64 million people. While ordinary headscarves are common, only about 1,900 women in France are believed to wear face-covering veils. Champions of the bill say they oppress women.
With the proposed ban, the government is also seeking to insist that integration is the only path for immigrant minorities. France has had difficulty integrating generations of immigrants and their children, as witnessed by weeks of rioting by youths, many of them minorities, in troubled neighborhoods in 2005.
At the National Assembly, the lower house, relatively few dissenters have spoken out about civil liberties or fears of fanning anti-Islam sentiment.
A survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project released last week found that an overwhelming 82 percent of French respondents support a ban. The niqab and burqa are generally seen here as a gateway to extremism and an attack on women's rights and secularism, a central value of modern-day France.
Life in France is "carried out with a bare face," Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said last week.
Critics say the proposed ban is a cynical ploy by conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy's government to attract far-right voters.
Discussions in France have dragged on for more than a year, since Sarkozy declared in June 2009 that the burqa is not welcome in France.
In March, France's highest administrative body, the Council of State, warned that the law could be found unconstitutional. It rejected possible legal justifications one by one, including the French tradition of secularism, equality for women, human dignity and concerns about public security.
The legislation would forbid face-covering Muslim veils in all public places in France, even in the street. It calls for euro150 ($185) fines or citizenship classes, or both.
The bill is also aimed at husbands and fathers — anyone convicted of forcing someone else to wear the garb risks a year of prison and a euro30,000 ($38,000) fine, with both penalties doubled if the victim is a minor.
Officials have taken pains to craft language that does not single out Muslims. While the proposed legislation is colloquially referred to as the "anti-burqa law," it is officially called "the bill to forbid concealing one's face in public."
It refers neither to Islam nor to veils. Officials insist the law against face-covering is not discriminatory because it would apply to everyone, not just Muslims. Yet they cite a host of exceptions, including motorcycle helmets, or masks for health reasons, fencing, skiing or carnivals.
Anticipating a ban on the veils, an entrepreneur who tried to run for president in 2007, Rachid Nekkaz, is creating a fund to pay the fines of anyone caught wearing a niqab or burqa.
While he says he opposes the full veils, he says a ban would be anti-democratic, and he is creating the fund "so that my country is not the disgrace of the whole world."




~~~

NEWS HEADS 12 July

Govt report clears Woerth of role in tax evasion

Financial inspectors from the French finance ministry reported Sunday that Labour Minister Eric Woerth "did not intervene" to help L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt evade taxes when he was budget minister.

AFP - French government financial inspectors on Sunday cleared scandal-hit Labour Minister Eric Woerth of accusations that he helped L'Oreal billionaire Liliane Bettencourt evade taxes.
A report by the General Financial Inspection office (IGF), which is under the authority of the finance ministry, said that Woerth "did not intervene" in Bettencourt's tax affairs by using his authority when he was budget minister.
Woerth had been linked to alleged attempts to evade taxes by France's richest woman, when he was in charge of fighting tax cheats as budget minister.
His name was mentioned in conversations secretly recorded and leaked by her butler, which sparked a widening scandal linked to the billionaire's fortunes.
Woerth has also been accused of a conflict of interest because his wife worked for a company managing Bettencourt's estate while he was minister.




NEWS HEADS - 11 July


• FRANCE: Police launch third probe into Sarkozy donations
French police say a third inquiry has been launched after searching the home and offices of a financial adviser to L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt over allegations that she made illegal donations to President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 campaign.
(More below from the Telegraph)

• FRANCE: Government and media on a collision course over Bettencourt scandal
The French government came out swinging Friday against news web site Mediapart and its director Edwy Plenel, slamming them as “the trashcan of the Internet” after the organisation published a series of revelations on the “Bettencourt Affair”.

• COLOMBIA: Former hostage Betancourt sues state over kidnapping
Ingrid Betancourt, the Colombian politician who spent six years as a hostage of the Marxist guerilla group FARC, is suing the Colombian state for emotional stress and loss of earnings during her captivity, infuriating the government that freed her.

• FRANCE: French general to be 'punished' over Afghan war remarks
Two weeks after the sacking of Stanley McChrystal over comments that appeared in a magazine article, a top French general is under fire for publicly criticising the US-led war effort in Afghanistan, reviving doubts about the overall war strategy.

• WORLD CUP 2010: UEFA chief released from hospital after remaining overnight
Michel Platini, the head of the Union of European Football Associations, was released from a Johannesburg hospital on Saturday after remaining overnight. Platini took ill while dining at a local restaurant on Friday.

• SPAIN One million march to support statute on Catalan autonomy
More than a million people marched on Saturday in support of a statute of autonomy for the Catalan region after it was challenged by a Spanish court. The statute gives the region more power in tax and judicial matters as well as immigration.

MONTPELLIER - La finale de la Coupe du monde retransmise sur la place de la Comédie
Pour ceux qui ne veulent pas regarder seuls la finale de la Coupe du Monde de football, dans la moiteur de leur appartement, rendez-vous ce soir à partir de 20 h sur la place de la Comédie pour assister sur écran géant à cet évènement qui opposera les Pays-bas à l'Espagne. L'ambiance s'annonce très chaude.


PALAVAS Un mort et deux blessés dans un choc frontal
Il était environ 2 h du matin dimanche quand deux véhicules circulant sur la RD 62 entre Carnon et Palavas sont entrés en collision. Selon les premiers éléments de l'enquête, les deux voitures se sont percutées frontalement faisant un mort et deux blessés dont un grave.

~

Sarkozy scandal goes back to Hungarian roots
by Anne-Elisabeth Moutet in Paris
One secret cash payment to Mr Sarkozy's presidential election campaign was said to be worth as much as ?150,000, or £125,000
Before becoming a scandal about money, politics, art, history, café society and power, the Affaire Bettencourt, now threatening the Sarkozy presidency, is the story of two ferociously ambitious young Hungarian outsiders and their success at storming the citadels of the French establishment.
One, Nicolas Sarkozy, the son of a womanising émigré aristocrat and a doctor's daughter, used to be told by his (twice) remarried father on visiting Sundays that he would never amount to anything much in France, because of his foreign name, small stature and below-average school grades.

The other, François-Marie Banier, né Banyiaï, was regularly beaten by his Renault migrant worker turned ad-man father for being a dilettante, an aesthete, and a high-school drop-out. (By coincidence Pál Sarkozy, Nicolas's father, also dabbled in advertising for a while).
Mr Sarkozy has mentioned the slights he suffered as the least well-off boy of his chic school in Neuilly, Paris's richest suburb. Mr Banier neglected even to complete his baccalauréat, haunting luxury hotel lobbies from his teens on, becoming in rapid succession the favourite of such luminaries as the painter Salvador Dali, the Nobel-prize playwright Samuel Beckett, and the couturiers Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Cardin. The Communist poet Louis Aragon enthused about the first novel Mr Banier published, aged 22.
Mr Sarkozy came to the attention of Charles Pasqua, the Gaullist party stalwart and key power-breaker who was to help shape most of his career, with his first public speech at a national rally: he was just 20 at the time.
Today Nicolas Sarkozy is president of the French Republic, while François-Marie Banier, a polymath photographer, painter and novelist, has recently been ranked 917th richest individual in the world, having accepted fabulous gifts from a string of wealthy old ladies, ranging from the viscountess Marie-Laure de Noailles to the actress Silvana Mangano - and especially from his latest patron, Liliane Bettencourt, the 87-year-old L'Oréal heiress.
The two men, no longer so young (Mr Banier is 63, Mr Sarkozy 55) nor as pretty as they both once were, stand at each end of a glittering chain of achievements, events, relationships, networks and rivalries now threatening to engulf France in the kind of political meltdown not seen here since the 1930s.
Mr Sarkozy's poll ratings, already dire, have plunged to ominous lows, with fewer than 32 per cent saying they still trust him. The latest projections are that the 2012 presidential race wil be won by the lacklustre Socialist leader, Martine Aubry, who in a second-round run-off against Mr Sarkozy would win 52 per cent of the vote.
But that's only if the second round is a traditional contest between Right and Left. Other, more worrisome, figures show that French public opinion holds politicians of both main parties in equal contempt, with only the Front National's Marine Le Pen showing a strong improvement in her rating, albeit still behind the others.
If that trend isn't reversed, France could see a repeat of 2002, when the Front National won second place in the first round of presidential voting, allowing its leader - Ms Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie - to challenge Jacques Chirac in the second round.
All French scandals are complicated (they're never about something so depressingly simple as sex), partly because they hide within layer upon layer of secrets in a country which has never believed in transparency.
"Pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés" (To be happy, live hidden), a maxim of the 18th-century poet Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, remains a byword here.
The political revelations of L'Affaire Bettencourt came out almost by accident. Françoise Meyers-Bettencourt, Liliane's daughter, 57, brought to court a case against Mr Banier, whom she accuses of abusing her elderly mother's trust to gain favour - specifically, being showered with gifts of cash and artworks.
This was three years ago, soon after the death of her father, Mrs Bettencourt's husband, André. (She may have feared that her newly-widowed mother was dangerously unmoored; after Bettencourt's death there was talk of Mr Banier being adopted by Liliane.)
The case dragged on. The daughter tried to prove that her mother's mind was befuddled. The mother refused a psychiatric evaluation, countering that her daughter was jealous of Mr Banier, who was "more amusing, more interesting" while Françoise was "dull" and had "no conversation."
Mrs Bettencourt's worth is estimated between 17 and 20 billion euros. "If you can afford it, it's very nice to be able to be generous," she recently said in a television interview.
If it wasn't for the Monopoly money amounts (993 million euros given to Mr Banier over four years in the form of Matisses, Picassos, life insurance contracts and a Seychelles island), it would look like every mother-daughter bitter feud, writ large.
Still handsome and elegant today, Liliane Bettencourt was for decades one of France's great society beauties. (The stylised woman painted in the early 1960s by the celebrated illustrator René Gruau, to figure on the golden cans of L'Oréal's best-selling Elnett hairspray, was modelled after Liliane. The hairspray container is unchanged today, an example of timeless design.) Françoise Meyers-Bettencourt, not to put a fine point on things, is rather plain.
Liliane's adored father Eugène Schueller, the founder of the L'Oréal fortune, was a notorious Collaborationist, who financed a number of fascist parties in the Thirties, was a Vichy regime enthusiastic supporter, and paid for the exfiltration to South America of some French Nazis at the Liberation.
Françoise married the grandson of Neuilly's Résistant rabbi, who died in Auschwitz.
Liliane Bettencourt's help – her butler, her secretary, her accountant, her driver – started taking sides. Those who showed too much favour to Françoise (or didn't hide their distaste for Banier, an increasingly frequent, often rude visitor) were fired. With compensation, but fired.
As it turns out, this was a spectacularly bad decision. The family's butler had started taping the conversations taking place in the expansive neo-Art deco Neuilly house, where Mrs Bettencourt has lived since commissioning it in 1951. (This is very much a tale of Neuilly, a kind of French South Kensington where the residents voted against having a second Métro line extended from Central Paris, because it would bring petty crime to their doors. Not long after that vote, Nicolas Sarkozy was elected Mayor, aged 28.) This was, the butler said, because he felt his boss was being taken advantage of.
Upon getting the sack, the butler went to Françoise (a mere 50 yards away, in a house almost as grand) and gave her a computer memory card containing the recordings, made on a tiny machine hidden on the drinks trays. (The Liliane-Banier camp counter that Françoise paid him all along to make them).
Three weeks later, Françoise handed 28 CDs of the recordings to the police. For good measure, she also gave them to an investigative website and a news magazine, which published very long excerpts. One can't but assume she had listened to them. Did she realise the conflagration they would trigger?
The recordings were dynamite. Not so much because, at times, Mrs Bettencourt did sound forgetful and hazy about the whereabouts of her immense fortune (she had, for instance, completely forgotten about two Swiss bank accounts containing over 100 million euros) and how much of it she'd given Mr Banier - but more because of the personalities and doings of her chief financial adviser and her lawyers.
Patrice de Maistre, the head of her "family office," a Jockey Club member, is heard advising her on where to hide large amounts of money from the French taxman (Singapore is in, now that Switzerland has become leaky). He boasts of having hired the then-Budget Minister Eric Woerth's wife, herself a former Rothschild banker, "to oblige him" - although he also badmouths Mrs Woerth, "who really puts on airs, playing too much the minister's wife."
Mr de Maistre angles to be given (tax-free, in Switzerland) a 60-foot sailing boat. He drops a few unsavoury comments about John Elkann, Gianni Agnelli's grandson, who is Jewish ("isn't it typical how they always gravitate to money?" he laughs, which Liliane interrupts with "I'm absolutely not anti-Semitic").
And he explains how cheap it is to contribute officially to a French politician's campaign, since individual gifts are capped at 7,500 euros. ("They are so grateful, and it really isn't much at all.")
In other recordings, lawyer and money manager discuss on their own how best to prevent Banier from getting even more. It makes for a riveting read – and a rare bird's eye view of the vernacular of France's super-rich, where tax evasion and influence-currying come naturally.
Having the wife of then minister in charge of tax employed, at the very least, in a place where fraud took place, was bad enough. How much did she know? asked the predictable headlines.
Worse was to follow. The usually tame French press took the bit between their collective teeth, and in the intervals between clamouring for Mr Woerth's resignation from his current job as labour and social affairs minister (a key post since he's in charge of pushing through Mr Sarkozy's great pension reform), went digging.
Soon, Mediapart, the investigative website, found another fired employee, an accountant, who blithely told how for years she collected large wads of cash from Mr and Mrs Bettencourt's bank to give to politicians in brown envelopes – most recently 150,000 euros to Mr Sarkozy's presidential campaign in early 2007.
The accountant was subsequently harshly grilled by the police and seemed to withdraw some of her accusations (she had been told by Mr de Maistre who the money was for, but had never actually seen it given out), then recanted her recant. Meanwhile the bank balances did show withdrawals for the various amounts she'd mentioned at the given dates.
"This proves nothing!" Mr Sarkozy's supporters and assorted lawyers roared. But by then it was of course too late – the general impression of cronyism and corruption was disastrous, compounded by the stonewalling, in time-honoured fashion, from the Elysée. (Earlier in the month, two cabinet ministers who'd abused their expenses in an unrelated polemic had to step down, which was seen as too little, much too late.)
Mr Sarkozy won't go and can't be investigated, because of the same presidential immunity that so often shielded Jacques Chirac. I wouldn't put good money on Mr Woerth staying, even though the current wisdom at the Elysée is that he is necessary to the pensions law, and that if he steps down Mr Sarkozy's most emblematic reform, on which he was hoping to be reelected, is toast.
But it's increasingly obvious that we have reached a paradigm shift, where the old Chirac saw, "Never admit to anything, never answer on anything", finally no longer applies in France.
The French, from a unique, centuries-old mix of Catholic and Marxist distrust hardwired in their collective psyche, have always despised money and mistrusted the rich.
At the very time when he is asking for belt-tightening and rallying together, Mr Sarkozy, the bling-bling president of the early days, the outraged victim of the Clearstream smear campaign, appears himself finally to have stepped over the line.


~~~
Saturday 10 July NEWS HEADS

Holidaymakers head for traffic hell
Serious traffic jams are forecast for this weekend as a second wave of French holidaymakers hits the roads. France is on blanket red alert (very difficult) for the whole of Friday, while on Saturday parts of the north-west and south-east of the country are expected to tip into the black: extremely difficult.
Storms, too, will add to the nightmare, with moderate storms predicted in most of France. In central and southern France, heavy storms are likely.
Motorists are advised to avoid motorways around cities between 3pm and 8pm, and if they can wait till Sunday, even better. Sunday is classified as green, normal.
Pezenas is the only town in the region which merits its own RED DOT
The only BLACK day predicted in the next couple of months is 31st JULY

LINK TO LIVE TRAFFIC INFO - GO TO TRAVEL PAGE for the link

• FRANCE: Financial adviser's home raided in Sarkozy donation probe
French police searched the residence and office of a financial adviser to L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt on Friday over allegations that France's richest woman illegally made donations to President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 campaign.

• FRANCE: French general to be 'punished' over Afghan war remarks
Two weeks after the sacking of Stanley McChrystal over comments that appeared in a magazine article, a top French general is under fire for publicly criticising the US-led war effort in Afghanistan, reviving doubts about the overall war strategy.

• ATHLETICS: French sprinter becomes first non-African to break 10-second barrier in 100m dash
19-year-old French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre became the first person of non-African decent to officially run 100 metres in less than 10 seconds on Friday, setting a national record on the side by covering the distance in just 9.98 seconds.

• FRANCE: Doctors in France claim 'world first' face transplant
French doctors supervised by Laurent Lantieri claim to have successfully conducted a full-face transplant in June on a disfigured 35-year-old man, Le Parisien newspaper reported. A Spanish medical team made the same claim in April.


~~~

9 July NEWS HEADS

French public anger grows at government sleaze allegations
When a poll this week found two thirds of French people consider their politicians "mostly corrupt", many were surprised at how low the figure was.

Suspicions about financial irregularities have plagued Nicolas Sarkozy's administration since he came to power in 2007 and immediately awarded himself a 140 per cent pay rise.
It prompted Arnaud Montebourg MP to say: "You get the feeling that the political class is helping itself while the French people are abandoned on the edge of the pavement."
Within days of being elected, Mr Sarkozy was enjoying a holiday on the luxury yacht of Vincent Bolloré, the wealthy businessman.
For an egalitarian conservative whose campaign slogan had been "Work more, to earn more" the cruise certainly sent out all the wrong messages.
A whirlwind romance and then marriage to heiress Carla Bruni – one of the richest women in Paris thanks in part to the fortune built by her Italian industrialist father – did not help to improve Mr Sarkozy's image either.
While the French may just about be able to tolerate Mr Sarkozy's high-living, glitzy family and friends, it asks questions about the source of his own money which lies at the centre of the latest allegations against him, and his colleagues.
Mr Sarkozy does not come from a moneyed background. His father, Pál, was a Hungarian immigrant who was penniless when he arrived in Paris after the Second World War. After divorcing from Mr Sarkozy's mother, he left his family with very little money.
As a schoolboy in Paris, the future president said he frequently felt inferior to his wealthier classmates, and later admitted: "What made me who I am now is the sum of all the humiliations suffered during childhood."
But he has since earned a reputation as a "Bling Bling" statesman whose government is known for its links to billionaires and love of the good life.
It recently emerged that Christian Blanc, the minister for Paris, spent 12,000 euros of taxpayers' money on cigars.
Alain Joyandet, the International Development Secretary, meanwhile spent 116,500 euros on a private plane to take him to the Caribbean for a meeting about the Haiti earthquake.
Both resigned. However, questions remain about employment secretary Eric Woerth, who is facing allegations he "assisted" L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt in avoiding tax.
Mr Woerth is also said to have helped collect cash payments from Mrs Bettencourt to fund Mr Sarkozy's presidential election campaign.
While Mr Sarkozy recently announced cutbacks on ministers' perks, including official homes and cars, accusations that he personally received envelopes stuffed full of cash himself have plunged him into the deepest scandal of his presidency.
Both he and Mr Woerth angrily reject all of the claims being made against them, but criticism of the kind of government they represent is growing, and Mr Sarkozy's personal approval rating has just dropped to an all-time low of 26 per cent.
As the president contemplates a criminal investigation into the allegations made by a former accountant to Mrs Bettencourt, his pledge in 2007 to build a "Republic beyond reproach" is beginning to sound more hollow by the day.

~~~

8 JULY NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Labour minister to file complaint over illegal donations allegations
French Labour Minister Eric Woerth will file an official complaint for "malicious falsehood" over charges that he received illegal campaign donations for President Nicolas Sarkozy from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and her late husband.

ROAD DEATHS continue to fall
The Transport Secretary reports:-

2001 8,253 victims
2009 4,273 vistims
So far the Jan to June figures show 10.6% fall in deaths and 18.1% fall in injuries.

FRANCE: Paris court sentences ex-dictator Noriega to seven years in jail
A French court has sentenced 76-year-old former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega to seven years in jail for laundering some 2.3 million euros in drug money through French banks during the 1980s.

FRANCE: Bettencourt scandal increases Mediapart site’s subscription base
French Web site Mediapart has been at the centre of a scandal that has stretched from French business life into top political circles. Founded by veteran journalist Edwy Plenel the site has set its sights on a fresh New Media model.

FRANCE: Security tight as French parliament debates burqa ban
France's parliament is debating a controversial bill on banning the full Islamic veil for a second day on Wednesday, despite concerns that the move might be unconstitutional as well as risk marginalising the country’s sizable Muslim minority.

CINEMA: Paris setting for Allen's latest film starring Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
Filming began Monday for Director Woody Allen's latest movie, "Midnight in Paris", in the capital this week. Starring in the movie is none other than supermodel-turned-singer-turned-first-lady Carla Sarkozy-Bruni, in her latest guise as an actress.

~~~


7 July NEWS HEADS


FRANCE: Bettencourt scandal increases Mediapart site’s subscription
base
French Web site Mediapart has been at the centre of a scandal that has stretched from French business life into top political circles. Founded by veteran journalist Edwy Plenel, the site has set its sights on a fresh New Media model.

JUSTICE: French court set to rule in Noriega money laundering trial
A French court is set rule Wednesday in the trial of 76-year-old former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, who has been charged with laundering some €2.3 million in drug money through French banks during the 1980s.

FRANCE: Sarkozy denies receiving donations from L'Oreal heiress
French President Nicolas Sarkozy denied claims Tuesday that he received a 150,000 euro cash donation from scandal-hit L'Oreal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt. Bettencourt's former accountant said the donation was made via Labour Minister Eric Woerth.

FRANCE: Parliament to debate bill to ban the burqa
France's parliament debates a bill to ban the full Islamic veil Tuesday, with little opposition expected despite concerns that the text could prove unconstitutional and further marginalise the country’s Muslim minority.

CINEMA: Paris setting for Allen's latest film starring Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
Filming began Monday for Director Woody Allen's latest movie, "Midnight in Paris", in the capital this week. Starring in the movie is none other than supermodel-turned-singer-turned-first-lady Carla Sarkozy-Bruni, in her latest guise as an actress.



A 75 through to Bezies opened


L'A75 enfin raccordée à l'A9- Région
C'est un chantier de près de 30 ans qui prend fin ce lundi 5 juillet avec l'inauguration, par le secrétaire d’Etat aux Transports, du raccordement de l'A75 à l'A9 à l'est de Béziers. Still a small gap of 6 - 10 Kms - maybe two weeks?


MONTPELLIER - Agropolis museum ferme définitivement
Le musée des aliments du monde, outil de culture scientifique lancé par Louis Malassis et les chercheurs d'Agropolis international en 1994, va fermer. La décision à peine annoncée, les salariés étaient contactés par Pôle emploi. Malaise et remise en question...
A shame really but not very interesting to visit WoW thought.


CRAZY THIEVES - HERAULT - Les voleurs s'attaquent au transformateur haute tension
Des voleurs de cuivre se sont introduits, dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi, dans un poste de transformation haute tension de Saint-Christol, dans l'Hérault. Ils ont découpé et emporté les câbles du réseau de mise à la terre de cette grande installation où les tensions vont de 63 000 à 225 000 volts.

Une prise de risque inconsidérée selon Réseau transport d'électricité (RTE), pour qui de tels faits de vandalisme et de vol sont une première locale.

~~~


6 July NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Parliament begins debating bill to ban full Islamic veil
France's parliament will begin debating a bill to ban the full Islamic veils in public from Tuesday, despite concerns that the text could prove unconstitutional and further strain ties with France's Muslim minority.

FRANCE: Junior ministers resign, but scandal-ridden labour minister battles on
The resignations of two junior French ministers over an expenses scandal may have shifted the spotlight away from Labour Minister Eric Woerth, who has been embroiled in a major tax scandal. But Woerth may not be in the dark for too long.

FRANCE: Youths handed prison sentences for shooting at riot police
Four youths from an impoverished Paris suburb were handed jail sentences on Sunday for shooting at police and for arms possession during the November 2007 riots that erupted following the death of two teenagers.

FRANCE: Austerity and the big-spending ministers
Austerity is the key watchword of governments trying to cut deficits and remove debts that are crippling European economies. But the example must come from the top - and scalps have been taken.

FRANCE: 'Ashamed' Escalettes quits French Football Federation
Outgoing French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes says he is "ashamed" of France's World Cup fiasco and takes a share of responsibility for what happened.


~~~

5 July NEWS HEADS

Two French junior ministers quit over perks

The ministers' perks drew criticism as the nation faces budget cuts Two French junior ministers embroiled in separate spending scandals have resigned from the government.

President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon had decided that the two ministers must go on Sunday, a government spokesman said.

Overseas Development Minister Alain Joyandet was criticised for spending 116,500 euros (£96,153) on a private jet to fly to the Caribbean for work.

Greater Paris Minister Christian Blanc spent 12,000 euros on cigars.

The spokesman, Luc Chatel, said Mr Sarkozy and Mr Fillon had "decided to address the consequences of the events of the past few days, that the French people neither understand or accept".

"After much thought, they asked Messrs Joyandet and Blanc, after having spoken with them, to resign," he said.

High-profile case

Labour Minister Eric Woerth has also been in the media spotlight in connection with a court case involving France's richest woman, L'Oreal cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

It has emerged that the minister's wife worked for a firm that managed Ms Bettencourt's wealth.

Last week the French authorities ordered a full review of the tax affairs of 87-year-old Ms Bettencourt. Opposition politicians have asked why Mr Woerth never ordered that review while budget minister in 2007-2010.

Meanwhile, President Sarkozy has cancelled the traditional Elysee Palace garden party on Bastille Day - 14 July - amid public concern about official spending while taxpayers face painful austerity measures.

'Set an example'

Last week Mr Sarkozy told deputies in his centre-right UMP party that he was "not at all happy" with "some ministers' behaviour", the French TV channel TF1 reported.

In a letter to Mr Fillon, quoted by the French news agency AFP, the president said that "at a time when our compatriots are hit by the crisis, the state must more than ever set an example.

"Those who represent the general interest cannot be exempted from the effort demanded of the nation. They have a particular responsibility which comes with their mission - to be irreproachable in their use of public funds."

Mr Blanc has paid back 4,500 euros for the cigars he says he himself smoked, but Mr Fillon has told him to reimburse the full 12,000 euros, TF1 reports.

Meanwhile, Mr Joyandet wrote in his blog that "as a man of honour I cannot accept being the victim of allegations.

"After much thought, I have decided to leave the government," he said, adding: "not one euro of public money was used to increase my personal wealth or that of people close to me."

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris says there are daily revelations in the French media that heap further embarrassment on Mr Sarkozy's government.

His ratings are already at rock bottom and these are scandals he can ill afford, our correspondent says.


LOCAL NEWS

LUNEL - Le train met le feu sur 20 km le long des voies
Le train circulant entre Montpellier et Nîmes a mis le feu de façon accidentelle, ce matin, vers 11 h, sur près de 20 km de distance. Dans l'Hérault, à partir de Bailllargues et sur toutes les communes jusqu'à Lunel et même jusquà la limite du Gard, à Gallargues-le-Montueux. La circulation des trains a dû être stoppée pour permettre l'intervention des sapeurs-pompiers, venus de tout l'Hérault afin d'éteindre les multiples départs de feu et d'éviter toute propagation.

~~~


3 July NEWS HEADS


FRANCE: 'Ashamed' Escalettes quits French Football Federation
Outgoing French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes says he is "ashamed" of France's World Cup fiasco and takes a share of responsibility for what happened.

FRANCE: Minister hits back at accusations over heiress tax refund
French Labour Minister Eric Woerth has hit back at reports that he approved a 30-million-euro tax refund for L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who is embroiled in a scandal that comes at a delicate time for the right-wing government.

RFI: French head for holidays - how to dodge the traffic jams
rench roads will be crowded and trains will be packed this weekend as the first wave of France's holiday-makers head out of the country's main cities. The official traffic monitor has declared a red alert for congestion around Paris on the traditional start of July holidays.

FRANCE: Court overturns life sentence for alleged killer of Corsican prefect
High-profile Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna will face a third trial for the 1998 murder of prefect Claude Erignac after France's highest court overturned his previous life sentence over a minor procedural error.


NATIONAL NEWS FROM THE CONNEXION Magazine


Summer getaway starting today
July 02, 2010
DRIVERS are being advised to postpone setting off on holiday from big cities until Sunday if possible to avoid the worst of the traffic jams on the first weekend of the summer break.

The school holidays begin today across all of France and six out of ten French people are planning to stay in the country, according to an Ipsos poll.

Official traffic monitor Bison Futé has classified today and tomorrow as "red" on all the main roads leading out of Paris and the Ile-de-France.

Nationwide, an orange alert is in place - meaning traffic jams of up to 350km on motorways. Drivers are being encouraged, where possible, to travel on Sunday which will be relatively quiet.
The biggest delays will be heading south to the popular holiday spots in the Languedoc-Roussillon, Paca and Corsica.

Speed restrictions are in place in the Gard, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes, where drivers are being urged to cut their speed by 30kph because of high pollution levels.

A number of service stations and aires along the French motorway network are providing entertainment for children taking a break from a long car journey. Motorway operators Vinci and APRR are both organising weekend events to teach young people about nature.

The SNCF is expecting 1.4 million passengers to travel by train this weekend.

The Gare de Lyon in Paris will be the busiest. It is preparing for 340,000 people and has set up a beach café in the courtyard outside to get travellers in the holiday mood. Montparnasse is handing out free fruit smoothies and salads.

Another 900,000 French holidaymakers will pass through Paris Orly and Charles de Gaulle, according to Aéroports de Paris.

Tourism Secretary Hervé Novelli said he was confident that this summer would be a positive one for French tourism.

He said the industry would be "the first to get out of the economic crisis in 2010", with an estimated 10-15% increase in visitors compared with last year.

Early figures for the year so far suggest the British are coming back to France - something that the new strength of the pound against the euro should help. The euro's weakness against the dollar should also appeal to more American tourists.

Overall, the number of foreign visitors to France since January is up 5.5% compared with the same period in 2009.

~~~

Price changes in force for July 1

JULY 1 brings with it a series of changes to prices - some up, some down - ahead of the school summer holidays which begin tomorrow.

Public transport
SNCF train fares go up by an average of 2.5% this morning. This applies to Corail, Intercités and TER services - not TGVs.

In Paris, metro and bus tickets go up 6.25% to €1.70 and the cost of a monthly zones 1-2 pass rises by 6.7% to €56.60.

Gas
GDF gas bills will grow by between 2% and 4.7% from today, depending on whether you use gas as your main source of heating or just for cooking. The rise comes after a 10% increase in April.
Mobile phones
The maximum per-minute fee for using your mobile phone in another EU country falls from €0.43 to €0.39 today. Receiving a call will be capped at €0.15 per minute, down from €0.19. A legal €50-a-month cap on data roaming also applies from today in an attempt to avoid nasty shocks when using mobile internet abroad.

Motoring
The prime à la casse - a contribution towards the cost of a new car when scrapping a vehicle more than 10 years old - is cut from €700 to €500. It will drop again on January 1 and is gradually being phased out by next year.

Post
An ordinary stamp for a 20g letter sent within France costs €0.58 - up from €0.56. The économique rate also goes up two centimes to €0.53. Letters to other EU countries including the UK are now charged at €0.75 instead of €0.70.


~~~

LOCAL NEWS

Cassan - Planning permission for Gabian Hotel - so the project can now start. NOTE - this will NOT affect the Christmas Cracker Fair this year

More info/visual at - www.cassancwc.com/
Click the right hand button - Corporate Wellness Centre

~~~
NEWS HEADS - 1st July


• FRANCE: Court overturns life sentence for alleged killer of Corsican prefect
High-profile Corsican nationalist Yvan Colonna will face a third trial for the 1998 murder of prefect Claude Erignac after France's highest court overturned his previous life sentence over a minor procedural error.

• FRANCE: How Twitter busted the football hearing gag
Wednesday’s much-awaited parliamentary face-off with outgoing French national coach Raymond Domenech was a closed-door affair. But that was until a "traitor" with a Twitter account revealed all.

• FRANCE: French prosecutors seek 10-year sentence for Panama's Noriega
French prosecutors demanded Wednesday that former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega serve the maximum 10-year jail sentence over charges of laundering drug profits through France. A verdict is expected as early as next month.

• FRANCE: Summer sales kick off across France
Despite the financial crisis, retailers expect high sale figures as the annual summer sales kicked off Wednesday across France. Sweltering weather, buoyant exchange rates and the Internet account for the latest optimism.

Travel news

RYANAIR Cuts UK Winter Capacity by 16% - and Stansted by 17%
- see travel page

Can you carry tea and coffee on a plane without being thought a terrorist – see Forum page

PALAVAS-LES-FLOTS - Une nouvelle drague pour l'entretien du canal
Du Rhône à Sète, le canal, qui court le long des littoraux gardois et héraultais, a la particularité de s'envaser. Le centre d'exploitation VNF de Palavas-les-Flots, dont le rôle est d'assurer 3 m d'eau dans cette voie navigable, vient de mettre en service une drague, commandée sur mesure en Louisiane. Un outil à 720 000 euros qui préserve l'emploi du site et anticipe l'élargissement du canal.


~~~~~

NEWS HEADS 30 June

• FRANCE: Sarkozy orders ministers' perks to be slashed
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has confirmed plans to slash spending on ministerial perks as part of a drive to reduce government running costs at a time when austerity measures are being imposed across the country.

• AFGHANISTAN: French journalists spend six months in captivity in Afghanistan
Six months after French journalists Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier were captured in Afghanistan, media outlets and local officials are marking the longest period of captivity of any French journalist since the 1980s.



PIGNAN - La cave copérative ne vinifiera plus son raisin



~~~

NEWS HEADS 29 June

FRANCE: Le Monde news daily sold to billionaire trio
A trio of French businessmen won control of leading French news daily Le Monde on Monday despite government efforts to halt the takeover. Founded in 1944, Le Monde has struggled to stay afloat in the internet age.

FRANCE: Football Federation president resigns after World Cup fiasco
Jean-Pierre Escalettes, the French Football Federation president, resigned Monday after the French team’s dismal performance both on and off the pitch during the 2010 World Cup. France crashed out of the tournament with just one point and one goal.

FRANCE: Panama's ex-dictator Noriega faces trial in Paris for money laundering
Charged with laundering Colombian drug money in French banks, Manuel Noriega, Panama's former dictator, is set to stand trial in Paris on Monday, two months after the US agreed to extradite him to France.

FRANCE: L’Oreal tax scandal intensifies for French minister Woerth
For the French press and opposition, French Labour Minister Eric Woerth and his wife got too close to the super-rich L’Oreal heiress, accused of plotting to evade taxes. Bad timing when Woerth is trying to institute unpopular pensions reforms.

FRANCE : Prime Minister Fillon attends mosque opening
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Monday attends the inauguration of a large Algerian mosque near Paris, in a move seen as a public effort at a rapprochement with a religion whose relationship with the French state is at breaking point.


French strike over plans to raise retirement age
The Associated Press

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | 12:34 a.m.

Trains stood still and children played instead of studied as workers around France went on strike Thursday to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 62.

Neighboring countries suffered along with Paris commuters, as walkouts by drivers delayed or canceled trains from Italy and Switzerland. Some flights were dropped or delayed.

Boisterous crowds of protesters filled Marseille's port and wide Paris avenues, as unions staged nearly 200 marches in several cities over a broad reform to the money-losing pension system, part of efforts around Europe to cut back on growing public debts.

"Sarkozy, Don't Touch our Pensions!" read one banner at the Paris march, near a cardboard coffin marked: "Here lies Roger. He's 60, and he died before getting his retirement."

The ranks of demonstrators swelled in comparison to a similar protest May 27. The Interior Ministry put the number of protesters around France at 797,000 _ double the number of people in the streets in May.

Police say 47,000 people marched in the French capital, while the powerful CGT union put the number at 130,000. They said least 25,000 people marched in Bordeaux and at least 16,000 turned out in Marseille _ a figure organizers sneered at as blatantly false.

"It's a rather strong mobilization," Labor Minister Eric Woerth conceded on RTL radio. "But the reform is ambitious."

Prime Minister Francois Fillon was likely to address the contentious subject of retirement age at a hastily scheduled news conference Friday.

Demonstrating his concern about the state of public finances, Sarkozy is cancelling the annual garden party for Bastille Day on July 14, citing the high cost of the glamorous event that is an annual mainstay.

France has one of Europe's lowest retirement ages, allowing workers to retire at 60 in most sectors. The government says the reform to the money-losing pension system is an "obligation," given France's burgeoning deficit and its aging population.

Unions say money for the pension system should come from higher taxes or charges on those who are still working, and see cost-cutting in the pension system as an attack on a hard-fought way of life.

Sebastien Sihr, secretary general of the SNUipp union, called the reform "a step backward."

"They are refusing to imagine other sources of funding," he told The Associated Press at the Paris march, where a crowd of thousands whistled and cheered, waving red, white and blue balloons under a hot summer sun. Vuvuzellas, the South African horns the world has become familiar with at the World Cup, made their appearance on French streets.

Commuters, meanwhile, made do, some cramming into sweaty, overcrowded buses and subway trains.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Rome's main train station Wednesday when the overnight train to Paris was canceled because of the strike. Authorities were putting the passengers on buses instead. Swiss national railway company SBB said about 60 percent of trains between France and Switzerland have been canceled because of the strike.

The French civil aviation authority, DGAC, asked airlines to cancel 15 percent of their flights out of Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports because of strikes by air traffic controllers. Air France said long-haul flights would remain unaffected.

Commuter Stephanie Larcher, a 29-year-old town planner, from Buressuryvette, in the outskirts of Paris, said she's had to add an extra hour onto her daily four-hour journey.

"I find it completely irritating, especially because train workers go on strike for any little thing," she said.

However, Nathalie Arthaud, head of the far-left party Lutte Ouvriere, denounced "this world of the rich, ministers, cigars, private jets. It's the same government that tells us to work longer. It's revolting."

About 20 percent of French teachers went on strike, the Education Ministry said. Utility workers, postal workers, dock workers, workers at planemaker Airbus and some hospital workers also took part in the one-day walkout.

The French pension reform pales in comparison with more drastic changes elsewhere in Europe. Germany, for example, plans to gradually raise its retirement age from 65 to 67, starting in 2012.

Bernadette Douisson, secretary general of the FSU union, said the French government's real concern should be boosting employment in a country where large numbers of youth and seniors can't get jobs.

Woerth, the labor minister, says the reform will save nearly euro19 billion ($29.3 billion) in 2018 and should bring the pension system back into the black that year.

The reform is scheduled to be instituted progressively, stretching out the number of years people have to work to win full pension payments.

The Cabinet is to discuss the proposals in July, and they're expected to go before parliament next autumn.


~~
25 June NEWS HEADS

Former priest jailed for defrauding Catholic church

Ajaccio Cathedral

A former Catholic priest has been jailed on the French island of Corsica for robbing the church and its flock of two million euros. Two accomplices were found guilty of helping defraud the Ajaccio diocese.

Antoine Videau, 64, was jailed for two years and given a further year's suspended sentence for defrauding the church and the faithful over 20 years. He was also fined 100,000 euros and deprived of his civic rights for three years.

Videau salted away the cash while he was in charge of the finances of the diocese, which comes under the Corsican bishopric.

The diocesan accountant, Bruno Servas, 56, was given a year's suspended sentence and fined 30,000 euros for fraud, which enabled him to pocket 100,000 euros.

Another diocesan employee, Marie-Thérèse Zavani, 64, was given a six-month suspended sentence for stealing 12,000 euros, part of which she placed in her mother's bank account. She was ordered to repay the stolen cash.


~~~
NEWS HEADS 27 JUNE

FRANCE: Sarkozy defends labour minister over heiress scandal
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has come to the defence of Labour Minister Eric Woerth, whose wife has been accused of turning a blind eye to tax fraud by L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France’s wealthiest woman.

FRANCE: Government defends pension reform despite strikes
Prime Minister Francois Fillon has insisted the French government will press ahead with planned reforms to the pension system that would see the retirement age rise from 60 to 62, a day after nationwide strikes.

FRANCE: Verdict set for October as 'rogue trader' trial ends
A lawyer for former Société Générale trader Jérôme Kerviel has asked a court in Paris to clear his client of any wrongdoing in the scandal that cost the French bank close to €5 billion.

WORLD CUP 2010: Thierry Henry makes silent exit from meeting with Sarkozy
France’s star striker Thierry Henry made a silent exit from a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée palace on Thursday, where he and the president discussed the team’s dramatic World Cup exit.

FOOTBALL: New France coach Blanc picks up the pieces of a shattered team
France’s new football coach Laurent Blanc has a tough job ahead of him in restoring some honour to “Les Bleus” after their catastrophic World Cup experience.

~
FIFA warns French government

FIFA has warned the French government to tread very carefully in its dealings with the French Football Federation (FFF) in the aftermath of the team's humiliating exit from the World Cup.
n Thursday, French captain Patrice Evra said the government was going to launch an investigation into the national side's dismal performance. His comments came less than 24 hours after Thierry Henry asked for a meeting with France's president Nicolas Sarkozy.
FIFA, whose rules specifically prohibit governments from involvement with the running of national federations, responded by contacting the sports ministry to request it to be cautious in its dealings with the FFF.
"We have spoken with the office of the sports minister and have said that there is a need to be very careful that there is autonomy of football," Jerome Valcke, the secretary general of FIFA, said. "They can meet, they can discuss, they can ask for apologies from the people involved, but they need to be careful because if there is interference FIFA will react just as with any country in the world.
"What I'm saying is we will definitely look at what France is doing, but it is to avoid having a difficult situation. There was not a warning, but advice was given from my side about our system and how the pyramid of football is working. To cut a long story short, no one can ask for someone to resign."
FIFA has the power to suspend any federation where there is evidence of government interference.
"There is a system in place to run football around the world and that system is under the umbrella of FIFA," Valcke said. "We are always monitoring things and warning people how this pyramid of football is working. I hope we are able to avoid a situation where we have to say there is an interference. We are not anxious, simply attentive to the problem."
As a Frenchman himself, Valcke admitted the situation concerned him. "The coaches are going to have a great deal to do to put together a good team. Laurent [Blanc, the new coach] has one year to succeed in trying to consolidate his team and provide some hope that not only [the players] want to wear the French jersey but also that they want to give some pleasure to the fans and repair what has happened in this World Cup."



~~~

NEWS HEADS 24 June

WORLD CUP 2010: French team flies home after World Cup debacle
The French team flew home from South Africa late Wednesday, and are expected to receive a hostile reception on their arrival Thursday morning from fans disgusted by the team’s dismal performance in the tournament, both on and off the pitch.

FRANCE: Radio satirists known for targeting politicians are fired
Prominent French public radio station France Inter has fired two of its best-known and most popular satirists, Stéphane Guillon and Didier Porte, both of whom are known for scathing satirical commentary targeting top politicians.

FRANCE: Sarkozy summons ministers to discuss World Cup debacle
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will hold a government meeting on Wednesday to discuss France's disastrous premature exit from the World Cup. He will also meet veteran French striker Thierry Henry on Thursday at the player's request.

~


Pound reaches 19-month high against euro

The pound has hit a 19-month high as debt concerns weigh down on the euro.
It touched 1.2222 euros on Thursday, its highest since the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis in November 2008, before dropping back.
Markets continue to worry about the European debt crisis, with the perceived risk of a default by Greece hitting an all-time high.
Leading shares across Europe lost ground, with the UK's FTSE and Germany's Dax indexes down about 1.5%.
France's Cac 40 lost 2.4%.
Investors were concerned by comments by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday evening, raising doubts about the strength of the economic recovery, largely reflecting "developments abroad".
Future rises
The pound strengthened largely on the back of negative sentiment towards the euro.
But it was also boosted by disagreement at the Bank of England about whether to raise interest rates.
At the Bank's latest monetary policy committee meeting, Andrew Sentance broke with colleagues - including governor Mervyn King - to vote in favour of a rate rise.
This raised market expectations of future rate rises, making sterling a more attractive investment.
The pound has rallied nearly 20% since reaching a low of 1.02 euros in December 2008.
However, it still remains well below the 1.5 level that it traded around in the years prior to the 2007 credit crunch.
Market fear
Sterling's revival is mainly down to the euro's fall from grace, and it is notable that the pound has not enjoyed a similar rally against the US dollar.
Markets are fearful over a European debt crisis that is already engulfing Mediterranean governments, and risks triggering a full-blown banking crisis across the continent.
The cost of buying protection against a default by the Greek government has hit an all-time high of 10% a year.
The euro has fallen 18.8% against the dollar since the crisis began in January.

~

FRANCE: SocGen demands €4.9 billion from Kerviel to compensate losses
French bank Société Générale on Wednesday told a Paris court it wants €4.9 billion in compensation from former employee Jérôme Kerviel, who is on trial for alleged illicit trading that cost the bank €5 billion in losses.

And more from BBC
Jerome Kerviel prosecutor calls for prison sentence
Mr Kerviel faces four years in jail if convicted
The prosecutor in the trial of Jerome Kerviel has called for the former Societe Generale trader to spend four years in prison, if convicted.
Mr Kerviel is standing trial over allegations that he bet 50bn euros ($61bn; £41bn) of SocGen's money without the bank's knowledge.
The bank says his actions cost it around 5bn euros.
Mr Kerviel, whose lawyer said he would fight the prosecution's call, maintains the bank knew about his risk taking.
He is facing charges of forgery, breach of trust and unauthorised computer use.
The maximum sentence for the allegations is five years.
In his summing up of the case, prosecutor Jean-Michel Aldebet has requested the maximum sentence, but with one year suspended.
The trial has seen Mr Kerviel's former bosses and colleagues line up to testify against him.
I cannot believe for one second any of Jerome Kerviel's supervisors were aware [of his actions]
Daniel Bouton Former SocGen president and chief executive
SocGen's lawyer, Jean Veil, accused Mr Kerviel of "duplicity" for reassuring his bosses that nothing was wrong while racking up the huge losses.
On Tuesday, the bank's president and chief executive at the time of the losses, Daniel Bouton, called the trading scandal a "catastrophe".
"It's not an issue of losses or amounts," he told the courtroom.
"The trust that should exist between us is shattered. I cannot believe for one second any of Jerome Kerviel's supervisors were aware [of his actions]."
Mr Bouton maintained that Mr Kerviel's actions were unauthorised, and "outside any remit".
But he acknowledged that there had been flaws in SocGen's risk management systems.
At the start of the trial earlier this month, Mr Kerviel said his superiors at the bank had "encouraged" him to take risks.
The bank was fined 4m euros by French regulators for failures in those systems following the scandal.


~~~
23 June NEWS HEADS


• FRANCE: What the butler heard: L’Oreal heiress' tax scandal taints minister
Tapes secretly recorded by a butler, €1 billion in lavish gifts to a society photographer, alleged tax evasion and a government minister’s wife: all ingredients in a scandal involving France’s richest woman.

• WORLD CUP 2010: Fractured French team face critical clash against South Africa
A bitter French team beset by internal tensions will try to salvage some honour from their dismal World Cup performance when they take on hosts South Africa in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

• BANKING: Ex-SocGen boss says trading scandal caused by Kerviel's 'lies'
Ex-Société Générale chairman and CEO Daniel Bouton said that the company’s 2008 trading scandal was a "catastrophe" spurred by former trader Jerome Kerviel's "lies". Bouton made his remarks Tuesday during Kerviel’s trial.

~~~
22 June NEWS HEADS

• FRANCE: L'Oreal billionaire heiress pledges to declare all assets after tax-dodge scandal
L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France's richest woman, said she would comply with the law and declare her assets, after being caught on tape allegedly plotting tax evasion while making donations to the governing UMP party.

• FRANCE: Chinese anti-violence demonstration in Paris is met with tear gas
The Chinese population of Paris came out in force Sunday to protest lack of security after a spate of violent robberies in the ethnically diverse Belleville area. Police tear-gassed the protesters after the march descended into scuffles.



Rancor reigns amid France's World Cup team rebellion

•
By Mike Foss, USA TODAY
The French national soccer team's soap opera continues to entertain as the squad further collapsed over the weekend.
Even before the World Cup began, the French took heat from the country's junior sports minister for staying at a luxury hotel. France (0-1-1) can advance to the round of 16 with a win against South Africa on Tuesday if Uruguay and Mexico don't draw in the other Group A match. A look at the French farce:
June 11: France opens the World Cup with an apathetic 0-0 tie vs. Uruguay. To French coach Raymond Domenech, beauty is in the eye of the beholder: "It is almost a beautiful 0-0," he says. "But the result is what it is."
June 14: Former French captain Zinedine Zidane calls out Domenech, saying he "is not a coach. You must put your ego to one side and work together."
Thursday: France falls to Mexico 2-0. "It's shameful to lose like that," winger Florent Malouda says. Captain Patrice Evra says he feels France has become "a small football nation, and it hurts."
Saturday: Striker Nicolas Anelka launched a profanity-laced tirade on Domenech at halftime of the Mexico game, French newspaper L'Equipe reports. Anelka declines to apologize and is kicked off the team. "I gave him the chance to come and talk and to say sorry," Domenech says. "He didn't want to and that's why I went along with (the French Football Federation)." Evra blames a "traitor" among France's staff for leaking details of Anelka's rant.
Sunday: Evra and fitness coach Robert Duverne get into a heated argument before a training session, and Domenech tries to intervene. The players then board the team bus and refuse to practice. "The French Football Federation did not at any time try to protect the group. They took a decision uniquely based on facts reported by the press," Domenech says, reading from the players' statement. "To show our opposition to the decision, the players decided not to take part in today's training session."

In response — or perhaps in addition — to the chaos, team director Jean-Louis Valentin resigns. "It's a scandal for the French," Valentin says. "I'm sickened and disgusted."

~~~
FRANCE: Former PM de Villepin founds party for 2012 challenge to Sarkozy
France's former premier Dominique de Villepin will establish a new political party on Saturday, the "Republique solidaire" (United Republic), a first step toward challenging his long-time rival Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency in 2012.

FRANCE: Search for missing continues in wake of Côte d'Azur floods
French emergency teams continued to search for thirteen missing people in France's southern Côte d'Azur region after heavy rains caused flash floods that claimed the lives of 25 people and caused massive damage to the region's infrastructure.

FRANCE: Marcel Bigeard, veteran of French wars in Algeria and Indonesia, dies at 94
French general Marcel Bigeard, known for his role in France's colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria, died Friday aged 94. In a statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Bigeard "the incarnation of the heroic figure of the fighter".

FRANCE: Govt and unions ready for pension reform battle
French President Nicolas Sarkozy invoked possible changes to his government's proposed reform of the state pension system as a poll showed two-thirds of French opposed to the measures and unions geared up for a June 24 demonstration.


~~
NEWS HEADS 18 JUNE

FRANCE: Worst floods in centuries kill dozens in Côte d'Azur
The toll is still rising in France's southern Côte d'Azur region after heavy rains caused flash floods on Tuesday, killing 25 people and leaving some 175,000 homes without electricity.
More below

WORLD WAR II: Sarkozy in London for 70th anniversary of de Gaulle's resistance call
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit London on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle's impassioned BBC radio appeal to his compatriots to resist the Nazi occupation of France.

INTERNET: France joins privacy probe targeting Google's mapping service
France on Thursday joined nations calling for an inquiry into Google's practices as it gathers data for a controversial mapping service after it emerged that Google had also collected personal information sent over unsecured Wi-Fi systems.

MEDIA: France to cease broadcasting Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV
Lebanon's Hezbollah denounced Wednesday a French decision to pull the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV off the air for inciting "hatred", calling the move a "contradiction of the principles of freedom and justice" that France holds dear.

FRANCE: Government to raise retirement age to 62, unions cry foul
The French government unveiled Wednesday a proposed reform of the state pension system, raising the minimum retirement age to 62 and introducing higher taxes for the rich in an attempt to tackle the country's ballooning public deficit.

~
More on the floods

Worst floods in centuries kill dozens in Côte d'Azur The toll is still rising in France's southern Côte d'Azur region after heavy rains caused flash floods on Tuesday, killing 25 people and leaving some 175,000 homes without electricity.
- Rescuers combed wrecked cars and homes for bodies in France's Cote d'Azur on Thursday after the worst floods in two centuries killed 25 people including a two-year-old, authorities said.

Authorities in the Var, a favourite holiday region, raised the death toll to 25 on Thursday from an earlier count of 22 after the floodwaters engulfed streets in torrents of mud and drove people onto the roofs of their homes.

A two-year-old child died after falling into the flood water as a family scrambled to escape their home in Roquebrune-sur-Argens, authorities said.

Officials warned other bodies might be found as the search continued with rescuers digging through mud-filled cars and wreckage looking for about a dozen people still reported missing as helicopters circled overhead.


France 24's Cyril Vanier reports from France's Flood hit Cote d'Azur
By Cyril VANIER
Edit


"There are still flooded places which have yet to be inspected, such as the campsites on the coast," said Laurent Robert, an official in the state prosecutor's office in Draguignan, the town worst hit with at least 12 dead.

Another source said a one-month-old baby was missing.

Scores of cars were piled on top of each other and holiday homes and camp sites in the region were devastated.

"Everything is ruined, unusable," said Edouard Gregoriou, who runs a restaurant and boating service in Roquebrune. "We have pedal-boats scattered for miles around, and mobile homes in trees."

The swollen Nartuby river which runs through Draguignan also hit the village of Trans-en-Provence where five other bodies were found.

Other victims were found in Luc, Roquebrune, Frejus, the Saint-Cassien lake and Saint-Aygulf, the regional prefecture said. The floods also badly hit the chic holiday resort of St Tropez.

The national weather office said they were the worst storms in the region since 1827. Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux called it an "unprecedented catastrophe" for the region.

About 94,000 homes were still without electricity on Thursday, the regional authorities said.

"The electricity is down. All the mobile homes have been overturned," said Regis Fardoux, director of a campsite near Frejus. "The season is finished."

Helicopters on Wednesday rescued people trapped on roof tops and in cars. Emergency teams moved 436 inmates to nearby jails from a flooded prison in Draguignan where the water covered the first two floors.
FLOODS SHOCK SOUTHERN FRANCE

Click to see images

Edit


At the resort of Frejus, more than 1,500 people were taken to safety, many in inflatable boats or by helicopter.

About 2,000 soldiers, firefighters and police were brought in to lead the rescue operation.

The SNCF rail company halted train services along the coast between Toulon and Nice until Friday and many smaller roads inland were blocked.

President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit the area early next week, his office said. He issued a statement expressing condolences for the victims' families.

The deputy prefect for Draguignan, Corinne Orzechowski, said more than 30 centimetres (12 inches) of rain had fallen there since Tuesday.

Flooding also hit southwestern France, including the Atlantic resort of Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne, where a hospital was flooded.


~~~
NEWS HEADS - 16 June

Deadly floods shock southern Cote d'Azur region

AFP - Eleven people died in southern France after torrential rains triggered flash floods that overturned cars and sent residents scurrying to safety on rooftops, officials said Wednesday.

Rescuers scrambled overnight to help hundreds of people trapped in their vehicles, houses or on rooftops, in the Draguignan area off the Mediterranean coast, while helicopters were sent in to airlift residents to safety.
Heavy rains on Tuesday caused water levels to rise swiftly in the area, preventing many people from fleeing to higher ground and forcing some to seek shelter on the roofs of their homes.

State authorities in the Var department said 11 people had died and two were missing, raising the toll from 10 dead and four missing.
"We haven't seen anything like this in a decade," said the top official for the Var department, Hugues Parant.
Up to 200,000 homes were without electricity and the rising waters also trapped a high speed train travelling from Nice to Lille with 300 passengers on board.
The SNCF rail authority halted all train services between Toulon and Saint-Raphael until Thursday, saying some three-kilometres (1.8 miles) of tracks were completely flooded.
President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement expressing condolences for the victims' families and support for rescue teams who are "mobilising non-stop to provide aid and find those still missing."
The head of the emergency operation, Corinne Orzechowski, said more than 30 centimetres (12 inches) of rain had fallen since Tuesday, causing water levels to rise to alarming levels in the streets of Draguignan, a town of some 40,000 residents.
"This morning, we woke up to find a city that was devastated, extremely battered with overturned cars floating in the streets, collapsed roads and gutted houses," said Orzechowski.
More than 1,000 people were involved in the emergency effort, backed by nine helicopters and 15 boats, she said.
"We are still in the rescue phase before moving on to the cleanup," she said, adding than makeshift shelters were opened to welcome about 1,200 people left homeless by the floods Water levels on Wednesday had dropped slightly in Draguignan but rains were still battering the nearby towns of Roquebrune and Frejus, not far from the Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez, officials said.
In the village of Les Arcs, long-time resident Gerard Grangeon went searching for his sister-in-law's car which he found floating in the streets. "It's a real disaster," he said.
On Tuesday, emergency services had to let the body of a woman float away because the currents were too strong to attempt a recovery.
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux was due to visit the devastated area later Wednesday.


• FRANCE: Facebook pork party banned after racism allegations
French police have banned a Facebook street gathering that encouraged invitees to eat pork and drink wine in a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of Paris, saying the event presented a "serious risk to public order".

• FRANCE: Govt to unveil pension reform amid union discontent
The French government will unveil a proposed reform of the state pension system on Wednesday as it seeks to tame the country's burgeoning public deficit while also averting a stand-off with unions.


BBC NEWS REPORTS - FRENCH PENSION AGE RAISED

Plans to raise the retirement age have already sparked protests France's retirement age will be raised from 60 to 62 over the next eight years as part of sweeping pension reforms, the government has announced.

French labour minister Eric Woerth told reporters that working longer was "inevitable", and necessary to balance the public finances.

The move is designed to reduce France's pension costs and bring public borrowing down.

The move is likely to be met with stiff resistance from labour unions, however.

Demonstrations against raising the retirement age were seen even before the measure was formally announced, with more strikes and protests expected in the coming months.

But Mr Woerth said it was time for France to follow the lead of other European countries in addressing it deficit.

"All our European partners have done this by working longer. We cannot avoid joining this movement," he said.

Protests expected

France's growing budget deficit currently stands 7.5% of GDP - far above the 3% target set by the EU but much lower than some EU members including the UK, Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain.

Meanwhile the country's annual pension deficit is expected to total 32bn euros (£26.7bn; $39.5bn) this year, and could rise to as much as 114bn euros by 2050 without reform.

Under current rules, both men and women in France can retire at 60, providing they have paid social security contributions for 40.5 years. Meanwhile, public sector workers retire on 75% of their final salary.

As well as raising the retirement age to 62, the planned reforms will also require employees to work for a minimum of 41.5 years to qualify, and there will be higher taxes on the better paid.

Those who began working before the age of 18 would continue to retire at 60, however, and those with particularly "arduous" jobs may also be able to retire earlier.

'Unfair'
The reforms were broadly welcomed by analysts, but several warned that further changes would be needed if France was to successfully balance its books.

Nicolas Sarkozy has prioritised bringing down France's budget deficit "What we have today is definitely not the last reform of the pension system," warned Gilles Moec, Europe economist at Deutsche Bank.

But opposition leaders condemned the proposals.

"This is the most unfair reform to have been decided by the president ... Nicolas Sarkozy has decided to make the poor pay," said Francois Hollande from the French Socialist Party.
The proposals must still be agreed by the French parliament in a vote in September.
They are likely to be fiercely resisted by labour unions and opposition parties before then.
Last month, widespread strike action in protest at the plans drew tens of thousands of workers to demonstrations in Paris.
The BBC's correspondent in Paris, Christian Fraser, said the govenrment was preparing for "a summer of industrial action".
But he pointed out that recent opinion polls had shown a majority of the French public were in favour of raising the retirement age.



~~~

Facebook pork party targets Paris Muslim neighbourhood

On the surface it looks like a picnic for young people to celebrate French heritage. But the fact that invitees are encouraged to eat pork and drink wine where Muslims gather for Friday prayers hints that a different agenda could be at work.

A growing French trend for spontaneous and merrily anarchic open-air drinks parties organised on Facebook has taken a different twist – with an “apéro” (aperatif) being organised in a Muslim neighbourhood of Paris.
The “apéro”, or drinks party, dubbed “saucisson et pinard” (pork sausage and plonk) is billed to take place at Rue Myrha in Paris’ 18th district on Friday.
The street has a large immigrant population and is regularly blocked to traffic when local Muslims gather for Friday prayers.
On the Facebook page promoting Friday’s event, organisers claim the street “and others in the neighbourhood are occupied, particularly on Friday, by resolute adversaries of our national wines and our traditional French charcuterie products [cold meats, particularly pork].”
Sylvie François (not her real name) set up the Facebook group, claiming that she no longer feels at home in her neighbourhood.
“Ethnic French people can no longer take a drink in peace round here,” she told left-wing daily newspaper Libération. “You get odd looks for being a woman who is not wearing a veil, dressed with a little bit of elegance.”
Pork-based soup kitchens
François claims that the apéro is not a political event, but merely a celebration of French culture in a part of the capital she believes has become too Muslim.
But her initiative, which she claims has more than 3,500 adherents on Facebook, has the support of several right-wing groups – including “Riposte Laique” (Secular Counter-attack), “Bloc Identaire” (Identity Bloc) and “Solidarité avec les Français”.
These last two groups are known for having organised pork-based soup kitchens in cities across France, with the intention of feeding only non-Muslim homeless people. These soup kitchens were banned in 2007 by the French authorities for being discriminatory and likely to cause public disorder.
French anti-racism pressure group SOS-Racisme has condemned this latest development.
“This apéro is clearly racist,” a group spokesman told Le Post newspaper. “The organisers are basing it along the same principles as the pork soup kitchens.”
Giant drinks parties have become an increasingly popular phenomenon in France, although to date these have been more about getting young people out, drinking and having fun in city centres, often to the chagrin of local authorities.
François says she is in discussions with the Paris police, and has taken on lawyers should the city attempt to impose a ban on the event.
The police said they would release a statement on Wednesday.


~~

Kerviel says his risky trades were 'obvious to everyone' at SocGen

Rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel hid his actions at Société Générale but said it was "obvious to everyone" what he was doing. The bank has insisted it was unaware of Kerviel's risky trades, which cost it 4.9 billion euros in 2008.

REUTERS - Rogue trader Jerome Kerviel kept his unauthorised risky bets at Societe Generale hidden to "save appearances", the 33-year-old said on Monday.

Although he said he never admitted the unauthorised trading to superiors, Kerviel told the court in the Palais de Justice it was impossible they did not know what he was doing.

Kerviel spoke after SocGen's head o global markets insisted the bank was unaware of Kerviel's positions that cost it 4.9 billion euros ($6 billion) to unwind in 2008.

"(I hid the positions) to save appearances. What I was doing was obvious to everyone, but I wanted to give the impression, the appearance of a cover," he said.

The ex-trader does not deny building up positions worth an estimated 50 billion euros but insists his bosses knew what he was doing. SocGen has denied tacit complicity and demands Kerviel be sentenced.

Kerviel risks five years in prison and a 375,000 euros fine if found guilty of charges of breach of trust, computer abuse and forgery. His trial began on Tuesday amid a media frenzy over one of the most famous faces of the financial crisis in France.

Discreet channels

SocGen's representative in court, Claire Dumas, said the bank was unable to detect the fictitious positions Kerviel used as cover because the trader knew how to work the system.

"He took out all the young girls from the support desk," said Dumas. "He was one of the rare traders who spoke to them politely."

She added Kerviel would put fictitious orders through discreet channels, for example via an internal unit that was little monitored if at all.

SocGen's head of global markets, Christophe Mianne, also said the bank could not have been aware of Kerviel's unauthorised bets because he covered his tracks.

"Mr. Kerviel's superiors were unaware. This is my strong conviction," said Mianne. He described Kerviel's actions as criminal and said the former trader had shown a complete denial of reality and of his losses.

"I saw many red eyes and tears (from employees when Kerviel was found out)," added Mianne. "I don't think they were acting."

However, a former compliance officer at SocGen told the court there would have been several databases available to Kerviel's superiors where all trading operations could be tracked.

Kerviel's superiors would also have been able to track any changes made in the data entry system to mask positions, added Valerie Rolland, a friend of Kerviel who was due to be his marriage witness.

"I can confirm Jerome was someone normal, not a high roller, a friend," she said before bursting into tears.



~~~

13 June from France 24 - the Paris based news TV channel in English

France joins other EU nations announcing austerity plan


French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has announced an austerity plan that will slash state spending by 45 billion euros. The three-year plan aims at bringing public deficit back down to the EU's limit of three percent of GDP by 2013.
By News Wires
AFP - France joined other European nations in announcing on Saturday an austerity plan that would involve 45 billion euros (54.5 billion dollars) in spending cuts over the next three years.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon said the cuts were aimed at bringing France's public deficit back down to the European Union's limit of three percent of gross domestic product by 2013.

"We've made a commitment to bring down our deficit from eight to three percent by 2013 and we will concentrate all of our efforts on it," Fillon said at a meeting of new members of his UMP party.

France's first announcement of austerity measures came as bond markets have mounted pressure on eurozone nations to get their public finances under control in the wake of the devastating Greek debt crisis.

Fillon said the government would cut the public deficit by 100 billion euros, with half coming from slashing spending and half from increasing revenues.

The prime minister broadly outlined where the savings would come from, including 45 billion euros in spending cuts and five billion euros from closing tax loopholes.

The centre-right premier is also counting on a rebound in the economy to bring in an additional 35 billion euros.

"As and when growth returns, revenues will grow once again," said Fillon.

The remaining 15 billion euros will come from halting temporary measures to boost the economy, he added.

Up to now, Paris has not adopted an outright austerity plan, only imposing a spending freeze. France has prided itself on supporting the economy through the worst of the global slump despite the cost of an expanding budget deficit.

However, Germany's quick readiness to wield the budget knife has made Europe's economic powerhouse even more attractive in the bond market, putting more heat on France to do likewise.

After a record deficit of 8.0 percent of GDP this year, Fillon says the austerity measures aim to reduce the deficit to 6.0 percent by 2011, 4.6 percent in 2012 and 3.0 percent in 2013.

The markets have wanted to see action and have been fretting over what has been seen as a lack of political will in Paris to take the stiff medicine adopted by Germany, a problem investors fear could get worse in the run-up to the 2012 presidential elections.

France nevertheless still enjoys the support of international investors and its top credit rating does not seem in any immediate danger, analysts say.

The Bank of France this week said that the French economy would grow by 0.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, even as a first estimate from the official statistics institute for the first quarter showed that growth was only 0.1 percent.

The government is counting on the economy growing by 1.4 percent for the whole of this year, having experienced the severest recession in 2009 since World War II with a contraction of 2.5 percent.

Sources close to Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said that the target for 2010, which requires average growth of 0.4 percent in each of the last three quarters of the year, had not been undermined by the weak growth figure for the first quarter.

The government's forecast is in line with an estimate from the International Monetary Fund that the French economy would grow by 1.5 percent this year and by the European Commission foreseeing growth of 1.3 percent.

BBC NEWS adds

Germany's Merkel wary of French EU vision

The leaders have different visions of EU economic governance The leaders of France and Germany will seek to narrow their differences over economic policy during talks in Berlin ahead of a key EU summit on Thursday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was initially expected to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week. The delay fuelled speculation about a big rift.

Correspondents say France is keen to launch regular summits of eurozone leaders, but Germany is wary of that.

Germany wants EU countries that pile up debts to face sanctions.

EU leaders are anxious to avoid having to rescue another member state, following the emergency bail-out for debt-laden Greece. There are continuing fears that the Greek crisis could undermine other heavily indebted eurozone countries.

Governments across the EU face the challenge of imposing unpopular spending cuts while not stifling growth.

Budget co-ordination

On Thursday the President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, will brief EU leaders on the work of an EU task force on economic governance, which he is chairing.

In Berlin last week he said that Mrs Merkel "shares the principal directions to strengthen budgetary discipline through the [EU] Stability Pact and to reduce the divergences in competitiveness between the member states".

He appeared to distance himself from the French idea of having a new "secretariat" to co-ordinate economic policy in the 16-nation eurozone.

"We do not need new institutions to meet our goals. We need more effectiveness," Mr Van Rompuy said, stressing the need for "preventive action to avoid countries accumulating excessive deficits".

"We will be tougher in correcting deficits with more rules-based and semi-automatic sanctions."

Data transparency

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said "we must play by the rules and the rules have to be changed".

The UK and some other member states are sceptical about an EU plan to subject national budgets to EU "peer review" before they are debated by national parliaments.

Ms Lagarde played down such differences on Monday. She said there was a need to "share and agree on macro-economic data and forecasts - I don't see that as a major obstacle".

Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy have jointly urged the European Commission to speed up measures to tighten financial regulation. They called for an EU-wide ban on naked short-selling - a type of high-risk trading - and tight controls on credit default swaps.

A new EU strategy for jobs and growth - called the 2020 strategy - will also be discussed at the EU summit in Brussels.

In a message on her website, Chancellor Merkel stressed the importance of investing in research and training - not least because of Europe's demographic shift, with fewer young people supporting more pensioners.

Investment in new green technologies and internet innovation must figure highly in the EU's growth plans, she said

~~

WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTS

Belgian Voters Back Flemish Nationalists, French-Speaking Socialists

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Belgian voters Sunday threw their support behind Flemish nationalists and French-speaking socialists, who will now attempt to negotiate the appointment of a new prime minister in this linguistically divided country.

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MOTORWAY NEWS A9 - A75 junction

On Saturday 19 June, Highway South of France (ASF) and the state road service will celebrate the connection of A75 and A9 highways at Beziers.
More on the travel page


NEWS ITEMS FROM THE CONNEXION

Ordering food from UK - can you really save money?
Growing numbers of British people living in France are buying everyday groceries from the UK because they are cheaper - even including the transport costs - according to a report in the Guardian.
The newspaper claims savings of up to 30% are possible - even on basic day-to-day items such as milk. French items such as croissants and wines are also being bought from Asda and delivered.
The report has caused a stir online with fierce criticism from some, who query whether it defeats the point of living in France, a country famed for its food. L'Anglais à Paris blogger Richard Brooks asks: "Why did these Brits travel to France in the first place?"
What do you think? Is this practice right, bearing in mind the added environmental damage from the transport?
We would like to hear from people who shop this way - how much does it really save? With the pound-euro exchange rate becoming increasingly volatile in recent weeks, are there still savings to be had?


Register your gite with mairie now
Holiday home-owners in France face a fine of up to €450 if they do not register their property with the local mairie by July 1. The new requirement applies to anyone who runs a gite or other furnished holiday let in France, whether it is let all year round or for a limited period and regardless of how long they have owned it.

1,700 government buildings up for sale
The government has announced it is looking to sell off some 1,700 properties it owns throughout France to help cut the country's debts. A chateau overlooking Lac Léman in the Haute-Savoie, a former hunting authority building in the heart of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye forest and a five-storey Haussmann-era Parisian immeuble are among the buildings up for grabs.

Restaurants' VAT cut should be scrapped
Almost two thirds of French people want restaurants to lose the right to charge a specially discounted VAT rate, a new survey has revealed. The BVA poll for La Tribune and BFM radio found 61% of people disapproved of the €3bn tax break, which has allowed restaurateurs to pay 5.5% VAT instead of 19.6% since last July but has had little effect on the prices paid by consumers.


Majority of new electricity meters not working
A trial into a new type of electricity meter that will be compulsory in most homes within ten years has hit a problem - most of them do not work. Out of the 19,000 "intelligent" meters installed in Tours on a trial basis, only eight of them work properly. The bright yellow meter is designed to encourage efficient energy use and lets customers know in real-time how much money they are spending.

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~~
12 June from France 24 - the Paris based news TV channel in English

Conservative ex-minister gives up salary after perks row

AFP - A French ex-minister and leader of a Christian values party was forced on Thursday to give up a 9,500-euro salary for a job as head of a task force after a row erupted over her perks.

Christine Boutin, an ultra-conservative politician who opposes abortion and gay marriage, was named in April by President Nicolas Sarkozy to lead the task force on globalisation.

She has been receiving 9,500 euros (11,500 dollars) per month for the job on top of her pension benefits as a former minister and member of parliament, for a monthly total of 17,500 euros paid by the state.

The government initially defended the paycheck but Labour Minister Eric Woerth said on Thursday he would ask the 66-year-old politician to relinquish some perks during these belt-tightening times.

Boutin later backed down, agreeing to give up the extra pay.

"I have decided to carry out this mission free of charge, by giving up my 9,500 euros per month," she told France 2 television.

But she also said she had been unfairly singled out for attack, insisting that "there are many people in this situation, who sooner or later will face the same problem".

"I am setting a legal precedent," she said.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon's office issued a statement saying he "welcomes the decision by Christine Boutin to give up all pay for the mission she is carrying out on the social impact of globalisation".

Fillon also said that from now on there would be a single common framework for the wages paid for such government advisory jobs.

The appointment, whose details were revealed in the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine, also came with a chauffeur-driven car, staff and an office in an upscale area of Paris.

National Assembly speaker Bernard Accoyer had earlier told Boutin that she should give up her parliament pension during her mandate as a well-paid adviser to the president on globalisation.

A former housing minister who was dropped from Sarkozy's cabinet last year, Boutin leads the Christian Democrat party which is close to the president's right-wing UMP party.

Boutin complained last month that her "ideas" were not being taken into account and suggested she could stand in the 2012 presidential vote to give them more prominence.

Opposition Socialists charged that Boutin's appointment was "fake" and suggested it was part of a calculation by Sarkozy to keep allies happy.

Boutin, who ran in the 2002 presidential election picking up less than two percent, said she was "outraged" by the "suggestion that I was bought off to keep silent".


~


11 June from France 24 - the Paris based news TV channel in English


FRANCE - RUSSIA: Putin meets with Sarkozy in Paris amid warship row
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will inaugurate a Paris exhibition on Franco-Russian ties today ahead of talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy that will touch on the controversial sale of a French warship to Moscow.

FRANCE: Kerviel's 'stratospheric' trades shocked ex-colleague
A former colleague of ex-Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel (pictured) accused him in court Thursday of having put the bank at risk with 'stratospheric' trades. Kerviel cost the bank 4.9 billion euros in losses in a scandal that rocked France.

~~~

10 June News - from France 24 - the Paris based news TV channel in English

FRANCE: Former SocGen boss slams Kerviel for 'inhuman' risk-taking
The former head of SocGen's investment division blamed Jerome Kerviel for unauthorised trades that led to 4.9 billion euros in losses, accusing him of taking "inhuman" risks on the second day of the disgraced trader’s trial.

FRANCE: Suspected Muslim polygamist charged with welfare fraud
A French Muslim man has been formally charged Wednesday for taking welfare benefits to which he wasn't entitled only two months after French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux accused him of polygamy.

SENEGAL: French army to close Senegal base 50 years after independence
France announced Tuesday it would shut down its military base in former colony Senegal and pull out all but 300 of its 1,200 troops there, a move Dakar had lobbied for to mark the 50th anniversary of its independence.

FRANCE: Stolen Descartes letter found in the US is returned to France
A stolen letter written by French philosopher Descartes in 1641 and found on a US college campus was returned to France on Tuesday, ending a detective tale featuring a Google search and a thieving Italian count.


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8th June NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Frenchman Jérôme Kerviel faces 'rogue trader' trial
The trial of Jérôme Kerviel, the former trader blamed for record losses totalling five billion euros at French bank Société Générale, is due to begin on Tuesday.

INTERNET: France opens its market to online gaming
France has granted 11 operators gaming licences three days before the start of the World Cup, ending 471 years of state monopoly on gambling.

FRANCE - GERMANY: Germany and France postpone economy talks at last minute
Talks planned for Monday between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the thorny issue of European economic governance were postponed at the last minute due to “scheduling reasons”, amid recent bilateral tensions.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: French team hotel too flashy, says junior minister
France's troubled World Cup build-up ran into further turbulence on Sunday after the country's junior minister for sports, Rama Yade (pictured), suggested Les Bleus's choice of "swanky" hotel was inappropriate at a time of economic hardship.


UK Economy - Martyn Turner sees an EU dimension


Martyn Turner - courtesy of the Irish Times


LOCAL NEWS



Le nouveau siège social "grand large" de Proméo - Hérault
L’inauguration du bâtiment de 2 500 m2 le 4 juin s’est doublée d’un accord avec EDF

Le nouveau siège social, baptisé Espace Don Quichotte, abrite 2 500 m2 de bureaux. Il est autoalimenté en énergie par une centrale photovoltaïque installée sur le toit.
Il recevra 90 employés sur les 240 que compte le groupe en équivalent temps plein, et 600 en haute saison.
Cette inauguration, qui s’est déroulée en présence du maire de Sète François Commeinhes, et d’Agnès Jullian, vice-présidente du Conseil régional déléguée au tourisme, s’est doublée de la signature d’un contrat Equilibre avec EDF.
Au terme de cet accord, EDF s’engage à produire de l’énergie verte pour 10 millions de KWh, soit la consommation électrique du siège social de Promeo et de 32 de ses 35 villages vacances (campings et résidences) sur toute la France.

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7th June News Heads

ROUJAN GARDEN FETE -

Great summer Fete – great Herault rain BUT

Hundreds braved the weather and, in a very British way, enjoyed a typical English summer fete.


Minutes before the deluge!

Cat Hartley said

“There were many stars to our show yesterday: all our volunteers who tirelessly put in hours and hours to plan and prepare and be there on the day, but also our helpers, some of whom I met for the first time only a couple of days ago and whose dedication and good will I have been truly amazed by. They have now become real friends of ours personally and of CSFL.

But of course we just could not have saved the day without the support of our visitors who braved the weather to support us with words of encouragement and money!”

On a positive note - CSF gained some new members and also met someone who CSF is designed to help and support.

A WoW note - and apart from being a truly memorable day (if for not the planned reasons) - it was also a day where friendships were made and cemented.

If you missed the day because you thought you would get very wet (you might have done) you can still support CSF by sending a cheque or a note of support to the amazing organisers – Cat and Stephen

Make your cheque payable to - CSF Languedoc - and pop it in an envelope to

Cat Hartley
4 le pierre Alexandre
Loiras 34700
Le Bosc

Still the car park looked professional - thanks Geoff!


~~~

GREEN PEACE Activist recovering

A Greenpeace activist was recovering in hospital in Malta on Saturday after surgery for an injury caused by a grappling hook slung by tuna fishermen in a clash at sea, he told AFP.

Frank Hewetson, 45, was trying to free endangered bluefin tuna from a commercial fishing net in the Mediterranean on Friday when the fishermen threw the hook at the Greenpeace dinghy he was in and it pierced his left leg, he said.

"I managed to pull the hook out myself," said Hewetson, who was admitted to St James Capua Hospital in Sliema, Malta, late Friday. "It was very painful."

The London resident added that doctors said he would have to remain in hospital at least another three days.

They fear an infection because the grappling hook was rusty and was used to extract tuna from nets, Hewetson said.

The environmental group said Friday that Hewetson and other Greenpeace activists were trying to lower the side of a purse seine net with sand bags to free the fish in a "non-violent" intervention when the clash occurred.

Hewetson said the fishermen used the grappling hook to pull his boat close to theirs, then "began beating us with sticks," without causing any serious new injuries.

The fishing boat, the Jean-Marie Christian VI, was one of several French tuna vessels in the area, in international waters off Malta, Greenpeace said in a statement.

Several boats surrounded the Greenpeace zodiacs, threatening them with knives attached to long poles, and some of the fishermen also fired flare guns at a Greenpeace helicopter hovering overhead to monitor, the statement said.

Greenpeace had stationed two ships in the Mediterranean, the Rainbow Warrior and Arctic Sunrise, to confront fishing boats during the short tuna catching season.

Bertrand Wendling, head of Sathoan, a cooperative of French tuna fishing boats including the one whose nets were targeted by Greenpeace, accused the group of interfering with a legal business activity and jeopardising the livelihoods of ordinary fishermen.

The Federation of Maltese Aquaculture Producers also slammed the Greenpeace activists, saying they had "sought confrontation, and got the confrontation they wanted."

Greenpeace "alone bear the blame for the consequences of yesterday’s incidents," the federation said in a statement.

Industrial-scale fishing and harvesting on the high seas has caused stocks of bluefin tuna to plunge by up to 80 percent in the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic, where they come to spawn in the warmer waters.

Many of the 100 boats that fish in the Mediterranean carry net cages to contain the tuna, which are then towed offshore to be fattened and shipped in giant freezer ships to Japan, where they are a mainstay of sushi and sashimi.

Earlier this year the European Union and the United States supported an international trade ban on tuna fished from these waters, but Japan lobbied successfully and the proposal was defeated.

France's national fisheries body backed the fishermen Saturday, saying they "were attacked by helmeted Greenpeace activists, equipped for and engaged in a violent operation -- the destruction of a work tool."

"After trying to get the species classified as endangered, based on an erroneous reading of the scientific facts regarding the stock of bluefin tuna, now (Greenpeace) assumes the right to attack fishermen out at sea," it added.

Sathoan's Wendling said fishermen need protection from Greenpeace.

"We have requested the French state intervene and ensure the security of our sailors," he said.

Jean-Marie Avallone, owner of the boat involved, accused Greenpeace of acting like "brigands."

As Greenpeace posted a video of the incident on the Internet, Wendling said Saturday that fishermen feared further action by environmentalist groups competing for publicity and donations.

The US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, one of whose militants is on trial in Japan after boarding a Japanese whaler, has vowed to take action against what it says is massive poaching of tuna above the agreed quotas.

Greenpeace lawyer Alexandre Faro said he would be lodging a complaint for alleged wounding and assault with Paris prosecutors on Monday.

A French fisheries ministry spokesman said the government deplored the clashes, calling for fishing to be allowed to continue in what he said was a strictly regulated legal framework






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5 JUNE - NEWS HEADS


China Crisis

By WoWs special football/cultural correspondent
Peter Pugh

Stunned by the defeat at the hands of the Chinese national football squad, the French team have announced their firm intention to return to France, form a resistance, write crap songs and sing them for the next seventy years. The rest of the French nation, in act of unprecedented solidarity and, choosing to ignore the current Euro crisis, have gone on strike indefinitely.

The profound shock of the ignominious defeat has been felt nationwide.
Jean-Luc someone-or-other (devout catholic transgenic pig-farmer and father of seventeen) who lives in nowhere-in-particular-on-Tarn, when interviewed early this morning in his local bar, paused briefly from his thirteenth pastis to declare that he was “profoundly shocked”. So there you are: a nation in crisis!


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French Minister Convicted Over Racist Comments

PARIS — A cabinet minister and close friend of President Nicolas Sarkozy faced fresh calls for his resignation Friday after a Paris court found him guilty of making racist comments and ordered him to pay compensation.
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux was given a €750, or $900, fine and asked to pay an anti-racism group €2,000 in damages for what the judge called “private insults of a racial nature.”
Mr. Hortefeux will appeal “immediately,” according to his lawyer, Nicolas Benoît.
The verdict comes nine months after Mr. Hortefeux was recorded on camera at an event in southwestern France on Sept. 5 making what to many sounded like anti-Arab remarks.
The video, which was first posted on the Web site of Le Monde, shows the minister posing for a photo with a young party member of Arab origin when a woman in the crowd can be heard saying:
“Amine is a Catholic. He eats pork and drinks beer.”
“Ah, but that doesn’t work at all, then he does not fit the prototype at all,” Mr. Hortefeux is heard replying to general laughter.
Another female voice shouts: “He’s our little Arab.”
Mr. Hortefeux answers: “All the better. There always has to be one. When there’s one, it’s O.K. It’s when there are a lot of them that there are problems.”
At the time of the comment, opposition parties were quick to call for Mr. Hortefeux’s resignation, and on Friday the Socialist Party was quick repeat the demand.
“The exemplariness claimed by the president of the republic has to apply to all,” said Benoît Hamon, a spokesman for the Socialists. “If Nicolas Sarkozy keeps him, it would mean behaving more like a clan leader than a president.”
Mouloud Aounit, secretary general of the anti-racism group Mrap, which had brought the case against the minister, also demanded that he step down.
Mr. Sarkozy’s office declined to comment, but an official close to the president said Mr. Hortefeux had his “full confidence.”
The verdict was a blow for an administration that has tried hard to portray itself as friendly to minorities with a number of cabinet ministers of North African origin but that has struggled to cast off the hard-line image Mr. Sarkozy retains in many immigrant suburbs. Violent clashes between the police and youths of immigrant background are a sporadic reminder of three weeks of rioting in these neighborhoods five years ago.
Mr. Hortefeux, who was minister of immigration before he was promoted to the powerful Interior Ministry last year, has been a vocal advocate of clamping down on illegal immigration and deporting those without papers already in the country.
He has called the uproar over his comments last September “a vain and ridiculous attempt to create a polemic,” saying he had not been referring to Arabs but to people from the Auvergne, in central France. Amine Benalia-Brouch, the youngster in question, said he had not been offended by the comments.
But according to the court ruling, Mr. Hortefeux’s comment “is incontestably offensive, if not contemptuous, for the people concerned” and the minister’s body language shows he “did not want to be heard by others beyond this circle of friends.”


~~~
4 June NEWS HEADS

• FRANCE: Parliament votes to guarantee euro bailout fund
French MPs have voted to adopt a plan to bailout the euro, as formulated with the euro zone’s 16 countries in early May. Under the plan, France would have to guarantee 111 billion euros to support the European currency.

• FRANCE: French foreign ministry hit by budget cut squeeze
France prides itself on its extensive diplomatic network, which is second only to that of the US. But unrelenting budget cuts have seriously undermined its ability to function according to a new book on the French foreign ministry.

• FRANCE: Former Vivendi boss Messier back in court
Former Vivendi boss Jean Marie Messier, who faces charges of embezzlement and misleading the stock market, told a French court on Wednesday that he acted in the best interests of the company. If convicted, he faces up to five years in jail.

BEZIERS FERIA - POSTER LAUNCHED TODAY


AND NEWS FROM THE CONNEXION - an excellent weekly service from the English Language news paper

Retired expat healthcare restrictions probed
A law banning non-French early retirees from getting state health cover could be overturned by the European Commission. Since late 2007, early retirees have been been unable to join the CMU (couverture maladie universelle) - a health cover system for people who have made no social security contributions in France - until they have been here for five years. The Commission is looking at whether this breaks EU laws on freedom of movement.


Free eye tests available next week
Six-thousand opticians around France are offering free eye tests next week, from June 7-12. The Journées de la Vision are aimed at getting more people to check their sight - around 10% of people who should wear glasses or contact lenses to drive do not, studies show.


More at www.connexionfrance.com or buy the paper – out now



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3rd JUNE NEWS HEADS


• LUXEMBOURG: 'Karachi-gate' police report mentions French president
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is mentioned in a Luxembourg police report regarding the transfer of millions of euros in bribes during the sale of French submarines to Pakistan in 1994, at which time Sarkozy headed the finance ministry.

• FRANCE: Former Vivendi chief Messier goes on trial in Paris
Almost eight years after being ousted from the presidency of Vivendi Universal, Jean-Marie Messier is being asked to explain his actions as head of the French media giant as his trial opens in Paris.

• RFI: France's burka bill - background to a bitter debate
France is set to become the second country in Europe to ban the burka. President Nicolas Sarkozy says that his government is defending France’s secular values and protecting women's rights. His critics see Islamophobia and political opportunism behind the move.

• FRANCE-AFRICA SUMMIT: Sarkozy to push for expanded African role at UN
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has backed African countries' calls for permanent UN Security Council seats and pledged to help the continent battle terrorism, piracy and drug trafficking at a two-day African Summit in the Riviera city of Nice.

• AF 447 CRASH: One year after crash, families pay tribute and await answers
The families of those killed in the Air France 447 crash on June 1, 2009, mark the first anniversary of the aviation tragedy as they continue to wait for a comprehensive report into what caused the Rio-Paris flight to dive into the ocean.


LOCAL NEWS

BEZIERS - 3 traffic light cameras installed

Nouveaux contrôle automatisé du respect des feux tricolores
Un nouveau dispositif de contrôle automatisé de franchissement de feux tricolores au rouge a été mis en place. Il vise, notamment, à éduquer les conducteurs au respect de la règle et à lutter contre l’insécurité routière.
Ces radars feux rouges sont placés aux carrefours les plus accidentogènes de l’Hérault sur la commune de Béziers:

• à l’intersection de l’avenue Clémenceau et du boulevard de Strasbourg,

• à l’intersection de l’avenue Rhin et Danube et de la rue Seurat,

• à l’intersection de l’avenue Clémenceau et du boulevard de Strasbourg.


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L'inventeur du Cap d'Agde : Jean Le Couteur n'est plus

L'inventeur du Cap d'Agde architecte en chef de la station balnéaire Héraultaise du Cap d'Agde n'est plus. Le 30 mai 2010, 40 ans après la création du Cap d'Agde , celui qui en esquissa les plus beaux contours est décédé à l'âge de 93 ans. En 1968, l'Etat et la Ville d'Agd...
Lire l'article

________________________________________

Américan Day Dimanche 13 juin à Marseillan

Dimanche 13 juin, le service des sports de la ville et les Dragons de Marseillan/Sète organisent «l’American Day » avec au programme : Football américain au stade Marcel Pochon 11h00 : sélection Sud-Est (champion de France) / Sélection Catalane (Champion d’Espagne) 14h0...
Lire l'article

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1 June NEWS HEADS

• FRANCE: Budget minister says keeping France's AAA credit rating a 'stretch'
France’s Budget Ministry on Sunday said the government remained “committed” to preserving the country’s AAA credit rating after its head, Budget Minister François Baroin described the objective as “a stretch”.

REUTERS - France's Budget Minister Francois Baroin said on Sunday the objective of keeping the country's AAA rating was "a stretch" and had an impact on economic policy decisions related to cutting the deficit.

In an interview on Canal+ TV, Baroin was asked whether France's plans to tackle its ballooning deficit had been announced in order to keep its AAA credit rating, which is the highest rating issued by ratings agencies.

He replied: "The objective of keeping the AAA rating is an objective that is a stretch, and it is an objective that, in fact, partly informs the economic policies we want to have."

Contacted by Reuters, the Budget Ministry later clarified that the target was "a demanding (objective) which we're committed to."

Talks are taking place on pension reform -- a key part of the plan to cut the deficit -- and France has frozen central government spending barring pensions and interest payments between 2011 and 2013.

France is also considering introducing a constitutional amendment that would set binding budget deficit limits.

Baroin added: "We must maintain our AAA rating, reduce our debt to avoid being too dependent on the markets, and we must do this for the long-term."


Fitch Ratings said on Friday the recently stepped-up dialogue in France was an important first step in addressing France's fiscal deficit.

France has forecast its deficit will come in at 8 percent of GDP this year, and aims to bring it down to within the European Union's 3 percent limit by 2013.

• FRANCE: Paris to push ahead with plans to up the retirement age
The French government is poised to push ahead with plans to increase the retirement age, following weak protests from unions who oppose the move. Commentators said most French people were either convinced of or resigned to a need for change.

• FRANCE-AFRICA SUMMIT: Sarkozy to push for expanded African role at UN
Speaking at the launch of the 25th Africa-France summit, President Nicolas Sarkozy said France would support reforms at the UN to increase the presence of African countries on the Security Council when his country leads the G20 group next year.


MONTPELLIER - Ironic protest during the literature festival - this year honouring American literature - the year they closed the American Library!


~~~
NEWS HEADS 29 May

FRANCE: Paris to push ahead with plans to up the retirement age
The French government is poised to push ahead with plans to increase the retirement age, following weak protests from unions who oppose the move. Commentators said most French people were either convinced of or resigned to a need for change.

AVIATION: Concorde crash trial verdict due in December
Relatives of the 113 people killed in the 2000 Concorde crash near Paris will have to wait until December 6 for a verdict in the trial that ended in France on Friday.

EURO 2016: France chosen to host Euro 2016 football championship
France will host the European Football Championship for a third time in 2016 after defeating rival bids by Turkey and Italy in a ceremony attended by President Nicolas Sarkozy.


France previously staged the tournament in 1960 and were hosts again in 1984, winning it with a team captained by Michel Platini, the Uefa president.
The French, hosts and winners of the 1998 World Cup, beat Turkey by just a single vote after Italy were eliminated in the first round of voting.
Euro 2016 will feature 24 countries playing 51 matches over one month.
"This is a beautiful day for us," said Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president of the French Football Federation.
"It is a moment of intense emotion to know that in 2016 France will welcome European football and will fulfil its promises.
"What counts for us is to have the full confidence of Uefa and this trust will not be betrayed.
"We also understand the frustration of Italy and Turkey - particularly Turkey, who lost by a single vote after bidding for a third time."

Turkey rejected the suggestion that it represented a risky option after being pipped 7-6 in the final round of voting.
"We are devastated. This was our third bid so it is not much consolation to know that we lost by a small margin," said Turkey's Euro 2016 bid manager Orhan Gorbon.
"Losing is one thing but it is an underestimation of Turkey to say it was not capable of hosting a larger tournament.
"I don't understand why France should be seen as the safe option."
Platini admitted the contest had put him in a difficult situation - he is French, but of Italian descent and enjoyed his best playing years at Juventus.
"It was not an easy situation for me - I am French, my name is Italian and I have many friends in Turkey. But Uefa has proved once again that we have democracy."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former national team star Zinedine Zidane supported their country's case in a presentation to Uefa's ruling executive in Geneva on Friday.
The French government has pledged to help guarantee the projected 1.7bn euro (£1.45bn) cost of building and renovating stadiums despite the worldwide economic problems.
"When I spoke to the French Football Federation, we asked ourselves whether we wanted to be candidates in the middle of a crisis," he told the ceremony during the French presentation.
"But sport is an answer to the crisis. It is because we are in a crisis that we need sport. Nothing is more powerful than sport and, within sport, nothing is more powerful that football."
France's winning bid for 2016 consisted of 12 venues - the Stade de France where France defeated Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final, Paris Saint Germain's Parc des Princes, Lens, Lille, Bordeaux, Nice, Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Saint Etienne and Nancy.
Zidane spoke of being a young fan in the Marseille stadium watching Platini's extra-time goal carry France past Portugal in a classic semi-final in 1984.

"That is the type of experience I want to live again," said Zidane. "Winning is beautiful but it's great to see all the people in the streets partying. This is what I would like to give my children."
Platini added: "It was a very narrow decision - the work done by all three federations was outstanding, and I would like to congratulate the French.
"It has been a complicated situation from the outset and I believe there is a sigh of relief from French football, and they can now upgrade all their stadia to make them up to the same standard as other countries in Europe."
Turkey were bidding to host their first major football tournament while Italy's chances had been written off after a critical review of their bid following Uefa's inspection visits.
Problems and delays in Poland and Ukraine, who will jointly host Euro 2012, may have persuaded Uefa's executive committee to avoid choosing Turkey, an untried country.
"We all did our best," said Turkey President Abdullah Gul, who had called on Uefa to take a "historic decision" and help bring Turkey, which has a Muslim majority, closer to the heart of Europe. "We are saddened that it was lost by one point."
The 2016 event will feature 24 countries for the first time, up from 16 in 2012, as France becomes the first country to stage the European Championship three times.


FRANCE = Unions stage protests against plans for retirement age hike
Tens of thousands of marchers gathered Thursday in several French cities after labour unions called for a day of strikes and protests against a government plan to raise the legal retirement age to help curb the country's mounting public deficit.

RWANDA: Doctor wanted for atrocities against Tutsis to be extradited from France
A Rwandan doctor wanted by Kigali for his alleged involvement in the 1994 massacre of Rwanda’s Tutsi population is in the process of being extradited from France.

FOOTBALL: Sarkozy travels to Geneva to support Euro 2016 football bid
President Nicolas Sarkozy and Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot will go to Geneva on Friday to support France's bid to host the 2016 European football championships. Turkey and Italy are also in the running to host the tournament.


HERAULT HAS MOST CLEAN BEACHES IN FRANCE

France's cleanest beaches revealed

TWENTY-ONE beaches around France have been awarded a blue flag for the first time this summer, bringing the total along the French coastline to 341.

The prize is awarded to local authorities that can prove their beaches are clean, have good disabled access, safe sea water and plenty of rubbish collection facilities.

However, the scheme is voluntary and local communes choose whether to apply for recognition - so the absence of a blue flag elsewhere does not necessarily mean the beach is sub-standard.

Each of the 124 communes that has been awarded blue flags for its beaches is required to take five sea water samples throughout the year and publish the results.

The 21 new beaches joining the list in 2010 include Cannes, Dieppe and Honfleur.

Every coastal department in France has at least one blue flag beach, except the Eure (Haute-Normandie), the Landes and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Aquitaine).

The Hérault, on the Languedoc-Roussillon coast, has 12 communes with blue flag beaches, the highest of any department in mainland France.
More at www.connexionfrance.com or buy the paper – out now

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FRENCH HEALTH - a "scandal" Brits have to buy "top up" insurance - see details
Click - JOINING IN - TAKING PART
Click - UK Pension campaign and read about the EU law which might be of benefit

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GRUISSAN - "Horse not dead - shock"
WoW local correspondent Peter Pugh

Today, we did not open the shop, because some idiot, three doors up the road (and upwind) was doing some building work and producing a cloud of dust. So, instead, we went to the tax office to get them to sort stuff out for us. French tax forms are equally unintelligible as the English ones.

The tax office was of course closed as they, like most other frogs, were on strike. It was Thursday, after all. So, at about midday, we decided to go to lunch somewhere quiet. We came back from Narbonne on a back-road and suddenly, Valérie said: “Stop, stop , stop. There is a dead horse in a field.”

We drove on to a roundabout to turn back, Valérie got out and called the Fire Brigade. I thought about asking whether the horse was also on fire, but my sense of self-preservation prevailed.

Needless to say, two minutes later, the horse woke up, shook it's head and got up. Valérie called the Pompiers again to say don't bother, but it was too late........... they were on route. I hid......

Three fire engines turned up followed by a helicopter, the civil riot squad and President Sarkozy (with a stool in case anyone took photographs).

Valerie apologised and we went off to lunch in a little restaurant, squashed between the Canal de la Robine and the railway line. We were not disturbed by trains as the drivers, too, were on strike.
~~

National strike called against plans for retirement age hike
France's main unions called for a national strike today as the government defended plans to raise the legal retirement age from the current 60 years to help curb the country's mounting public deficit.


AFP - The French government on Wednesday defended plans to raise the retirement age from the current 60 years as part of efforts to tackle its gaping welfare deficit.

"It is a logical option for the government. We are going to increase the legal age (of retirement)," Employment Minister Eric Woerth said, without giving a specific new figure.

Gripped by the sovereign debt crisis, many of France's European neighbours have announced massive spending cuts to curb mounting public deficits and restore stability to the battered eurozone currency bloc.

Woerth told LCI television that no decision on the new age limit had yet been taken, but said: "As one lives longer, it is only logical that your working life should also be longer."

France's main unions have called for a national strike on Thursday to protest the pension overhaul before the government approves legislation on the changes in July.

The reduction of the minimum age for workers to receive a full state pension from 65 to 60 was in 1984 one of the key reforms of Socialist president Francois Mitterrand and remains cherished by the left.

The move to change the pension system in France has run into strong opposition and President Nicolas Sarkozy added fuel to the fire on Tuesday by reportedly criticising the current work and pensions system.

Sarkozy told members of his UMP party that France would "have far fewer problems" if Mitterrand had not lowered the retirement age and Socialists had not introduced the 35-hour working week, a UMP lawmaker told AFP.

These comments drew an angry reaction from Sarkozy's left-wing opponents on Wednesday.

Socialist party leader Martine Aubry, who was one of the architects of the 35-hour week, branded Sarkozy's comments "not worthy of a president" and said that in 2008 he had denied intending to raise the retirement age.

She said the planned reform was "not only unfair but ineffective."

Sarkozy last week confirmed that he planned to freeze all public spending for three years and even said France's constitution should be altered to compel new governments to sign up to a timetable to balance their budgets.

France currently runs a public deficit of eight percent of annual output, which is lower than that of some more troubled eurozone countries but contributes to anxiety about the stability of the single currency bloc.

UMP lawmakers said Sarkozy was bracing for massive protests over retirement reform. One of them told AFP the president expected "there could be three million people in the street" to demonstrate against it.

Neighbouring Germany is raising its minimum age for a full state pension to 67 by the year 2029 and Berlin and many other European countries have begun large-scale budget cuts.


~~~

26 May NEWS HEADS from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


FRANCE: Government to push for unpopular retirement age hike
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will prioritise the pushing back of France's retirement age during the second half of his term, aides confirmed Tuesday, in a move expected to meet fierce resistance from the French public.

AF 447 CRASH: Latest undersea search fails to turn up Airbus black box
Investigators have again failed to find the black boxes from an Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic near Brazil last year, killing all 228 people on board. They do not yet know if they will continue the search.

BEWARE tomorrow is a national strike day - trains may be a problem plus..........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SUNDAY 23 May - from BBC News

French farmers turn Champs-Elysees into huge farm

One of Paris's main thoroughfares, the Champs-Elysees, has been covered in earth and turned into a huge green space in an event staged by young French farmers.

They want to highlight their financial problems, caused by falling prices for agricultural produce.
Plants, trees and flowers were brought in by lorry overnight to transform the avenue into a long green strip.
More than a million people are expected to visit over the next two days.

The event, which cost 4.2m euros (£3.6m; $5.3m) to stage, has been organised by the French Young Farmers (Jeunes Agriculteurs) union over the holiday weekend in France.
It will serve as a showcase of farm production from sheep breeding to crop growing.
The union, which represents some 55,000 farmers under the age of 35, wants to impress on the public - and the government - the efforts required to produce what goes on the table.
"It's about re-establishing contact with the public about what our profession is and what they want from it," William Villeneuve, president of the Jeunes Agriculteurs, said on Friday.
"Do they want the cheapest products in the world or do they want products that pay producers?" he added.
Monumental

Only in France are you ever likely to see such a monumental mobilisation of creativity and resources, all in the cause of that beloved but beleaguered figure: the French farmer, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.
Continue reading the main story In pictures: Paris road goes green
Overnight, 8,000 plots of earth have been brought into central Paris, and on Sunday morning, from the Arc de Triomphe down, the Champs-Elysees is one vast green space.
Some 150,000 plants have been installed - including 650 fully grown trees - representing agricultural produce from the marshes of the Camargue to the plains of Picardy, our correspondent adds.
Visitors will be able to buy boxes of the earth for their own gardens.



~~~

NEWS HEADS 22 May from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


• ART: Paris art theft raises questions of museum security
Five masterpieces stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris earlier this week. It was not the first such art theft from a French museum, and it has raised serious security concerns at museums across the nation.

• FRANCE: Prosecutors seek suspended sentence for ex-Concorde chief
French prosecutors called for a two-year suspended jail term Friday for Henri Perrier, the former head of the Concorde programme, over the deadly crash of the supersonic jet near Paris in July 2000.

• RELIGION: French Muslims lay first stone of Marseille mega-mosque
Muslims in the south of France marked the end of a 60-year campaign for a mega-mosque for Marseille, a city with a high Muslim population, as the first cornerstone for the building was laid on Thursday.


ACCENTS SOUTH WEST - the stylish free regional magazine in English edited by Alison Tully, celebrates it's first birthday today!
Have a look - if you haven't seen it before - it is now on the web as well as in print.
www.calameo.com/read/00026497897a052615909


NEWS FROM "The Connexion" - the English Language Newspaper
www.connexionfrance.com



Hundreds of anaesthetists brought chaos to train services in Paris with a sit-in protest on the tracks outside the Gare Montparnasse. An estimated 100,000 passengers were delayed - some for up to five hours. The SNCF says it lost €1m and will take legal action against the organisers.


Big national strike next Thursday
Schools, public transport and hospitals are all likely to be affected by a national day of strike action on May 27. Unions are protesting against the government's pensions reform including a proposed increase in the retirement age.

36-hour train walkout from Wednesday evening


Ryanair's Marseille flights threatened
Ryanair has threatened to shut its Marseille base, reduce its routes to the city and move all jobs out of France if it is prosecuted for employing French staff on Irish work contracts. The company says it is complying with EU law, but Easyjet was fined for a similar practice last month. If the action goes ahead, Ryanair says it will axe 10 of the 26 Marseille routes.


Best year for French cinemas since 1982
More than 200 million cinema tickets were sold in France in 2009, according to the Centre National du Cinéma. 3D films such as Avatar and Ice Age 3 gave a major boost.


50% rise in complaints about police
The number of people lodging formal complaints about police behaviour has increased from 152 to 228 in a year. Claims include homophobic and racist remarks, and being strip-searched three times for a simple driving offence.

~~~

20 May - NEWS HEADS

French police arrest ETA military leader
Washington Post
PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) - French police said they arrested the suspected military leader of the Basque separatist movement ETA in the southwestern town of Bayonne on Thursday.

Spanish national Mikel Kabikoitz Karrera Sarobe, known as Ata, was detained along with another man and a woman from the group during a raid on an apartment, police said. Police also found weapons in the apartment.

He has been considered the military leader of ETA since French police arrested his predecessor Ibon Gogeascoechea in February.

ETA guerrillas active in Spain often take refuge in southwest France, areas of which they claim as part of the Basque homeland. The group has killed more than 850 people in Spain in recent decades.

~

French cabinet approves veil ban
BBC News
The French cabinet has approved a bill making it illegal to wear in public clothes designed to hide the face. The legislation amounts to a ban on the veil


New York Daily News
French study finds moderate wine drinkers have healthier hearts ... and minds
Leave it to the French: new research from Paris links drinking one to three glasses of wine a day to better health.
The study of almost 150,000 subjects found that moderate drinkers were more likely to have healthy hearts, minds and body weights. Researchers say the link is also caused by factors other than the wine itself -- namely, the social status, stress levels and exercise habits of wine drinkers.

People at the extremes of the alcohol consumption spectrum -- those who never drink and those who drink heavily -- were found to be the least healthy, London's Daily Mail reports.

"Importantly, the findings showed moderate alcohol consumption is a powerful indicator of optimal social status and this could be a key reason for improved health among these subjects," study author Dr. Boris Hansel said.

The study, conducted by the Public Assistance Hospitals of Paris and published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that those who drank lightly or moderately had lower heart rates, stress, body mass index and risk of heart disease. They also had higher levels exercise, respiratory function and HDL, known as "good cholesterol."

But researchers said the association between alcohol and HDL does not prove that alcohol prevents heart disease.

June Davidson, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, warned against heavy drinking as a health precaution, saying it could lead to "high blood pressure, stroke, some cancers and damage to your heart."

"If you don't drink already there is no reason to start now as there are much healthier ways to look after your heart," she said.


~~~
19 May NEWS HEADS News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


MONTPELLIER- Mayor Hélène MANDROUX, has published an open letter (unusual in France) to Ministre BORLOO, au sujet de la saturation de

l'autoroute A9 accompagné de photos aériennes également transmises au Ministre.


FRANCE: Court grants parole to convicted killer of Iranian ex-PM
Ali Vakili Rad, the Iranian agent who spent 19 years in a French jail for the 1991 assassination of Shapour Bakhtiar, a former Iranian PM during the Shah’s era, arrived in Tehran on Tuesday, hours after a French court ordered his release.

FRANCE: Wearing full Islamic veil could land women in 'citizenship' school
Under a controversial bill that would ban wearing the full Islamic veil in public, women "offenders" in France could be forced to take citizenship courses to "remind them of the values of the French republic".

~

Women protest as French Cabinet gets veil ban bill
By ELAINE GANLEY (AP) – 8 hours ago

PARIS — One runs her own company, another is a housewife and a third, a divorcee, raises her children by herself. Like nearly 2,000 other Muslim women who wear face-covering veils in France, their lives will soon change and they are worried.

On Wednesday, Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie presents the text of a bill to the Cabinet banning Muslim veils that cover the face, the first formal step in a process to forbid such attire in all public places in France, including the streets. It calls for euro150 ($185) fines and, in some cases, citizenship classes for women who run afoul of the law.

The measure notably creates a new offense, inciting to hide the face, and anyone convicted of forcing a woman to wear such a veil risks a year in prison and a euro15,000 ($18,555) fine, according to a copy of the text.

Although the Interior Ministry estimates there are only 1,900 women who cover their faces with veils, the planned law would be another defining moment for Islam in France as the nation tries to bring its Muslim population — at an estimated 5 million, the largest in western Europe — into the mainstream, even by force of law.

"If the law is voted, I won't take off my veil ... No one will dictate my way of life" but God, said Najat, a divorcee, who gave her age as "45 plus.". She was one of a half-dozen women who, in a rare move, met with reporters on Tuesday, a day before the bill went before the Cabinet, to express their worries about changes they say will impact their lives at its essence.

Like others, she refused to give her full name. All said they fear for their safety in an increasingly tense climate. Najat was among those who said she has been increasingly harassed since debate over the planned law began nearly a year ago.

Despite the acrimonious debate that is sure to come, there is little doubt the measure will become law. The bill is to go before parliament in July. President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said last June that such veils are "not welcome" in France, wants a law banning them on the books as soon as possible.

However, the text, which could be amended in the process, foresees a six-month delay in its application to explain the law and mediate with recalcitrant women who cover their faces, which means it wouldn't take effect until early in 2011.

A similar veil ban is in the works in neighboring Belgium. But France has already walked this road, banning Muslim headscarves, and other "ostentatious" religious symbols, from classrooms in 2004.

The bespectacled Najat, with a French mother and Moroccan father, said she has covered her face with a veil for 10 years. Najat said that because she is divorced and raising her children alone no one "can say this is imposed on me."

"I won't leave" France if the veil is outlawed. "Why should I leave?" Najat said, waving her French passport.

The women predicted that their "sisters," other women who veil themselves, would hide out in their homes so as not to get caught breaking the law. Several said they would take their case to the European Court of Human Rights if arrested.

With the law, "They are giving people the right to attack us," said Kenza Drider, of Avignon in the south, who is married with four children. She was the only fully veiled woman to be interviewed by a parliamentary panel during a six-month inquiry.

"To tell a sister you can't wear this veil is to say you can't practice your religion," said a woman identifying herself as Oum Al Khyr, of Montreuil, on the edge of eastern Paris. "Already, we are no longer free," she said, adding that some friends fear leaving their homes.

The bill turns on the "dignity of the person" rather than security issues as had been widely speculated. It was unclear if that would make it more vulnerable to constitutional attacks.

The French government decided to risk running up against the constitution despite a warning from the Council of State, France's highest administrative body, which said March 30 that a full ban would likely not pass constitutional muster. It confirmed its "unfavorable opinion" on a general ban in a final report last week, according to the daily Le Figaro.

Muslim leaders have said the face-covering veil is not required by Islam, but have also warned that a ban on the full veil risks stigmatizing all Muslims.

In a country where fashion counts, and is often revealing, there is a visceral reaction among some French to veils that cover women from head to toe and conceal the face, sometimes including the eyes.

Critics of the garb say such dress is an affront to gender equality and undermines the nation's secular foundations by bringing religion into the streets. Others say the face-covering veil is the gateway to radical Islam.

The six women seated at a table tackled such arguments, saying that their dignity cannot be dictated by the state, that they do not represent a terrorist threat and that secularism should give them the right to practice their religion as they see fit. They correctly note that women make up less than 20 percent of the 577 lawmakers in the French National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

"They say they are going to free us," said Drider. But "it's the state who will force us into cloisters. We will have to sue for sequestration."

Karima, 31, who runs an import-export company, said she has been wearing a burqa-like veil for 16 years — more than half her life, she notes — and "I don't even know how to take it off."


~~~

18 MAY

FRANCE: Mother who hid her murdered babies in the freezer is released
Veronique Courjault, an expat French woman living in South Korea who was jailed for killing three of her babies and hiding their bodies in the family freezer, was freed Monday after four years in jail.

ASH cloud moves away from Europe

~~~

17 May

BEZIERS Airport - Bristol flights will resume as ash clouds move away

SETE

Thon : Greenpeace perturbe le début de la campagne de pêche- Hérault
Onze thoniers-senneurs sétois y participeront en 2010


Prévue sur un mois, du 15 mai au 15 juin, la saison de pêche s’est ouverte la semaine dernière dans un climat tendu.
L’association écologiste Greenpeace France a tenté le 14 mai de bloquer trois bateaux qui prenaient la mer dans le port de Frontignan (34).
En début d’année, une majorité d’Etats membres de la Convention internationale sur le commerce des espèces sauvages menacées, après l’avoir envisagée, avait repoussé l’idée d’une interdiction de la pêche au thon rouge.
Le quota de pêche pour la Méditerranée et l’Atlantique a néanmoins été fixé à 13 500 tonnes pour 2010, un chiffre en baisse de 38% par rapport à l’an passé (22 000 tonnes).
17 navires français ont été autorisés à pêcher en Méditerranée, dont onze thoniers sétois.
Greenpeace France accuse les bateaux qu’elle a bloqués de disposer des « plus gros quotas de pêche. »


~~~

15 MAY News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


Tehran 'to allow French academic to leave Iran'
AFP
TEHRAN, Iran — A French researcher arrested in Iran in July for allegedly participating in demonstrations against the disputed presidential election.


French minister dismisses claims Paris threatend to leave euro
AFP
ZAGREB — French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Friday dismissed claims that President Nicolas Sarkozy had threatened to pull out of the eurozone.


'Mr. Goodfish' helps fin-lovers go sustainable

A new sustainable fishing campaign, dubbed "Mr. Goodfish", has reached France. It hopes to teach the French public to stay away from endangered fish, thanks to its guidebook and highly recognizable logo.

French ecologists made a stink when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) failed to ban porbeagle shark and bluefin tuna fishing in March. A month later, a BP oil slick that spread toward the Louisiana coastline sank green morale even deeper.
So this month’s launch in France of the “Mr. Goodfish” campaign is a breath of fresh, clean air for conservationists. The European programme, run under the auspices of the World Ocean Network Association, wants to help consumers buy fish that are neither endangered nor out of season.
Already established in Italy and Spain, the Mr. Goodfish initiative made its French debut Thursday. One of its founders, Philippe Vallette, Director of French sea observatory Nausicaa, hopes to make lasting changes to the eating habits of his compatriots.
"If everyone chooses a Mr. Goodfish instead of another fish, even just once a year, it will have a positive impact on 18,000 tonnes of endangered fish," Vallette says.
A logo for fish lovers
To enable fin lovers to know which fish are fit to fry, a blue logo will don fishmonger’s displays and restaurant menus. Within a few months the logo should surface in supermarkets. "We want to steer consumers towards species that are not under threat," explains Valette.
"We want to highlight the fish that we never hear about, like the whiting, the pout and the saithe,” says Mauguin Philippe, Director of Fisheries at the Ministry of Fishing and Agriculture. “There are other options out there besides bluefin tuna and cod.”

Cataloguing the catch
A list will also be created to designate French fishing zones, which will allow consumers to monitor the species to be protected in specific regions. The inventory, to be published on the Internet, clarifies the endangered status of species and details the best time to eat a particular fish depending on where French consumers live.
An iPhone application is also in the works, allowing even the busiest Parisian to avoid a dreaded fish faux pas.

~~
France cracks down on Facebook gatherings after reveller dies

Enjoying an aperitif with friends is almost mandatory in France. But just how many friends? The latest craze is to get together with hundreds of strangers in an open space. And it's no longer a case of one pre-dinner drink. Prearranged by anonymous organisers on social networking sites, particularly Facebook, the booze-fuelled events are becoming increasingly popular in traditionally refined France. That is, until a young reveller died at one on Wednesday.
In the north-western city of Nantes on Wednesday evening, some 9,000 people gathered in the main square after having been invited on Facebook to an "apéro géant", or "massive aperitif". Late into the evening, a 21-year-old man fell off a bridge and landed on his head. He died of his injuries the next day.
The incident has increased the concerns of police and local authorities, who are unable to restrict something that is, for the time being, perfectly legal. Their biggest gripe is that with no apparent organiser, the authorities are unable to hold anyone accountable for any accidents or to pay for the clean up.




~~~

12 MAY News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


Parliament unanimously declares the full veil 'contrary' to national values

AFP - The French parliament on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the full-face Islamic veil as an affront to the nation's values, setting the stage for a law banning it.

The vote in the National Assembly put France on course to become the second European country after Belgium to declare the wearing of the burqa or the niqab illegal in public places.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party and the opposition Socialists made a rare show of unity in backing the non-binding resolution that declared the veil "contrary to the values of the republic."

"The full veil challenges the values that we share and the very principles according to which we live together," Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told the assembly ahead of the vote.

"The government is determined to take all means to combat these practices which are contrary to the values of the republic," she said.

The non-binding measure was approved by a vote of 434 to 0 in the 577-seat National Assembly, although about 30 Communist deputies had earlier walked out of the chamber in protest.

Next week, Sarkozy's cabinet will examine a draft bill that could impose fines on women who wear the full veil and threaten with imprisonment men who force their wives or daughters to cover themselves.

That bill will then go before parliament in July where it will face some resistance over proposals to make it illegal for reasons of security to wear face-covering veils anywhere in public.

The Socialist opposition is calling on the government to restrict the ban to state institutions to avoid a court challenge that would derail the legislation.

"We fear that you will go too far," Socialist Jean Glavany told the justice minister. "We must defend the republic with wisdom and perspicacity."

Debate on the burqa ban has prompted warnings that it could stoke tension in a country that is home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority, estimated at between five and six million, and where Islam is the number two religion.

Police carried out a full security sweep of parliament ahead of the vote, using sniffer dogs to search the chamber and adjoining corridors, and also securing rooftops.

After declaring the burqa "unwelcome" in officially secular France, Sarkozy last month moved to support a total ban despite warnings from the State Council, a top administrative body, that such a move may be unconstitutional.

Before joining his fellow communists, deputy Alain Bocquet denounced the measure as a ploy to woo the far-right and warned that a ban will lead France to "division."

In the resolution, lawmakers declared that "radical practices which violate the dignity and equality between men and women, such as the wearing of the full veil, are contrary to the values of the republic."

Parliament "deems it necessary that all useful means be put in place to ensure the protection of women who are subjected to violence and pressure and in particular are forced to wear the full veil," it said.

FRANCE'S MUSLIM VEIL DEBATE

Fewer than 2,000 women wear the head-to-toe veil, according to the interior ministry.

The head of France's Council of the Muslim Faith, a government body created to promote inter-faith relations, warned that the veil ban risks leaving many Muslims feeling like outcasts.

"Rather than enacting a law barring women from expressing their malaise, we should think about what prompted them to want to cover themselves," said Mohamed Moussaoui, who met lawmakers ahead of the vote.

French politicians have said the law will also apply to wealthy tourists from the Middle East and the Gulf who are often seen fully veiled in luxury shops on the Paris boulevards.

~

• FRANCE: Court jails 'Robin Hood' security guard for three years
AFP - A French court on Tuesday jailed for three years an armoured van driver who became an Internet hero nicknamed Robin Hood when he made off with over 10 million euros in cash.
The sentence was the maximum that Toni Musulin, a 39-year-old former employee of the Swedish security firm Loomis, faced for the November 5, 2009 theft in the central city of Lyon.
Musulin surrendered to police in Monaco 11 days after he abandoned his armoured van and made off with 11.6 million euros (15 million dollars) stuffed in dozens of sacks.
Police found the empty armoured vehicle in Lyon hours after the heist and two days later discovered nine million euros in a lock-up garage, but 2.5 million are still missing.
During his testimony, Musulin denied hiding the missing money and suggested the millions may have been lost when he was loading them in his getaway truck or stolen at the garage.
"I didn't take the money. I don't have the money," he told the judge, who remarked that, oddly, only large bills of 500, 200 and 100 euros were lost.
"I was throwing the bags and they were dropping anywhere. They slid, because they were plastic bags. It was hard work, I really had a tough time," Musulin said, sparking laughter from the public gallery.
Musulin complained bitterly of being under-paid during the 10 years he worked at Loomis and said his employer often made mistakes on his paycheck.
"In the end, I did something that I shouldn't have, and for that, I have my bosses to thank," he said.
Musulin was also convicted of insurance fraud related to the 2009 theft of his Ferrari sports car, which could land him in jail for five years.
The driver declared the Ferrari stolen in April 2009, according to investigators. He emptied his bank accounts and his apartment before the security van heist.
Musulin earned less than 2,000 euros a month in the Loomis job, yet had managed to buy the Ferrari.
He lived a quiet life in Villeurbanne, near Lyon, where he liked to pump iron at the local gym.
The theft rapidly turned the van driver into an Internet sensation, with several pages on the social networking site Facebook and elsewhere appearing overnight to praise France's new anti-hero.
"The World is Yours: Tony Best Driver 2009" page drew a steady stream of comments describing the theft as "the heist of the century."
Facebook users created a "Tony Musulin for president" page, while members of the "Tony Musulin fan club" said he was a hero for his "no guns, no violence" approach.



~~~

11 May NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: 'No austerity plan', Sarkozy tells unions
President Nicolas Sarkozy assured French union leaders on Monday that his government was not implementing Greek-style austerity measures, despite a recent announcement by French PM François Fillon that France would freeze public spending from 2011.

~~~

France opens new Pompidou centre in Metz



Pompidou-Metz bears no physical resemblance to its big brother in Paris
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to open a big new outpost of the Pompidou arts centre in Metz, north-eastern France.
It is the first time the world-famous centre has ventured beyond Paris.
It was designed by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, and it shows Ban's Japanese roots.
It bears no physical resemblance to its big brother in Paris, although it will have access to its huge store of art works.
"You know in France, we are a little bit centralised, so for this kind of operation, it's a kind of little French revolution, saying such a simple thing, but the national collections are for everyone," says the museum's director Laurent Le Bon.
"And why Metz? Because there was no big museum of modern art, and so the connection with Europe was very important," he adds.
Regeneration
The French government is sure big arts projects can help economic regeneration away from the capital.
But no-one should fear the opening exhibition in Metz consists of rejects.
There is important work by Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Joan Miro and others.
Natalie and Sophie, two early visitors, were delighted with their city's new arrival.
"I think it is absolutely fabulous to see all these masterpieces... It is very important for this region to see the first decentralisation for a cultural place. Amazing, outstanding!"
Two years from now, the Louvre Museum will also get an outpost away from Paris - in economically depressed Lens.

~~

French parliament to take anti-burqa stand
By Carole Landry (AFP) – 11 hours ago
PARIS — France will move a step closer towards outlawing the full Islamic veil on Tuesday when parliament adopts a formal resolution condemning the burqa as an affront to the nation's values.
The non-binding measure to be passed by the National Assembly will set the tone for debate in July on broad legislation barring Muslim women from wearing the full veil, known as the burqa or the niqab.
France is on course to become the second European country after Belgium to declare the face-covering veil illegal in public places, reviving the debate on Islam's place in Europe.
"All of France will say 'non' to the full veil and will ask that this practice be prohibited on the territory of the republic," speaker Bernard Accoyer told reporters.
Debate on the burqa ban has prompted warnings that it could provoke community tension in a country that is home to biggest Muslim minority, which estimated at between five and six million.
Supporters of the ban argue they are not attacking religious freedoms but rather upholding women's rights, with one prominent group saying the new law will liberate young Muslim girls growing up in France.
Opponents warn that the move will further stigmatise French Muslims by taking aim at a tiny minority -- fewer than 2,000 women, according to the interior ministry -- who wear the head-to-toe veil.
President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party and the opposition Socialists along with other smaller parties have all agreed to back the five-point resolution in the National Assembly.
Lawmakers will declare that "radical practices which violate the dignity and equality between men and women, such as the wearing of the full veil, are contrary to the values of the republic."
Parliament "deems it necessary that all useful means be put in place to ensure the protection of women who are subjected to violence and pressure and in particular are forced to wear the full veil," the resolution says.
It will be the first time that the National Assembly will vote on a resolution, a measure that was brought in under constitutional reform in 2008 to allow lawmakers to make a national statement.
Next week, Sarkozy's cabinet will examine a draft bill that will impose fines on women who wear the full veil while men convicted of forcing women to cover themselves could face up to one year in jail and a hefty fine.
French politicians have said the law will also apply to wealthy tourists from the Middle East and the Gulf who are often seen fully veiled in luxury shops on the Paris boulevards.
France's Council of the Muslim Faith, a government body created to improve inter-faith relations, has said that while it opposes the wearing of the full veil, a total ban risks making Muslims feel like outcasts.
Sarkozy has declared the burqa "not welcome" in secular France and is in favour of legislation to outlaw it, although he has also warned against stigmatising Muslims.
Coming on the heels of the government's national identity debate, the anti-burqa drive is seen by Sarkozy's critics as pandering to the far right.
"The first victims of this tactic will be Muslims in France who for the vast majority practice their religion with respect for humanist values and who love and serve the republic," said Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe.
"This government is playing with fire," the Socialist warned.
Sihem Habchi, the president of "Ni Putes Ni Soumises" (Neither Whores nor Submissives) women's rights group, praised the government's plan, saying "this is a new start for the emancipation of women in poor suburbs who will be given choices other than isolating themselves or facing a sort of social death."
The debate on the resolution is to begin at around 1430 GMT.


~~~

Des projets photovoltaïques attractifs sur Bessan


L’engouement actuel en faveur des énergies renouvelables tend à concrétiser des projets à haute valeur environnementale et de développement durable. Dans ce cadre, la commune de Bessan est concernée par la création de parcs photovoltaïques, visant à utiliser à long terme l’énergie solaire. Une centrale photovoltaïque est ainsi prévue sur le site des carrières des roches bleues.
Un second dossier, en cours d’instruction, vise à implanter des panneaux photovoltaïques sur les terrains de l’ancienne décharge de la Garrigue Haute grâce à un partenariat avec la municipalité bessanaise et le Sictom d’Agde-Pézenas.

Enfin, un troisième projet d’envergure, plus avancé, a déjà obtenu les autorisations nécessaires dont l’accord de la communauté d’agglomération. Ce programme, porté par la société N3D, consiste en la création d’une centrale photovoltaïque sur une superficie de près de 15 hectares au domaine de Lavalmale, avec une réserve de plus de 30 hectares laissés en friche pour favoriser la protection de la faune et de la flore. A terme, cette centrale assurera une production électrique de 6 GWh par an.
Grâce à la volonté de la ville et de l’agglomération, Bessan se retrouve au cœur du développement durable.



~~~~~~

10 May NEWS HEADS

LOCAL AIRPORTS OPEN - at the moment

BoF Sees French 2Q GDP growing by 0.5%
PARIS (Dow Jones)--The Bank of France predicted Monday that economic growth in the country will continue in the second quarter of the year, with gross domestic product rising 0.5% from the previous three-month period.

French lenders show biggest gains on EU aid plan
By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European banking stocks surged Monday, with French lenders showing some of the strongest gains after the European Union unveiled a rescue package that could be worth more than 750 billion euros ($971 billion).
Bank stocks in the Stoxx Europe 600 index (ST:SXXP 251.69, +14.51, +6.12%) saw their combined market capitalization soar by around 99 billion euros in mid-morning trading as default fears receded.
Among a slew of stocks showing double-digit percentage gains, BNP Paribas (FR:BNP 52.32, +8.31, +18.92%) rose 16.9%, adding around 8.8 billion euros to its market capitalization.
TODAY'S INTERNATIONAL MARKET STORIES
Other big gainers included Societe Generale (FR:GLE 40.10, +7.29, +22.25%) , up 21% and Credit Agricole (FR:ACA 10.87, +1.81, +19.98%) up 20%. French banks had been seen as some of the most exposed to potentially troubled European economies.
BNP and SocGen recently provided details on their exposures to Greece and other Southern European countries, with BNP's exposure around 8 billion euros and SocGen's at roughly 13 billion euros.
In the U.K. Barclays (UK:BARC 329.40, +45.65, +16.09%) (BCS 19.78, +3.17, +19.09%) rose 15.1% while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBK 51.16, +4.62, +9.92%) (DB 66.66, +7.51, +12.70%) added 12%.
The gains came after European finance ministers said late Sunday they would defend the euro at all costs and agreed a loan program that they hope will prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other vulnerable countries.
European countries will provide a safety net worth up to 500 billion euros under the agreement, with the International Monetary Fun contributing as much as 250 billion euros. See full story on Europe's rescue package.
Banking stocks were hit hard last week by rising sovereign spreads and fears over the potential impact on their balance sheets if struggling European countries moved to restructure their debt.
"Whichever way one cuts it, a sovereign bond is the safest asset on a bank's balance sheet -- doubting its value has a knock-on effect on all other assets," said analysts at Goldman Sachs in a note to clients.
Default risk recedes
Worries over the potential impact on lenders pushed the cost of buying insurance against bank defaults to fresh highs last week. But the E.U. rescue deal sent credit default swap spreads back down on Monday as markets viewed the risk of a bank default as substantially lower.
CDS spreads on Intesa Sanpaolo (IT:ISP 2.35, +0.35, +17.56%) were the most improved, dropping by more than a third to around 117 basis points.
"Full details have to be hammered out but, given the lethargy that European policymakers have displayed up to now, the weekend announcement(s) are bigger than most would have hoped for and may stabilize markets in the short term," said analysts at Goodbody Stockbrokers.
The broker also upgraded Bank of Ireland (IRE 8.93, +1.54, +20.84%) to a trading buy, saying its call on Irish banks is as much a call on European banks in general.
"All banks are likely to react favorably to the proposal from Brussels over the weekend," said analyst Eamonn Hughes.
"Recently rising sovereign spreads had funding cost implications and buffeted financial asset portfolios, so anything the euro-zone package can do to lower these would be welcome across the board," he added.

~~~


8 May NEWS
HEADS
~
Flight 447 black boxes found,may be impossible to recover - see below
~

US angry at French acquittal of Iranian

The US Department of Justice has angrily objected to a French court ruling that acquitted Iranian businessman Majid Kakavand of all charges of violating US trade sanctions against Iran.

"Although we're disappointed by the French court ruling, we will continue to seek justice in this matter," Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said in a statement following Kakavand's acquittal.

"Efforts to apprehend Kakavand are ongoing and should he come into US custody, he will stand trial for his alleged crimes,” he added, claiming that Washington officials had "provided French authorities with detailed analyses of Kakavand's conduct, of the applicable US laws and provisions of the treaty that we felt supported his extradition to the United States."

At the behest of the US government, French authorities arrested Kakavand in March 2009 on charges of illegally exporting military technology to Iran.

The provisional arrest warrant claimed that Kakavand had used his company in Malaysia to order electronic components from American firms and ship them to Iran.

Since then, White House officials have pushed hard for the businessman's extradition to the United States, but their demands were turned down by French authorities who found that, contrary to US claims, the items Kakavand exported to Iran did not involve dual-use technology applicable to military equipment.

Following the findings, Kakavand was acquitted of all charges and released from jail.

The 37-year-old Iranian, who arrived in Tehran early on Saturday, says he will sue the US government for what his lawyers insist to be fabricated documents to support the case for his extradition.

"Given that I have spent fourteen months in jail on false charges, it is my legal right to sue the US authorities as soon as possible," said Kakavand, who arrived in Tehran early Saturday, IRNA reported.


~~

Flight 447 black boxes found, but recovery may be impossible

AFP - The French navy has located the flight recorders of the Air France jet which crashed in the Atlantic almost a year ago, but retrieving them may be a mission impossible, officials said Thursday.

The recorders have been localised "with a margin of error" of three nautical miles (five kilometres) in a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean, said defence ministry spokesman General Christian Baptiste.

French military officials cautioned however that this breakthrough did not mean that the black boxes will be successfully retrieved from the bottom of the ocean floor.

"It's like trying to find a shoe box in an area the size of Paris, at a depth of 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) and in a terrain as rugged as the Alps," said navy spokesman Hugues du Plessis d'Argentre.

Flight 447 was en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro when it went down on June 1 in stormy weather, killing all 228 people on board.

The crash was the worst in Air France's 75-year-history.

Intensive but unsuccessful sweeps of the Atlantic Ocean using submarines equipped with deep-sea sonar had turned up some debris but no sign of the flight data and cockpit recorders.

The flight recorders are key to understanding what caused the disaster, which remains largely unexplained.

The French Navy started a new operation on Monday to find the black boxes.

Welcoming the news, the families of the crash victims said it raised hopes but they quickly added that they would hold off on any celebration until the flight recorders were raised to the surface.

"This is a sign of hope, it's very good news for the families after 11 months of waiting," said Jean-Baptiste Audousset, president of an association grouping the families of some 60 victims.

Government spokesman Luc Chatel added: "We must remain extremely cautious because at this time we are talking about an area where they have been located."

"We then have to see if it is possible to recover the black boxes, depending on the depth, the surface area to cover... So I will remain extremely cautious," Chatel told France Info radio.

The breakthrough in pinpointing the area where the black boxes can be found came after new computer software was used to decode data collected by deep-sea submarines during their search last summer, said the defence ministry.

"They were able to discover signals that are compatible with the pings" from the black boxes, said Baptiste.

The latest search effort was set to wrap up on May 25, but officials said it may be extended again following the new findings.

The latest search covered an area of some 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles) in a remote area far off the coast of Brazil.

The French air accident agency BEA has said that the jet's speed probes, made by French firm Thales, gave false readings and were "one of the factors" in the crash but "not the sole cause".

Pilots' unions and some of the relatives of victims of June's crash have accused Air France and Airbus of ignoring longstanding problems with air speed monitors on its jets in the run up to the disaster.

The companies insist that their jets met all safety standards, but they have nevertheless now replaced the speed monitors made by the French electronics company Thales with a different model produced by US firm Goodrich.

~~~

7 May NEWS HEADS

May 27 strike over pension reform
May 07, 2010
FIVE of the biggest trade unions in France have called a national day of industry-wide strike action on May 27.

The planned protest will come two months after a similar walkout on March 23 which hit schools, public transport, hospitals, courts, banks and other public services.

The CGT, CFDT, FSU, Solidaires and Unsa unions have called the strike day to protest against proposed government reforms of the retirement and pensions system - including a possible increase in the state pension age, currently 60.

Unions are due to meet the president on Monday to discuss the pension reform bill, which the government wants to put to parliament by mid-June and hopefully pass in September.

~~

Women's trouser ban faces axe

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to scrap an obscure 210-year-old law that still makes it technically illegal for women in France to wear trousers.

The law, which dates from November 1799, requires "any woman wishing to dress in men's clothing to obtain authorisation from the préfecture de police".

It was amended slightly in 1892 and again in 1909 to allow trousers - but only "if the woman is holding the handlebars of a bicycle or the reins of a horse."

Men and women have been equal in the eyes of the French constitution since 1946.

According to the Nouvel Observateur, a group of 10 MPs has drawn up a bill in the National Assembly calling for the rule to be struck off the statute book.

They also want to delete the last two remaining references in the French civil code to the death penalty, which was abolished in 1981.

Nicolas Sarkozy said in a magazine interview in March that parliament would be given a break in the second half of this year to look back over old French laws that should be repealed.


~~~
6 MAY News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


• JUSTICE: French court opposes Iranian engineer’s extradition to US
The Paris court of appeals on Wednesday rejected a request to extradite Iranian engineer Majid Kakavand to the United States, where he has been accused of illegally furnishing Iran with technology that could be used for military purposes.

• WEATHER: Freak waves smash French Riviera
Massive waves have hit the French Riviera between Nice and Cannes causing major material damage to the densely-populated coast. The freak weather struck as the region is preparing to host the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.

• FRANCE: French lawmakers approve Greece rescue package
The French parliament has approved a 16.8 billion euros financial aid package to help Greece overcome its massive debt crisis. France is the second biggest contributor to the 110-billion-euro aid package after Germany.


UK and Irish airspace re-opens


BLACK BOX HUNT Investigators Closing In

PARIS — French naval investigators using new, state-of-the-art software, believe they have pinpointed the location of at least one of the “black box” flight recorders of an Air France jet that crashed almost a year ago in the mid-Atlantic, French officials said Thursday.
The investigators used the software to re-analyze sonar recordings that were made in the weeks following the crash, when the box’s “pingers” were still sending out signals, said Stéphanie Prunier, a spokeswoman for the French Defense Ministry. Previous analyses of those recordings had failed to pick up those signals.
“We don’t know exactly where they are, but we have significantly narrowed the area” to within about 2 square miles, she said.
Air France Flight 447 went down in heavy thunderstorms on June 1 during a flight to Paris from Rio de Janeiro. All 228 passengers and crew members were killed. Sea searches last year recovered more than 600 pieces of debris and 51 bodies from the ocean, but the black boxes and the bulk of the wreckage were not found.
Without the flight recorders, investigators have said it might never be possible to determine the cause of the disaster. So far, the main source of information about what happened has been a series of messages sent automatically from the plane to a maintenance base, which indicated there was a malfunction of the plane’s airspeed sensors.
Speaking on French radio, Luc Chatel, a government spokesman, advised “extreme caution” about the news, saying that it remained uncertain whether the flight recorders could be retrieved from the rugged ocean floor, which at some points is almost three miles deep.
If the searchers succeed, he said, “it would be obviously very good news for us, but particularly for the victims’ families and for us all because we have been waiting for nearly a year to find out what really happened.”
Defense Ministry officials informed France’s transport minister, Dominique Bussereau, of the discovery on Wednesday night, Ms. Prunier said. Mr. Bussereau then contacted Jean-Paul Troadec, the head of France’s air accident investigation bureau.
Martine del Bono, a spokeswoman for Mr. Troadec, said the bureau was studying the navy’s analysis of the recordings in the hope of verifying their findings. “As in every investigation, we remain cautious,” she said. “But we are crossing our fingers.”
Once the location is confirmed, work can begin to try and retrieve them from the ocean floor. A Norwegian search boat equipped with three remote-controlled submarines has been at sea since Monday, part of a final effort to find the wreckage of the plane, an Airbus A330.
A previous three-week hunt of the 1,200-square-mile search zone ended last month without success.
The new software was provided by the French company, Thales, which was also the manufacturer of the doomed plane’s airspeed sensors. The sensors malfunctioned in the minutes preceding the accident and investigators believe that their failure probably played a role in the crash.
So far, the French government, Air France and Airbus have spent nearly $40 million searching for the wreckage.


~~~
5 May HEADS


~~~HOUSE SALES NEWS~~~

Last year sales of old houses fell 27% from a high of 800,000.
Brits lead the other nations - just

UK - 17% - 4,012 houses
Italy - 14%
Belgian - 11%
Portugal - 10%

Top regions for the "invasion" include Paris, Lot, Dordogne, Creuse and Gers
Languedoc Roussillon is in the second tier with 5 - 10 % of non new build being sold to Non French buyers


~~~GP's in France will be able to charge €23 from January - an increase of €1

~~~Ash cloud expected to move SW overnight~~~

~~~Ash problems again - see below and travel news page~~~

French Official Softens Criticism of U.K. Conservative

PARIS — Distancing himself from stinging comments that he directed at British Conservatives last year, the French minister of state for European affairs says that France will work closely with whichever party dominates the British elections this week.
The minister, Pierre Lellouche, a close ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy, also said Paris hoped to collaborate more closely with London on nuclear weapons, which he said would offer financial savings for both.
“I have no fear about the outcome of the British election,” Mr. Lellouche said in a wide-ranging interview Monday in his office at the Foreign Ministry.
He described Liam Fox, the shadow secretary of defense for the opposition Conservative Party, and William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, as his “friends.” Late last year, in an interview with The Guardian, Mr. Lellouche said that Mr. Hague suffered from “bizarre autism” and that the Conservatives’ approach to Europe was “pathetic.”
The Conservatives have a longstanding reticence toward European integration and the party includes lawmakers who are hostile toward Brussels. Mr. Lellouche’s most recent comments appeared to be an attempt to ratchet down any awkwardness in the event of a Conservative victory; the party is slightly ahead in opinion polls before the election Thursday.
“We may agree to disagree on some things but that’s O.K. because we are friends,” Mr. Lellouche said of the Conservatives.
“Britain’s an important part of Europe,” he added. “Gordon Brown was a very precious ally in the management of the financial crisis in 2008.”
There is also scope, Mr. Lellouche said, for Britain and France — Western Europe’s only nuclear powers — to cooperate more closely in managing their nuclear deterrents.
France retains air and sea-based nuclear strike capabilities. Britain has four nuclear-powered submarines armed with Trident missiles.
The idea of sharing submarine patrols and facilities has been raised before.
Whether, given budget constraints, Britain should spend tens of billions of pounds more modernizing its submarines or look at alternatives has been an election theme. France, too, faces a need to cut military spending and has scaled back its strike options.
“There’s a lot of sense to do it,” Mr. Lellouche said. “At the end of the day, each national government will have their finger on the trigger.”
He added: “Without touching the notion of independence, there is a great deal of room for cooperation in many, many areas.
“You cannot share submarines. The question is how to operate more efficiently with fewer assets. How do you share costs?”
His comments were made as a month-long debate gets under way at the United Nations in New York on how to control nuclear weapons.
Mr. Lellouche also sought to play down the sense of strained ties between Paris and Berlin after Germany delayed action over financial aid to Greece while Paris pushed for swifter assistance.
“I wouldn’t say there are tensions, you haven’t heard our president saying anything critical” about Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr. Lellouche said. “We are both intimate and also different countries with different historical memories.”
Many observers, though, say the strains have been real. Nicolas Jabko, research director at the Center for International Studies and Research at Sciences Po in Paris, said, “France’s attitude toward Greece remains fundamentally different to Germany’s.”
Perhaps wary that its own deficit might one day bring an adverse market reaction, French officials put less emphasis on the need for harsh medicine in Greece and prefer to blame speculators for the turmoil, Mr. Jabko said.
More recently, he added, Paris “has become increasingly cognizant of Chancellor Merkel’s difficult position in the German domestic political debate” and is now “looking for areas of agreement with Germany.”
Still, Mr. Lellouche declined the opportunity to openly back a German as the next president of the European Central Bank, to replace the Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet who retires in 2011.
That decision will be important for the future direction of European policy. Berlin has been lobbying for a German, probably the Bundesbank chief Axel Weber.
Mr. Lellouche agreed that the Greek aid package took too long to construct, but he suggested that was a by-product of the political process.
“When you have people speculating on sovereign debt and people send signals that are frenetic, markets love to exploit this to make more money. The time it took was used by the speculators. But it’s a fact of life — we are democratic nations.”
But he expressed confidence that the package — worth €110 billion, or $145 billion, and shared with the International Monetary Fund — would stem regional contagion.
“There are no grounds to compare Greece to Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland,” he said. “In Greece you had a problem with statistics and sincerity — when the deficit jumps from 6 percent to 14 percent, there’s a problem. And there is a massive debt.”
“For Greece, the days of counting on other people’s money are gone. It will be very unpleasant and difficult. But also for us and others,” he said.
Mr. Lellouche also took a swipe at credit-rating agencies for exacerbating market turmoil.
“These same people torpedoed Lehman Brothers,” he said. “I’d be interested to know what these 30-year-old boys know about the disaster they are causing to people in Spain or Portugal.”
“Where’s the accountability?”
Mr. Lellouche said it remained highly unlikely that a credible center-right candidate would challenge Mr. Sarkozy at the next French election in 2012 despite the incumbent’s low ratings.
“There’s no credible candidate.” he said. “Take the United States, where President Obama was Jesus walking on water. Then he was dead, and now he’s back. Things change every three or four months.”

~~~

ASH PROBLEMS AGAIN

Due to the ongoing volcanic eruption in Iceland, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has closed Northern Ireland and parts of Scottish airspace on Wednesday morning (5 May).

This means that all flights to / from Belfast City, Belfast International, Glasgow and Inverness will be cancelled between 07:00 and 13:00hrs (UK Local). Flights to / from Edinburgh and Aberdeen are now planned operate normally, however, this may change at short notice.
~~

Scottish and Northern Irish airports shut over ash risk

Passengers in Belfast City Airport face a frustrating wait
Airports in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland closed from 0700 BST because of risks from volcanic ash, the Civil Aviation Authority has said.

Glasgow, Prestwick and Derry are likely to be closed all day, while there are plans to shut Inverness in the morning only, and Belfast in the afternoon.

The CAA advised air passengers to check with airports before travelling and warned the situation was changeable.

The situation in the skies has been changing hour by hour, meaning the picture for air travellers is unclear.

Dublin Airport will also close from 1100 BST until further notice.

Forecasts show the 60 nautical mile buffer zone imposed around high concentrations of ash is close to some northern airports.

AIRPORT CLOSURES

Glasgow 0700-1900
Prestwick 0700-1900
Inverness 0700-1300
Stornoway 0700-1900
Benbecula 0700-1900
Tiree 0700-1900
Islay 0700-1900
Barra 0700-1900
Campbeltown 0700-1900
Derry 0700-1900
Belfast International 1300-1900
Belfast City 1300-1900
Dublin 1100-onwards


However, the latest advice issued by the CAA at 0200 BST said airports in Edinburgh and north-west England could safely stay open on Wednesday, despite the proximity of the ash.

Earlier forecasts also suggested higher ash levels were drifting southwards, but the CAA says the South East of England is unlikely to be affected on Wednesday.

In a statement, the CAA said: "The situation remains changeable, so passengers expecting to travel from airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the North of England and north Wales should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating."

At just after 0700 BST, Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, told the BBC the risk of closures in much of the UK was likely to recede during the day.

He said: "The weather fronts overnight suggest the wind pattern will be more due northerly, and that will mean that while southern Ireland may still continue to be affected and maybe Northern Ireland, in mainland UK the risk should be receding."

Some flights out of the Irish Republic are facing disruption, the Irish Aviation Authority said.

'Single sky'

On Tuesday, flights in and out of the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland and Scotland's Hebrides were suspended at the first sign of an increase of volcanic ash levels in the skies.

Flights over Europe were banned last month because of fears of the effect of volcanic ash on plane engines.

The decision to lift the restrictions followed safety tests that showed the engines could cope in areas of low-density ash.

The fresh disruption on Tuesday came as European Union transport ministers met in Brussels to agree measures they hoped would help prevent further disruption to air travel as a result of volcanic ash.

The steps include speeding up current plans to integrate Europe's airspace, creating a "single European regulator for a single European sky".

The meeting came after criticism from the airline industry that governments took an over-cautious approach to the ash cloud crisis last month, grounding flights unnecessarily.


~~
SEE Travel Page for CAA bulletin

~~~

4 May NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Kouchner expects international backlash over Burqa ban
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Sunday that France will likely be severely criticised for banning of the face-covering Islamic veil. Kouchner stated that several countries would consider the ban an infringement on religious freedom.

FRENCH FOOTBALL: Investigation of Ribéry in sex-scandal case can wait until after World Cup
French football star Frank Ribéry, who is at the centre of a prostitution scandal, will not be investigated until after the World Cup, a judicial source has told AFP news agency.


Lower house approves Greek loan plan
PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - France's lower house of parliament approved early on Tuesday the French portion of a European aid package for Greece.

SENATE French set to approve return of Maori heads
The Associated Press
France's Senate already has approved the bill to send Maori heads in French collections back to New Zealand.


~~~

2 May NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: May Day rallies marked by low turnout
May Day demonstrations were marked by low turnouts across France on Saturday, even as unions get ready for a highly contentious summit on pension reform scheduled to take place at the presidential palace on May 10.

~~

SOME PROFIT FROM WIVES despite French polygamy ban
By ELAINE GANLEY (AP)

PARIS — The burqa, or face-covering veil, is getting all the attention in the debate over Muslim immigrants in France. But another controversial tradition among some immigrants is less noticed and far more widespread: Polygamy.

The issue resurfaced last week after a woman received a traffic citation in the western city of Nantes for driving with a veil over her face. Officials then accused her husband of having at least three other wives, and said he may be profiting from them financially while the state pays the bill.

Polygamy is one of several issues, like forced marriage or genital mutilation, that France and other European nations face, as immigrants arrive with customs that conflict with the law of the land. But experts say polygamy in France can also be linked to fraud, where husbands hijack a generous social welfare system to line their pockets with state funds from each of their wives.

"They practice polygamy just for that," said Jean-Marie Ballo, founder of an association that helps women escape from polygamous situations, Nouveaux Pas, or New Steps. "I'd go so far as to say that polygamists here (in France) are breeding for cash."

Ballo said he's even aware of cases where a legal wife's papers are used for hospital care for a second — a health risk as medical records intermingle.

It's hard to count how many polygamous families live in France because of the secrecy of the practice. But the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights in a 2006 report made a minimal estimate of 16,000 to 20,000 polygamous families in France, or some 180,000 people, including children. That compares to fewer than 2,000 women who are thought to wear burqa-style garments.

For decades, polygamy was legal in France for immigrants arriving from any of about 50 countries where it is legally recognized. Historically, taking numerous wives was either a social and economic necessity in poor countries with high death rates, or a sign of external wealth or male domination.

France banned polygamy in 1993. At the same time, it launched a process of "decohabitation" to help multiple wives trapped in small apartments with numerous children to move into their own homes. Experts say that system has been largely successful.

But abuses thrive. Especially vulnerable are women who arrived in France after 1993 — often here illegally and, therefore, with limited means to extricate themselves.

The state "minimally resolved the problem of polygamy but didn't provide the means to resolve it completely," said Catherine Quentier of the association Rajfire, which helps women in distress negotiate French red tape to gain legal status or state-funded housing.

It's hard to interview women who live in polygamy because associations say the current sensitive climate has aggravated their daily fears of being caught or their sense of shame. But the human rights report recounts a story that shows how multiple wives and children can lose their own identities.

A woman from Mali, where multiple wives are legal, arrived in France in 1981 at age 14 as wife No. 2 — using the documents of wife No. 1, whom the husband sent back home.

The woman, identified as S.Y., had three children under her new identity but bolted when wife No. 3 arrived. She could not reconstitute her real identity for herself and her children.

When the report was written, S.Y. had lost her job, was living in a room provided by an association and could not access her bank account. Officially, she no longer existed, the report said.

Chantal Brunel, a lawmaker from the governing conservative UMP party, called last weekend for a region-by-region examination of the family subsidies program to stop corruption by men profiting from state aid to illegal wives. Brunel, who has written a book about violence against women, said she has polygamous families in her district east of Paris "and since 2004-2005 I have asked that the state stop closing its eyes."

"To have children cannot become like having a salary," she said.

Other countries in Europe also struggle with polygamy. Fines and prison sentences, in some cases up to seven years, are the norm for those convicted of polygamy in Europe. An exception is Norway. In France, marriage to more than one person is punishable by a year in prison and a euro45,000 (almost $60,000) fine.

However, the law is being challenged in Ireland. And in Cyprus, with a 5-year prison term, the court can take into account arguments that the accused's culture or religion permits polygamy.

Carina Hagg, a Swedish lawmaker for the opposition Social Democrats, warns against mixing notions of polygamy and culture.

"You have to be careful not to make it an issue about ethnicity," she said. "Fundamentally it's about women's rights."

Those who deal with polygamy also note that in Europe, numerous children can be found living in small apartments with two sets of fighting mothers. They take turns using the kitchen, the bathroom and sharing sleeping space.

"Polygamy is not at all adapted to the context of life in the West," said Ballo. "There are conflicts, catastrophic hygienic conditions. Kids do poorly in school as there is nowhere to study."

Ballo, whose Malian father and grandfather were both polygamous, said he helped "decohabit" 12 households with 26 wives and 145 children in Les Ulis, south of Paris, where his group is based.

The human rights commission report notes that "there is, of course, no question of generalizing and considering all polygamous men as executioners."

Ballo is more cynical: "There are always people in life who defend hell."



~~~
MAY DAY News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English

FRANCE: Former minister Pasqua gets suspended sentence for corruption
Former interior minister Charles Pasqua has been sentenced in Paris to a one-year suspended prison sentence for abuse of public funds and attempt to conceal evidence in connection with a public organisation which sells police equipment abroad.

AUTO INDUSTRY: Renault CEO Ghosn reelected and eyeing profits
Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault, was handed a fresh four-year term on Friday, telling shareholders the French automaker would turn a profit in 2011.


~~

30 April News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


• FRANCE: Prosecutors seek jail term for former minister Pasqua
A verdict is expected on Friday in a graft case involving 83-year-old former interior minister Charles Pasqua, who is accused of having accepted bribes linked to several business deals in the 1990s.

• DIPLOMACY: French president, first lady visit Great Wall on second day of China visit
France's presidential couple visited the Great Wall on Thursday on the second day of a state visit to China designed to boost ties between the two countries after recent spats over Tibet.

BELGIUM BEATS FRENCH TO BAN BURQA

PARIS -- Belgian lawmakers on Thursday passed a nationwide ban prohibiting women from wearing full-face Islamic veils in public places, the first move of its kind in Western Europe.

The unanimous vote in the lower house of Parliament came in response to growing irritation in Belgium and other West European countries over the increasing numbers and visibility of Muslims whose customs and attitudes often present a challenge to the continent's largely Christian heritage.

The French government, after months of rancorous debate, has pledged to pass a similar nationwide ban by September, a promise denounced by Muslims as "stigmatization" of their religion. President Nicolas Sarkozy decided last week to introduce the bill despite a warning from the country's constitutional court that a blanket prohibition would probably be unconstitutional.

"The burqa has no place in France," he said.

Similar bills have been introduced in the parliaments of Italy and the Netherlands, where local jurisdictions have already imposed more-limited anti-veil measures. Two dozen communities in Belgium also have decreed local bans, including Brussels, the capital.

According to Human Rights Watch, the U.S.-based advocacy group, political figures in Switzerland and Austria have suggested that legislation such as Belgium's would be a good idea in their countries as well. Farther north, Denmark's government issued a statement in January saying the full-face veil was out of sync with Danish values, but decided against legislation because few women wear such garments.

Swiss voters, in a referendum in December, barred Muslims from building minarets, or towers, to call the faithful to prayer. Their vote, widely decried as anti-Islamic by Muslim and human rights groups, generated favorable comment from conservative French politicians along with suggestions that France should impose a similar minaret ban.

But nothing has aroused more resentment than the sight of women on the streets of European cities covered from head to toe in dark robes with only a slit or a screen at eye level. Despite the consternation, women wearing the veils are seen infrequently, even in suburbs with large Muslim populations.

The French Interior Ministry reported that fewer than 2,000 women wear full-face veils in France, out of a Muslim population estimated by the ministry at more than 5 million. In neighboring Belgium, which has a Muslim population of 400,000, no estimates have been published on the number of women who wear veils. But police in Brussels last year stopped 29 women who were seen on the street with their faces covered, in violation of the municipal ban.


The full veil has been condemned by European politicians of the right and left as an affront to the dignity of women and, because it hides a woman's face, as a security risk in schools, banks and government offices. André Gerin, a member of Parliament who led a nine-month inquiry into the full-face veil in France, also qualified it as the tip of an iceberg behind which lurk radical Islamic preachers seeking to impose a fundamentalist and politicized vision of their religion on French Muslims.

The vote in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives marked a rare moment of accord among the country's political parties. They have been so bitterly split in a feud between Flemish speakers and French speakers that Prime Minister Yves Leterme's government collapsed last week.

In principle, Leterme's cabinet is only handling current affairs pending probable new elections. But the anti-veil measure was put on the agenda Thursday because it was voted out of the Home Affairs Committee unanimously last month and was considered high-priority.



~~~

29 April News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English

DIPLOMACY: Sarkozy and Hu mark 'new page' in Sino-French relations
Chinese President Hu Jintao announced a "new page in Sino-French relations" during a state visit by his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, on Wednesday, signaling that the two leaders have overcome past tensions over Tibet.

JUSTICE: French detention conditions 'scorn' Geneva Conventions, Noriega lawyer says
The lawyer for former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega says France is "scorning" the Geneva Conventions by failing to keep him in appropriate conditions following his extradition to Paris on Tuesday to face money-laundering charges.


~~

PARIS: 5,000 farmers drive tractors onto the streets of Paris
Thousands of angry French farmers took to the streets of Paris on Tuesday to protest plummeting revenues. More than one thousand farmers rolled their tractors in a giant convoy across the capital, offering Parisians a rare, spectacular sight.

CHINA-FRANCE: Sarkozy looks to woo Hu on second full state visit
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will be on hand for the opening of the World Expo in Shanghai, as part of a second full state visit aimed at rebuilding damaged Franco-Sino relations.

JUSTICE: Panama's former dictator Noriega fights French drug charge
A French court ordered Panama's former dictator Manuel Noriega to be remanded in custody as he awaits trial on charges of laundering drug money. His lawyers said they would fight for his release, citing immunity as a former head of state.

NIQAB: Accused polygamist says he has one wife, several mistresses
A man who was threatened with being stripped of French citizenship when officials said he may be a polygamist said Monday that he had only one wife but several mistresses. The case began with his wife's being fined for driving while wearing a niqab.

FRANCE: Sarkozy's party under fire for alleged kickbacks in Pakistani sub deal
The party of French President Nicolas Sarkozy is under fire for a 1995 campaign for former PM Edouard Balladur that is suspected of links to a cancelled Pakistani defence deal and a bomb attack that killed 11 French engineers in Karachi.

€ FALLS on Greek crisis (the only other EU state which enjoys STRONG government like the UK) but not much 1.15 this morning.
In 2000 £1 bought €1.67

~

JULY FOR ANTI NIQAB LAW

PARIS—French Prime Minister François Fillon announced to Parliament on April 27 that by next July his government would push for a new law prohibiting full head-coverings. The Muslim face-veils, called the niqab or burqa, are described by women's right defenders as “walking prisons.”

Fillon did not say whether the law would follow an “emergency procedure” that would allow it to be passed by a single vote in Parliament before being reviewed by the Senate. Such a decision would be unwelcome, claim Parliament and Senate Presidents Bernard Accoyer and Gerard Larcher, who wish both chambers examine the law twice so as to ensure due process.

President of the French Socialist Party Jean-Marc Ayrault, currently in opposition, initially criticized the law but finally said he would not oppose the vote, under two conditions: that the “emergency procedure” would not be used, and that the advice of the Council of State, a high-level legal advisory body to the government, would be taken into consideration.

The Council stated on March 30 that such a law could very likely betray the spirit of the French Constitution, and finds only weak legal support.
Playing Out in the Media
Parallel to the face-veil debate, the French media was recently engulfed in a robust debate around a fine given a Muslim woman who was driving her car wearing a niqab in the western city of Nantes.
Local news outlets initially triggered a small scale controversy on the “security threat” of the niqab, the ostensible basis of the fine, according to police. But the incident went national when Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux accused the woman’s husband of polygamy and welfare fraud, claims which if proven, he said, would mean the man loses his French citizenship. Based on available information, the man—a butcher—has 12 children to four wives, three of whom receive a state pension on grounds of being “isolated women.”

On April 26, the man denied he was polygamous to French press. “I do have mistresses, this is not forbidden by Islam; maybe it is by Christianity, but not in France as far as I know. ... If one has to be deprived of nationality because of having mistresses, then many French people should also be deprived.”

Controversial far-right figure Jean-Marie Le Pen strongly supported the efforts of Brice Hortefeux, whom he called “a man of goodwill” during an interview with RTL radio. Yet, said Le Pen, “the most important thing” is not about the four wives “wearing total face-coverings” but the fact that “they benefit from state pensions”: “[Public money] is ransacked by tens or hundreds of thousands of people who exploit the gaps of our legislation. When this is the result of a family plot, I think this is a scandal.”

Several newspapers feared that the media exploitation of the incident by the government could have a boomerang effect. La Croix newspaper, for instance, pointed out that the French legal system would not permit deprivation of the man’s French nationality unless major crimes were involved. L'Union newspaper anticipated a Mr. Hortefeux feeling “bitter regret [for] not having better read the French civil code.”

The Journal de la Haute-Marne pointed out that radical Muslims could now pose as victims and gain sympathy in the moderate Muslim community.

Laws prohibiting wearing of burqa (full body, including head) and/or niqab (only head) coverings in public places is close to being passed in Belgium. In Denmark, wearing the garments has been “limited” but not forbidden in public places since January this year. In Netherlands, a law echoing the French and Belgian texts is currently being drafted, while in Italy full face coverings have been forbidden since 1975—at that time Italy faced left-wing terrorism and passed the law on security grounds.

In all countries, governments face the challenge of preserving women's dignity and public security while not ostracizing Muslims or exciting xenophobic sentiments. The answer to this challenge has so far been to argue that the law was applicable to any face-covering, and not specifically the Muslim sort—an argument that has not yet proven convincing.



~~~

27 April News Heads from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English

FRANCE: Accused polygamist says he has one wife, several mistresses
A man who was threatened with being stripped of French citizenship when officials said he may be a polygamist said Monday that he had only one wife but several mistresses. The case began with his wife's being fined for driving while wearing a niqab.


FRANCE: Sarkozy's party under fire for 1995 campaign suspected of taking kickbacks
The party of French President Nicolas Sarkozy is under fire for a 1995 campaign for former PM Edouard Balladur that is suspected of links to a cancelled Pakistani defence deal and a bomb attack that killed 11 French engineers in Karachi.


~
Panama's Manuel Noriega 'to fight charges' in France
Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega has appeared before French prosecutors after his US extradition and will fight charges against him, his lawyers say.
Noriega will argue French courts do not have jurisdiction to try him as he is immune from prosecution and because the statute of limitations has expired.
He was convicted in France in his absence in 1999 for money laundering but will face a new trial.
He spent more than 20 years in jail in the US on drugs charges.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday signed a "surrender warrant" and Noriega was taken to Miami airport and handed to French prison officials on an Air France plane.
'Incompetent'
Noriega's plane arrived in Paris shortly before 0800 local time (0600 GMT).
Noriega, who is in his mid-70s, was taken to appear before prosecutors and notified of the international arrest warrant against him.


One of Noriega's French lawyers, Olivier Metzner, said after the closed-door hearing that his client appeared "much weakened" and was "receiving medical treatment".
Noriega was then driven away in an armoured car. Later, a judge ruled that he should be held in custody ahead of his trial.
A spokesman for the French justice ministry, Guillaume Didier, said that Noriega could go on trial within two months.
However another Noriega lawyer in France, Yves Leberquier, signalled a tough legal battle ahead.


He said Noriega would challenge French jurisdiction on the grounds of his immunity from prosecution as a former head of state and because the statute of limitations had expired.
Mr Leberquier also said there were question marks about Noriega's status as a prisoner-of-war.
A Miami judge declared Noriega a POW after the 1992 drugs sentencing, allowing him prison privileges that included the ability to wear his military uniform and insignia.
Mr Leberquier said the French system could not accommodate such a status.
He told the Associated Press news agency: "We're not here to eventually make a moral judgment, we've got legal rules that have to be applied and respected.
"For justice to be served, the judiciary must acknowledge it is incompetent to put him on trial."
Noriega's original French sentence of 10 years was for laundering $3m in drug trafficking proceeds by buying luxury apartments in Paris.
However, part of the extradition process with the US included an agreement that Noriega would be given a new trial.
Noriega had wanted to be sent back to Panama after finishing his 17-year jail sentence in 2007.

But in February the US Supreme Court rejected his final appeal against extradition to France.
Panama's government said it respected the "sovereign decision" but insisted it would seek his return to serve outstanding prison sentences there.
Noriega's lawyer in Miami, Frank Rubino, said he had not been notified of the extradition and had only learned of it from the media.
"Usually the government... does things in a more professional manner and respects common courtesy and we're shocked that they didn't," he said.
"I'm surprised that they didn't put a black hood over his head and drag him out in the middle of the night," he added.
Mr Rubino said Panama was "terrified" that Noriega would return "even though all he would do is sit on his porch and play with his grandchildren. He knows where the skeletons are buried".
Invasion
Noriega became de facto ruler of Panama in 1983 and was supported by the US until 1987. But in 1988 he was indicted in the US for drug trafficking.
The US invaded following the death of a US marine in Panama City and Noriega surrendered on 3 January 1990.
In 1992, he was convicted in Miami of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering. He was handed a 40-year prison sentence, later reduced to 30 years, and then 17 years, for good behaviour.


~~~

26 April

MOST FRENCH MUSLIMS FEEL STIGMATISED

NANTES: Muslims in the French city where a woman was fined for driving wearing a burqa complained of being stigmatised by the affair on Sunday as the political repercussions rumbled on.

With the government planning to ban wearing the burqa in public, the fining of the French woman took a political turn when a minister threatened to punish her Muslim husband for offences including polygamy.

“The Muslims of Nantes...are worried by this systematic stigmatisation which goes against the values of the republic,” the collective of Nantes mosques said in a statement.

The association “considers that the stopping of a driver is a judicial procedure and is angry at how such an event has been turned into being all about Islam”.

The woman has challenged the fine as a breach of her human rights.

President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government said last week it would push ahead with a ban on wearing a burqa in public, despite a warning from state legal experts that such a law could be unconstitutional.

In this context, the Nantes incident gained political momentum and dominated the news this weekend.

France Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux, alleged the woman’s husband may belong to a radical group and may be a polygamist with four wives and 12 children and guilty of welfare fraud.

Hortefeux wrote to Immigration Minister Eric Besson asking him to look into the allegations and said the man could be stripped of his French nationality if they proved true.

Criticising Hortefeux’s move Nantes Deputy Mayor Jean-Marc Ayrault, said the state authorities had known about the polygamy allegations for some time. “Why are they pretending just now to have discovered the situation?” he said.

The state prosecutor in Nantes, Xavier Ronsin, said that so far no charge had been lodged against the husband, but an investigation could be launched if there were grounds to suspect fraud.

As to whether the man could be stripped of his French nationality, a source close to the investigation said that French law allowed this only in the case of serious crimes against the state such as terrorism, not for polygamy. afp

~

BEZIERS Music prize - you could win thousands of Euros!
Fête de la Musique - Béziers - Lundi 21 juin 2010
Scène "Révélation"
A partir de 17h30
Place Jean Jaurès
Tremplin
5 artistes ou groupes sélectionnés interpréteront deux titres
Un jury de professionnels déterminera le palmarès

Prix Révélation Fête de la Musque 2010 : 800,00 euros
Prix Ville de Béziers Fête de la Musique 2010 : 400,00 euros

Renseignements et inscriptions :
Tél : 04 67 36 44 45
Fax : 04 67 36 44 53
Mail : zingazanga@ville-beziers.fr


No national news today- so far!

~~~
25 April News Heads

Most French want burqa law, but not total ban


PARIS (Reuters) - Two-thirds of French people want a law limiting the use of face-covering Islamic veils such as the niqab and the burqa, with only a minority backing the government's plan for a complete ban, a poll showed Saturday.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's government is expected to present a bill in May on banning full veils from the public sphere, against the advice of legal experts who recommend a milder rule focusing on state institutions.

Sarkozy has personally defended a strict ban, arguing that the veil hurts gender equality and demeans women.

The TNS Sofres/Logica poll, which was carried out on Thursday and Friday, showed that 33 percent of French people want a complete ban, while a further 31 percent want a more narrow law applying only to certain public spaces.

The results of the survey of 950 people were roughly the same for men and women. Support for some kind of legal restriction on the full veil cut across age groups, professions and political affiliation, though it was stronger among right-wing voters -- more than 80 percent of them favored a law.

By opting for a complete ban, Sarkozy is taking a constitutional gamble since the practice of veiling oneself can be defended on the grounds of religious freedom.

A narrower law asking women to bare their faces in town halls or when they pick up their children from school would have been less legally risky, since it could have been justified as a security measure rather than a question of values.

~~~


24 april

FRENCH PROPERTY PRICES - price falls slow

A survey conducted and released by FNAIM shows 71% of French people believe this is the moment to buy, with prices being at the lowest for some years and interest rate borrowing also at very low rate of average of 4.7% being offered by some banks.
Fine French Homes of Beziers add
Activity has seen more purchases at the bottom end of the market, in the Western Herault over the first 3 months, traditionally a quiet time for the region. This is dominated as normal by French buyers although there is some evidence of overseas buyers returning, there is little activity from UK buyers still. Local French regional elections in March had no effect despite some concerns that it might.

As stated previously we believe a level playing field locally is becoming more apparent in the Western Herault. However this does not mean that the market will accept prices as the same as two years ago - with a fall in the region of 30% over that period locally it would be foolish to ask (although some still are!), even where investment has taken place in that two year period. Reality will prevail in the form of the market - if you are realistic about the price of your property for sale you will find a buyer quicker than someone who is unrealistic - as the obviously overpriced properties stick! And certainly we would not expect prices to recover for some years to those of two years ago ie end 2007 beginning of 2008 when prices were at their premium.

We also come across sellers who believe the market should return to them any investment they have made in their property, whether it to be build new or renovating a house. Let us be frank, unless you are prepared to expose yourselves as unrealistic to others(some would say foolish or worse) who are very aware of the state of the market, those asking for prices based on two years ago will not achieve it, and run the risk of having the property on the market for some years, not unusual in France. Those looking to invest in new build or renovation should look at a minimum of 15 year time frame to recover returns (and escape capital gains taxes on second homes) and longer if possible. Also when buying please remember the larger towns and village with more facilities will always command higher prices than those in the surrounding countryside, another factor often forgotten by sellers.

Activity in Beziers town is becoming very evident, with the trend showing more buyers increasing where vendors are being sensible with asking prices. Whilst the fall in prices has been significant this is now beginning to stabilise as reflected in national figures, and there are signs to that the villages in the Beziers Pezenas area are beginning to see some overseas buyers return in the lowest price categories. However in the south of France Beziers and Narbonne region stands out as the only area not showing price increases year on year as yet. Sellers and buyers are still effected by confidence levels, particularly those from the UK concerned with £/Euro exchange rates. Any increase in the value of the £ will see a marked increase in UK buyers as a number are already in the area and renting, biding their time to buy.

Figures released by FNAIM in March show for February 2010 a minor price increase with little price tension in the market overall in France. For older property (more than 20 years old) the price of property overall showed a +0.6% for the month, mainly due to the price of apartments which increased +1.4% and the price of older houses slowed -0.2% after increasing the previous month +0.8%.

Over one year this reflects a price decrease of -2.8% to the end of February 2010. This compares to -3.8% to the end of January 2010, reflecting a slow halt to the fall in property prices overall.


~~

SARKOZY DAD focuses on art

A day before the opening on Saturday, however, Pal Sarkozy and his German creative partner, Werner Hornung, appeared to be tiring of the presidential connection and resulting media storm.

"Oh no, not again the one with Carla, let's take another one," Pal Sarkozy told photographers looking at the portrait of Bruni-Sarkozy perched on a piano and playing the guitar to a backdrop of angel wings and rays of light -- a gift for the presidential couple's wedding in 2008.

A red rose placed on the piano is meant to symbolize love as well as Bruni-Sarkozy's political views, which are more to the left than her husband's.

After posing with the digital, computer-generated portraits of Bruni-Sarkozy and the president for glossy magazines around the world, the artists have decided to stop showing those works.

"I'm fed up, I can't take it anymore," Hornung told Reuters. "We're not going to show them next time. They aren't our masterpieces -- we have 70 paintings and everyone only talks about these two."

Pal Sarkozy, a dashing charmer who bears a striking resemblance to the president but is much taller, has been drawing since his youth. Some of his sketches from the 1940s were included in the exhibition, which is just a stones' throw from the presidential Elysee palace.

He first met Hornung when they both worked in advertising, and much of their work is a critique of that world, complete with punny titles.

"Democrazy", meant as an attack on the media, shows a tangle of cables and a bullet-ridden, exploding TV set.

"Happy Dolores" features a bare-bottomed woman in stockings, her one wooden leg sprouting a white flower.

Like his son, whose private life regularly makes headlines, Sarkozy senior is not exactly known for being media shy.

Earlier this year, he published an autobiography in which he talked about his experience as an immigrant from Hungary and his many love affairs, including his marriage with the president's mother, which ended in divorce.

"He prefers it when I paint rather than write," Pal Sarkozy said of his son's reaction to his creative endeavors.



23 April NEWS HEADS from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


• FRANCE: Proposed burqa ban will also be imposed on tourists
One day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy lent his support to a strict public ban on full veils; his government has announced its intention to also impose this law on tourists as well as residents.


FINE FOR DRIVNG IN VEIL

A French woman who was driving while wearing an Islamic full-body veil was stopped by police in the city of Nantes and fined 22 euros, Europe 1 radio reports.

The police officer stopped her to check her identity, and she complied by uncovering her face. He then issued the fine because the facial veil allegedly reduced her field of vision.

The 31-year-old woman, who has been wearing the veil for nine years, charged this was discrimination and said she intended to file a complaint.

The incident occurred as the French government was preparing a draft bill to ban the wearing of the all-body veil. The ban is to be part of a general public order law that will outlaw wearing any kind of facial covering in public.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Thursday he will engage a special procedure to ensure that the ban becomes law before summer.


FOOTBALL: French footballers named by call girl Zahia
Zahia D., the prostitute currently burning up French football, has admitted to having sex with football stars Franck Ribéry and Karim Benzema whilst still a minor, French daily Le Monde reports.

• FRANCE: Legislation under way to ban full-face veil from public places
The Elysée presidential palace said Wednesday that the government will present to ministers in May a bill to ban face-covering veils — such as niqab veils and burqas, which cover the body from head to toe — from public places.

• PHOTOGRAPHY: Outrage sparked by French flag bottom-wiping photo
A photograph of a French flag being used instead of toilet paper is stirring passions in the south-east city of Nice, with France’s Justice Minister calling for “criminal prosecution”.

• FRANCE: Sarkozy promises ‘war without mercy’ for Paris suburbs
French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised to crack down on violence, drugs and truancy in France’s impoverished suburbs during a visit on Tuesday to Trembray-en-France, the scene of a brutal bus attack last month.


~~~
French law to fine those who wear burqa
Apr 22, 2010, 10:00 GMT

Paris - The total ban of the Islamic all-body veil, or burqa, being drawn up by the French government will be part of a broader law that will make it illegal for anyone to appear in public with his or her face masked, the daily Le Figaro reported Thursday.

This formulation is an attempt to sidestep objections formed by the country's highest administrative court, the Council of State, on the legality of a law targeting only the wearers of the veil.

President Nicolas Sarkozy decided Wednesday to have the government draw up a draft bill on a total ban of the burqa on French territory.

In March, the council said there was probably no legal foundation for a total ban of the burqa, but suggested that it could be part of a more general law on public order and security.

According to the report, police officers will have the right to demand anyone appearing in public with a mask or veil to uncover his or her face. Those refusing to do so will be sent a ticket for an as yet undetermined fine.

In addition, any man forcing his wife to wear the veil will also be sanctioned under the draft bill, Le Figaro said.

An estimated 2,000 women wear the all-body veil in France, most of them French women converted to Islam.

~~

French Business Confidence Rises as Exports Boost Manufacturing
April 22 (Bloomberg) -- French business confidence climbed to the highest in almost two years in April as demand from abroad and inventory-building bolstered manufacturers.
French manufacturing activity is rising, led by export orders, as President Nicolas Sarkozy phases out government- stimulus programs that lifted France out of a recession in the second quarter of last year. With the euro falling, exporters are now getting a further boost and may prompt businesses to step up investment in the months ahead.
“Business confidence is still rising on the back of strong orders momentum,” said Pierre-Olivier Beffy, chief economist at Exane BNP Paribas in Paris. “The investment cycle should pick up in the second half.”

Exports climbed 2.7 percent in January to 30.18 billion euros ($41 billion), Insee said last month. Manufacturing output, which excludes utilities, rose 0.4 percent in February after a 0.6 percent gain the previous month.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ALL UK AIRPORTS OPEN ++ ALL UK AIRPORTS OPEN ++ ALL UK AIRPORTS OPEN

Check airline websites before setting off

CAA statement on "Travel" page

~~~

BBC reports

Chaos persists as Europe flights resume

EUROPEAN AIRSPACE
BELGIUM - Airspace open

BRITAIN - All airports to reopen from 2100 GMT

DENMARK - Airspace above 16,600ft open. No landings

FRANCE - Limited flights. Most airports open, Air France resuming long-haul service Wednesday

GERMANY - Airspace staying shut to 0001 GMT Wednesday, apart from 800 low-altitude flights

IRELAND - Airspace closed

ITALY - Airspace open. Handful of flights resumed in and out of Milan

NETHERLANDS - Airspace open

NORWAY - Airspace reopened

POLAND - Airspace closed

SPAIN - All airports open

SWEDEN - Airspace open over central-northern Sweden

SWITZERLAND - Airspace reopened


Travel chaos has continued to grip Europe, despite the easing of its aerial lockdown as the Icelandic volcano eruption appeared to wane.

The UK has reopened its airports, while some flights have left Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, but airspace in Germany and Ireland remains restricted.

More than 95,000 flights were cancelled across Europe in the last week and it may take weeks to get passengers home.
The disruption is having an increasing impact on business across the world.

Scientists say southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano is producing more lava, and the ash plume was shrinking, although it remains changeable.

The Brussels-based Eurocontrol air traffic agency said more than half of Europe's 27,500 daily flights were expected to have flown by the end of Tuesday.

The air traffic agency said it was optimistic the situation would be back to normal in a few days' time.
Weary passengers cheered and clapped as flights began to take off from airports.
"I've never been so happy in my life going back home," a Los Angeles-bound traveller told news agency AFP in Paris.
Britain reopened its airspace from 2100 GMT on Tuesday, allowing long-haul flights to land at Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest.

The UK's aviation authority said some no-fly zones would remain where ash density was unsafe, but these did not currently affect any airports.

There was more good news for flyers as Air France said it would resume all long-haul flights from Wednesday, although services in parts of northern Europe would stay suspended.
Norway has reopened all of its airspace until midnight.
Elsewhere in Scandinavia, airports in north-central Sweden were operating, although Stockholm's main airport was being closed due to the ash cloud.
Warship home
Finland's airspace remained shut while Denmark's was open to long-haul flights.

Several Danish airports, including Copenhagen, were expected to open for six hours on Wednesday morning.

Germany, meanwhile, extended its flight ban to midnight, although 800 flights were allowed to fly visually at lower altitudes.

Meanwhile, nearly 300 British holiday-makers marooned in Santander, northern Spain, have been picked up by a Royal Navy warship.
The first five of a fleet of coaches promised by the UK government to help long queues of its nationals home were leaving Madrid on Tuesday evening.

All airports in Spain are open and its government has suggested other countries use Madrid as a hub to get passengers moving.
Swiss and northern Italian airspace has reopened, while Turkish airports have also been operating.

In an effort to take control, EU transport ministers have sought to reduce the size of the no-fly zone.
Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas denied the EU had taken too long to respond, saying people's lives were at stake.

The flight ban was imposed because in the high temperatures of an engine turbine, ash can turn to molten glass and cripple the engine.
As waylaid travellers scrambled for other modes of transport, ferry and railway companies enjoyed an unexpected bonanza, while some car-hire firms were reportedly hiking charges.

But many other businesses have been hammered by the chaos.
The airline industry says it has been losing more than $200m a day (£130m; 150m euros), since the turmoil began last week.

A shortage of parts has led the car-makers BMW, in Germany, and Nissan, in Japan, to temporarily halt production.
Blocked shipments of goods are reportedly stacking up in China, while South Korea is stuck with hundreds of thousands of mobile phones.
And there are heaps of clothing bound for Europe piling up in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile exporters of fresh flowers and vegetables in Zambia, Kenya and Uganda are having to throw away tonnes of rotting stock

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20 April NEWS HEADS


Half of Europe flights 'to go ahead'




Airlines in Europe are set to fly about half their schuduled flights on Tuesday, the Eurocontrol agency says.
Some flights have been departing from Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, after five days of disruption caused by the spread of Icelandic volcanic ash.
But major flight restrictions remain in place across most of the UK, Ireland, Finland, Germany and Poland.
The eruption appears to be waning, but there have been reports of a new ash cloud heading towards mainland Europe.
Scientists say southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano - which erupted last Wednesday for the second time in a month - is producing more lava, although the ash plume is now shrinking.
'Cries of joy'
Brussels-based Eurocontrol says some 14,000 of Europe's 27,500 daily flights were expected to fly on Tuesday.
The air traffic agency said it was optimistic the situation would be back to normal in a few days' time.
Weary passengers cheered and clapped as flights took off from airports in Paris, Amsterdam and elsewhere.
"Everyone was screaming in the airplane from happiness," one passenger who flew from Amsterdam to New York told the news agency AP.
Norway's airport authority reopened all of the country's airspace on Tuesday afternoon until midnight.
Elsewhere in Scandinavia, airports in north-central Sweden were operating, Denmark's airspace was open to long-haul flights, but Finland's was shut.
The UK's air traffic control authority, Nats, said on Tuesday afternoon that much of Britain would remain a no-fly zone until at least 0100 on Wednesday.
Only airspace in most of Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England will be open.
Nearly 300 British holiday-makers marooned in Santander, northern Spain, found a novel way to get home when they were picked up by a Royal Navy warship.
Poland, which had reopened four airports on Monday, closed them again on Tuesday.
The Irish Aviation Authority said Shannon airport in the west was reopening, but the airports in Dublin and Cork remained shut.
In an effort to try to take control of the situation, EU transport ministers have created a core no-fly area, a limited-service zone and an open-skies area.
The first flights left Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport late on Monday.
Swiss and Italian airspace has also reopened. The Swiss authorities said test flights had shown the ash in the atmosphere and posed no threat to passenger safety.
Flights have resumed out of Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, which are operating at about 30% capacity.
With some exceptions, the skies over Germany are to remain closed until 1800 GMT.
In Spain, where all airports are open, the government has offered to let Britain and other European countries use its airports as stopovers to get passengers moving.
Our correspondent in Madrid, Sarah Rainsford, says that British passengers are starting to arrive - some from as far away as South Africa and Israel.
Financial impact
She says the British government is laying on 100 coaches to transport its stranded citizens on the final leg of their journey home.


Meanwhile, the EU Commissioner for Transport, Siim Kallas, has rejected criticism that the EU took too long to respond to the crisis.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mr Kallas said the matter was not "in the hands of arbitrary decisions", as the lives of people were at stake.
The airline industry says its losses have soared to over $1bn (£650m; 740m euros), since much of Europe's airspace was closed last week because of ash from the volcano.
The flight ban was imposed because in the high temperatures of an engine turbine, ash can turn to molten glass and cripple the engine.
In a sign of the impact of the crisis on Asia's export-driven economies, the Japanese car giant, Nissan, says it is suspending several production lines due to the shortage of parts from Ireland. Honda will also partly halt production.


EUROPEAN AIRSPACE
BELGIUM - Airspace open. Limited service

BRITAIN - Airspace open over Scotland and Northern Ireland. Limited airspace over north of England. London airports closed

DENMARK - Airspace above 16,600ft open. No landings

FRANCE - Limited flights from Paris to international destinations. Most airports open

GERMANY - Airspace closed, with some exceptions, until 1800 GMT on Tuesday. Lufthansa planning to operate 200 flights

IRELAND - Airspace closed

ITALY - Airspace open. Handful of flights resumed in and out of Milan

NETHERLANDS - Airspace open. Passenger flights arriving and departing in Amsterdam

NORWAY - Airspace reopened

POLAND - Airspace closed

SPAIN - Airspace open; all airports operating

SWEDEN - Airspace open over central-northern Sweden

SWITZERLAND - Airspace reopened





~~

WEEKEND - WIND CHANGE COULD HELP CLEAR AIRSPACE
A change in wind direction by the weekend could help blow Iceland's volcanic ash cloud away from Europe, a BBC meteorologist says.

North-westerly winds over the Atlantic have blown ash from an erupting volcano over the UK and Europe this week.


Much of the continent's airspace has been closed for fear the ash will damage plane engines.

BBC Weather's Matt Taylor warned ash blown away from Europe could cause problems for Canada instead.

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B.A seeks compensation

British Airways has said it has asked the European Union and the UK government for financial compensation for the closure of airspace.
It also wants UK airspace restrictions eased after its test flight through the no-fly zone revealed "no variations in... normal operational performance".

Chief executive Willie Walsh called on the government to adopt new policies that would "allow us to resume flying".
The airline estimates that the crisis is costing it about £15m to £20m a day.

Virtually all flights in and out of the UK have been grounded since 1100 BST on Thursday because of volcanic ash.
"This is an unprecedented situation that is having a huge impact on customers and airlines alike," said BA chief executive Willie Walsh.
On Sunday, BA ran a two-and-a-half-hour test flight over the Atlantic to assess any damage caused by the ash.
Mr Walsh said: "The analysis we have done so far, alongside that from other airlines' trial flights, provides fresh evidence that the current blanket restrictions on airspace are unnecessary.
"We believe airlines are best positioned to assess all available information and determine what, if any, risk exists to aircraft, crew and passengers."
BA said that when it did start flying again, those who had tickets for a specific flight would have priority and would not be bumped off for stranded passengers.
It said it would consider flying more planes, or larger aircraft, as a way of dealing with the backlog.

The airlines believe they are due compensation because the decision of whether to fly or not has been unfairly taken out of their hands.


EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the EU was considering easing its rules barring government subsidies to airlines.
"I am looking carefully at what we did after September 11. We can use similar instruments. We are indeed facing exceptional circumstances," he said.
Independent airline analyst Saj Ahmad said the challenge would be ensuring that any potential compensation is equally distributed.
"Low-cost airlines may feel aggrieved if they receive smaller payouts because they benefit from lower costs than rivals," he said.

IATA's Giobanni Bisignani: 'It's a European mess'
"But for a carrier like BA that has already lost nearly £50m due to a cabin crew walkout, every penny counts - not least because some of this money will have to be used to compensate and refund passengers."
Both the insolvency firm Begbies Traynor and the financial services group KPMG warned that the crisis would leave some carriers facing financial distress.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the European Solidarity Fund, designed to provide aid to EU members hit by natural disasters would be the likely source of any compensation for businesses hit by the disruption.
However the BBC's political correspondent Reeta Chakrabati said it was still unclear how much money would be available and who would be able to access it.
'No compromise'
Despite the huge losses being incurred, BA said it still had "significant funding" available to allow it to stay in business should flights be grounded for a "considerable period".

Ryanair CEO, Michael O'Leary: 'We want ludicrous passenger rules suspended'
Before the disruption, the airline had more than £1.7bn in cash reserves to draw on, as well as more than £400m in available credit.
European airlines have been critical of the way the EU has handled the crisis, and have pushed for the reopening of airspace as quickly as possible.

European transport commissioner Siim Kallas said there must be "no compromise on safety", but admitted that a prolonged closure of airspace was "not sustainable".

British Airways shares fell by 1.4% in Monday trading in London, closing at 231.7 pence. It clawed back some of the losses later in the day, as news emerged that there would be some flights operating from the UK on Tuesday.

The German flag carrier Lufthansa said it had not put in any claim at this stage but was looking at its options.

Air France-KLM is also believed to be pursuing compensation from the EU.

Meanwhile, Peter Long, the chief executive of TUI, Europe's largest travel operator, told the BBC that the company had written to the government asking for recompense.
TUI says the crisis has cost it £20m so far and was continuing to cost it about £5m to £6m a day.



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19 April NEWS HEADS

NATS LATEST INFORMATON

Statement on Icelandic volcanic eruption: Monday April 19, 2200
Since our last statement at 1530 today, the volcano eruption in Iceland has strengthened and a new ash cloud is spreading south and east towards the UK. This demonstrates the dynamic and rapidly changing conditions in which we are working.

Latest information from the Met Office shows that the situation is worsening in some areas. Based on this information, the situation for Northern Irish airports for the morning is uncertain, due to the new ash cloud. The latest information shows that Scottish airports should be available from 0700 and more airspace over England may become available from 1300 although not as far south as the main London airports.

We will continue to monitor Met Office information and the situation is likely to change overnight. We will make a further statement at approximately 0300 (local time), tomorrow, Tuesday 20 April and again at 0900 (local time).

NATS is maintaining close dialogue with the Met Office and with the UK's safety regulator, the CAA, in respect of the international civil aviation policy we follow in applying restrictions to use of airspace.

We are working closely with Government, airports and airlines, and airframe and aero engine manufacturers to get a better understanding of the effects of the ash cloud and to seek solutions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EU moves to ease Europe flight curbs




BBC NEWS

Hopes rise of easing Europe flight chaos



Hopes rose for an easing of the travel chaos sparked by Icelandic volcano ash, with the news airspace across parts of Europe will reopen on Tuesday.
Flights are poised to resume in parts of the UK, Germany, France and Belgium.
As air industry losses spiralled over $1bn (0.74m euros; £0.65m), airline chiefs stepped up calls to be allowed to decide when it was safe to fly.
EU transport ministers have been meeting to discuss the crisis, which is now in its fifth day.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh became the latest airline boss to call the flight bans unnecessary.

He was aboard a BA 747 that went on a test flight through parts of the restricted zone on Sunday.
Mr Walsh said analysis of the plane found no ill effects due to atmospheric ash from southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano.
The flight bans were imposed amid fears the ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles - could damage aircraft engines.
Britain's air traffic control body said later on Monday that airspace in Scotland, parts of the north of England and Northern Ireland would reopen on Tuesday.
Lufthansa, meanwhile, was granted permission by the German aviation authority to run 50 flights to Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf airports from the Far East, Africa and the Americas.
France and Belgium said they would also begin reopening airspace on Tuesday.
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) earlier lambasted European leaders for their inaction, calling the travel chaos a mess and an embarrassment.
Iata chief Giovanni Bisignani said: "The decision that Europe has made is with no risk assessment, no consultation, no co-ordination, no leadership."
Airspace closures were costing airlines $200m a day in lost revenue, he said.
The European Transport Commissioner, Siim Kallas, said earlier there could be no compromise on safety.

European airlines have asked the EU and national governments for financial compensation for the closure of airspace.
The volcano erupted last Wednesday, for the second time in a month, although the amount of ash being produced is now said to have diminished significantly.
However, the shroud of fine mineral dust particles now stretches from the Arctic Circle in the north to the French Mediterranean coast in the south, and from Spain into Russia.
Airspace has been closed, or partially closed, in more than 20 countries.
Several European airports have re-opened - including those in Austria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary and Turkey, after authorities there decided there was no longer any risk from the ash cloud.
But Italy's civil aviation authority has shut the country's northern airspace until Tuesday morning.
In Spain, where all airports were open, the government offered to let Britain and other European countries use its airports as stopovers to get passengers moving again.
The UK is also sending three Royal Navy warships to help pick up stranded passengers from Spain and Channel ports.

The French railway company SNCF has said it will offer reduced fares and 80,000 extra seats between Paris and London this week.


MAJOR EU AIRPORTS 19/04
Britain: Some airports in north of UK to reopen on Tuesday
Germany: Airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf reopening to take 50 Lufthansa flights
Paris Charles de Gaulle: Closed
Schiphol, Amsterdam: Closed
Rome: Leonardo Da Vinci International and Ciampino Airports open, limited service
Madrid: Madrid-Barajas Airport open, but excessive delays


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easyJet calls on Government to step up its support for passengers

Responding to the UK Government’s announcement of today regarding support for passengers affected by the closure of European airspace, easyJet Chief Executive Andy Harrison, said: “This is a major natural disaster which has had a huge impact, affecting over 1 million passengers on UK airlines alone, with the financial cost to airlines running to hundreds of millions of pounds. The measures announced today are welcome but are no where near enough.

When the forces of nature act on this scale, only the Government has the resources to respond. The Government is responsible for caring for its citizens following a natural disaster and therefore it should help the airlines get people home and cover the costs of care and repatriation.”

~~

EUROCONTROL reports that approximately 5,000 flights took place yesterday in European airspace.
On a normal Sunday, we would expect 24,000


VOLCANIC ASH - NEWS BELOW - Travel page has maps - FORUM hoping to put travellers together for car shares etc


Exhibition cancelled in Montpellier because of flying ban

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French nationals stranded in New Delhi are still awaiting aid

With no help coming from either the embassy or their airline company, 46 tired and angry French nationals stuck in New Delhi since Friday have decided to take action.
By Perrine MOUTERDE (text)

With no help coming from either the embassy or their airline company, 46 tired and angry French nationals have been stranded in New Delhi. Their plane was scheduled to leave by late morning on Friday. By Sunday, their hotel had asked them to leave.

“After several false starts, Air India put us up in the splendid Vasant Jaypee Hotel,” says Norbert Vidalie by telephone. “They had an agreement with the airline to put us up for 48 hours, but not more.”

Among this group of 46 French nationals, all of whom were scheduled to leave on the same flight, the stress and fatigue have been building.
Some are even running out of their medication. “I brought a stockpile, but it’s gone,” Vidalie says. “I really need this medicine.”

Another imminent problem is that the Indian travel visas of several are about to expire. And others will soon no longer be able to withdraw money. “My credit card expires in four days,” Vidalie says. “I do not know how I will be able to pay the hotel if this situation goes on.”

No help from the embassy

Gathering in the hall of the hotel, many are angry.
“Air India officials say the problem is not their responsibility,” says Jenny Gérard from Paris. “Our hotel has, however, offered us bus transport to another establishment in the centre of Delhi and we were able to negotiate a reasonable price.”

Gérard and her group also decided to take matters into their own hands.
“We had an Indian television channel, the NDTV, come here in an attempt to try to get things moving,” she says. But when the cameraman arrived on Sunday to film the group, tensions flared.

“Hotel security did not want him to film inside, one of them even tried to break his camera,” says Manuel Pidoux de la Maduère. “The group had to intervene and we surrounded the journalist. We conducted the interviews outside.”

Several of the stranded are also blaming a lack of action on the part of the French embassy in New Delhi.
“They said that they were overwhelmed and could do nothing for us,” Gérard says. “But their whole purpose is to help French nationals abroad.”

“The Finns, for example, have been lodged at the expense of the embassy until the crisis is over,” she says. “But despite what is going on, the [French] embassy was closed on Saturday and Sunday. And yet it is our taxes that pay their civil servant salaries!”


Gérard says an embassy employee that they spoke to on the telephone would not even give her name.

The disgruntled travellers say they want to let their dissatisfaction with the embassy’s services be known. They also have plans to take turns every day calling the airline to complain.

“If we become divided, it’s all over,” Vidalie says. “There are moments of pressure at times since the situation is so brutal. But overall, there is great solidarity among us.”

~~
Half of flights could be restored on Monday, EU presidency says

The Spanish EU presidency said on Sunday it was possible that 50 percent of flights in Europe could operate on Monday following massive disruptions caused by clouds of ash from a volcano in Iceland.
"The forecast is that there will be half of flights possibly operating tomorrow. It will be difficult; that's why we have to coordinate," Spain's secretary of state for EU affairs, Diego Lopez Garrido, told reporters after a meeting at the European aviation agency Eurocontrol.

EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas told the same briefing that the current situation was "not sustainable" and European authorities were working to find a solution that did not compromise safety.

"We cannot wait until the ash flows just disappear," he said.

Kallas said a technical meeting of EU transport ministers on Monday afternoon would assess information from test flights conducted in European countries on Sunday.
Lingering plume of ash
The massive cloud of cinder and ash drifted further south and east Sunday, crippling European air traffic for a fourth day and stranding millions of passengers across the globe as the economic fallout of the biggest airspace shutdown since World War II mounted.
But in the first glimmer of hope since the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted Wednesday, test flights by two airline companies - Dutch airline KLM and Germany's Lufthansa - Saturday found their planes apparently undamaged by the volcanic ash.
According to a senior KLM official, the airline flew a Boeing 737 over the Netherlands at an altitude of about 10 to 13 kilometres. No damage was evident, said KLM CEO Peter Hartman, and if further test flights were successful, the airline hoped to get permission to partially restart its operations.
Germany's Lufthansa airlines flew several planes to Frankfurt from Munich in test runs. "All airplanes have been inspected on arrival in Frankfurt but there was no damage to the cockpit windows or fuselage and no impact on the engines," said a company spokesman. Air France also conducted successful test flights, from Paris to Toulouse, on Sunday.
Scientists say volcanic ash has an abrasive effect and can strip off vital aerodynamic surfaces and paralyse an aircraft engine, while aircraft avionics and electronics can also be damaged.
Woes continue into next week

Worldwide aviation woes, however, looked set to continue through the weekend and into next week with France extending the closure of three Paris airports – including CDG, one of the world’s busiest airports - until Monday 6am GMT. However, several airports reopened in southern France on Sunday including Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux and Toulouse.
The UK has extended a ban on most flights in its airspace until midnight Sunday. Dutch airspace meanwhile will remain closed until noon GMT. British Airways said on
it had cancelled all its flights on Monday.
Meteorologists have warned that light winds over Europe could increase the ash concentration early next week even as the cloud drifted toward southern and eastern Europe.
As a flight backlog built up across the world, stranding millions of passengers, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the situation was not likely to improve Sunday.
"Right now through most of Europe we do not see many flights moving at all," spokesman Steve Lott told the AFP news agency.
A ripple effect on other economic sectors
The widespread flight delays and cancellations come at a critical time economically for airlines.
According to the IATA, the current disruptions are costing airlines more than $200 million (230 million euros) a day.
The aerial lockdown was also expected to affect a number of industries – including the tourism sector. “What we’re beginning to understand now is the ripple effect that it has on other, less visible sectors of the economy,” Denis Chagnon, a spokesman for the International Civil Aviation Organisation, told FRANCE 24. “For example, fresh produce, perishable produce that are flown in by aircraft will also be delayed and this may cause havoc on those industries as well.”
Stranded The latest disruptions have stranded millions of passengers, not only in Europe, but those from as far afield as New Zealand and California.
On Saturday some 18,000 flights across Europe were cancelled – a normal Saturday would have seen around 22,000 flights.
Disgruntled passengers across Europe have been scrambling to find accommodation and alternative transportation.
Stuck in New York, holidaymakers Olivier and Cathy told FRANCE 24 in an online comment that Air France had only paid for a single night at a hotel and that they were now footing the hotel bills. “Who will reimburse these unforeseen expenses?”
In an online comment, Boré told FRANCE 24 that he had spent the two nights at the Singapore airport but that airport authorities were providing food, sleeping bags, pillows and that he was given a tourist visa for a few hours.
Travellers, holidaymakers, diplomats and celebrities alike, turned to packed trains, buses, boats and taxis on Friday.
A group of 15 French students from southern France told FRANCE 24 about their efforts to find alternative ways to get home from their school trip in Bergen, Norway. One of the students told us: “It’ll take us a little over 52 hours to reach Lyon. We’ll first take a bus from Bergen to Oslo, from there we’ll cross over to Copenhagen [Denmark] via ferry. From Copenhagen, we’ll take a train to Hamburg and then Hanover in Germany, before an overnight train to Metz in eastern France. Then we’ll catch a train to Paris and then, finally, a train to Lyon….It’s tiring but at least we’ll get home.”
In Paris and London, thousands of passengers rushed to get tickets for the Eurostar cross-Channel rail service. But Eurostar said that even the three extra Paris-London trains could not keep up with demand.



LITTLE SHIPS RE-RUN Finds Its Own Dunkirk
DOVER, England — Few moments in modern British history are more iconic than the evacuation of the British expeditionary force of nearly 340,000 troops in the spring of 1940 from the beaches of Dunkirk, 22 miles across the Channel from the white chalk cliffs that overlook this ancient port town. At the time, Winston Churchill called it “a miracle of deliverance.”
Beneath azure blue skies on Sunday, an intrepid band of Englishmen tried to stage a scaled-down rerun of the “little ships,” hundreds of private craft that joined the Royal Navy in the improbable 1940 rescue, saving hundreds of thousands of British, French and Canadian soldiers to fight on against Nazi Germany.

This time, the effort centered on a group of men in a flotilla of inflatable speedboats who set out from Dover to ferry some of their stranded compatriots home from the rail and ferry chaos created by the cloud of volcanic ash that has shut down much of Europe’s air traffic.
British newspapers have calculated that the shutdown has stranded up to a million British travelers, counting those whose outbound flights have been canceled and those abroad trying to get home.
But after hours of fruitless negotiation, the organizers of the modern evacuation venture were defeated by an adversary that prevailed where Hitler’s battalions and dive bombers failed. The opposing force on this occasion was a small regiment of unimpressed French harbor and immigration officials, who met the Englishmen and their 30-foot boats in the harbor at Calais with a resolute “Non!”

After hours of appeals through diplomatic channels for an easing of the French veto, the organizers in Dover abandoned the effort, canceling any further cross-Channel shuttle — by inflatable boat, at least. Before the French halted it, however, the evacuation effort, nicknamed “the spirit of Dunkirk,” had repatriated about 20 travelers, the first to board the boats in Calais.

The bid to bring people home in the boats came as the air shutdown showed signs of becoming an issue in Britain’s May 6 general election.
As the opposition Conservatives and Liberal Democrats called for the Labour government to do more to counteract the effects of the shutdown, Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats’ leader — who has surged in the polls since the country’s first-ever televised debate among the party leaders — called the shutdown a “catastrophe.” Mr. Clegg said his three young sons, due back in school in London on Monday, were among those stranded abroad, with their maternal grandparents in Spain.

After an emergency meeting at 10 Downing Street, members of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s cabinet outlined possible measures to deal with the crisis, including chartering cruise ships to repatriate Britons stranded abroad. The Royal Navy has been asked to look at the possibility of deploying ships as emergency passenger ferries, and the Conservatives suggested that propeller-driven aircraft, thought to be less susceptible to engine damage from volcanic ash, should be drafted into service to get the airlines flying again.

Dan Snow, a television personality and naval historian who led the effort to evacuate Britons stranded in Calais, said it was not clear what French laws the effort had transgressed, apart from a suggestion by French officials that it lacked the permits necessary for any boat plying for hire. The organizers in Dover said they had charged no fares, but suggested to those making the journey that they could contribute to Help for Heroes, a British charity for those wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Snow, who is preparing a BBC television documentary on the 1940 evacuation that will run on the 70th anniversary of the evacuation’s completion in early June, said the French officials appeared to have trouble identifying with the spirit of the venture. “What happened in 1940 was a triumph of improvisation,” he said. “But improvisation is incompatible with modern bureaucracy.”

He shrugged. “All we wanted was to help some people get home,” he said. And, he added, to lighten the mood in Britain as it struggles to cope with an air shutdown that will enter its fifth straight day on Monday, with no sign of ending: “We thought we could have some fun, and we did. All the people who participated in this had a great time.”
The undertaking won enthusiastic endorsement from the small group that made it back to Dover aboard the boats.

Marcel Sigel, an Australian interior designer working in London, said the journey across the Channel, at high speed in perfect conditions, had been an adventure after a long overland journey to Calais from Milan, where he had been when the air shutdown was declared. “We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves,” he said.

At best, the operation Mr. Snow led could never have made more than a minimal impact on the chaos that the air shutdown has caused. For days, ferry terminals on both sides of the Channel, as well as Eurostar trains that run through the Channel tunnel, have faced large backups of passengers without tickets. The tangle has been made worse by the fact that the air shutdown coincided with the last days of the Easter break for British schools, one of the busiest times of the year for airlines operating between Britain and European vacation destinations.
But as much as British news coverage of the shutdown has focused on the disruption, and on economic costs that some experts have estimated at $1 billion and more, there were signs that some Britons are reveling in the situation.

People living near Heathrow Airport on the western outskirts of London, one of the busiest in Europe, have celebrated the absence of jet engine noise and the smell of aviation fuel from the 2,000 flights that normally use Heathrow every day.
Loraine Martin, 63, an office administrator who lives under the airport’s flight path, told Reuters that the stillness took her back to the 1950s, when Heathrow was still a relatively peaceful airfield and jet engines had yet to take to the skies on commercial aircraft.
“It’s gloriously peaceful,” she said. “I could hear the birds singing, even through the double-glazed windows.” She added, “Normally, I can’t talk on the telephone when the planes are coming in, but now I can have long conversations.”



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17 April NEWS HEADS from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


• FRENCH POLITICS: Interior Minister Hortefeux in court for allegedly racist remarks
A French anti-racist organisation has accused Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux of “public defamation of a racist nature,” for remarks he made at last year’s summer conference of the ruling UMP party. His trial starts Friday.

• FRANCE: FRANCE 24 fined for violating privacy over Sarkozy affair rumour
A Paris court on Friday fined FRANCE 24 €3,000 for violating the privacy of French pop singer Benjamin Biolay by publicising rumours that he was having an affair with the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

AIR TRAVEL - see Travel Page for NATS updates and other information


BRAVO ROME - letter congratulates French Bishop for cover-up!

Cardinal praised bishop's silence over abuse priest

The letter was written by Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos
The Vatican has confirmed the authenticity of a letter in which a cardinal praised a French bishop for not denouncing a paedophile priest.

The letter, was written in 2001 by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, then in charge of clergy around the world.

A Vatican spokesman said the letter showed the wisdom of a 2001 decision to centralise the handling of abuse cases.

The case comes amid a continuing child sex abuse scandal engulfing the Church.

The letter from Cardinal Hoyos was addressed to the bishop of Bayeux-Lisieux in northern France, Pierre Pican.

Father Pican had just been given a three-month suspended prison sentence for not denouncing Rene Bissey, an abbott who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2000 for paedophilia.

'Delighted'

"I congratulate you on not having spoken out to civil authorities against a priest," wrote Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, who at the time was prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

Bishop Pierre Pican reveived a three-month suspended sentence
"You have done well and I am delighted to have an associate in the episcopate who... preferred prison to speaking out against a fellow priest."

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the letter confirmed "how opportune it was to centralise treatment of cases of sexual abuse of minors by clerics under the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith".

That step was taken in 2001 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - now Pope Benedict XVI - who headed the the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time.

Earlier this week, the Vatican published what it said was a long-standing Church policy telling bishops that they should report abuse cases to police - though critics said the move was an attempt to rewrite history.

On Thursday, Pope Benedict called on Roman Catholics to "do penance" for their sins, an apparent reference to the recent sexual abuse scandal.



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16 April NEWS HEADS from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English

• CINEMA: Eclectic Cannes line-up mixes veterans and new blood
The line-up for the 63rd Cannes Film Festival announced Thursday in Paris is an eclectic, intriguing, and particularly international list, mixing a handful of previous Cannes winners with some new names and spanning 13 countries.

• FRANCE: Paris bars cars from the river Seine’s banks
By making a central chunk of the banks of the river Seine pedestrian only, Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë hopes to make the culturally rich city centre a more pleasant place to stroll for pedestrians, tourists and “all Paris lovers”.

• AVIATION: Paris airports close as volcanic ash clouds northern Europe
The French capital's main airports are due to shut Thursday evening as a huge cloud of ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland sweeps across northern Europe, grounding flights throughout the continent.

ASH BLANKET MAY LAST FOR 5 MORE DAYS OVER EUROPE THE TIMES
David Brown and Helen Nugent
The unprecedented closure of airspace across Britain and large parts of Northern Europe is set to continue into the weekend, after the volcanic eruption in Iceland that sent a massive plume of ash into the atmosphere.
As debris continued to spew from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, airlines were last night preparing to ground flights for at least four more days.
Hundreds of thousands of stranded passengers, already experiencing the worst travel chaos in living memory, faced trying to make alternative arrangements by rail, road or sea — or cancelling their trips.
The National Air Traffic Service denied that it had overreacted by closing UK airspace. “Safety is our main priority and volcanic ash is a serious threat to aircraft,” a spokesman said. Safety experts said that if the ash is sucked into jet engines it can cause them to fail catastrophically.
Passengers may not have been able to see see the source of their frustration — except indirectly, when the ash created vivid red and lavender sunsets. The cloud is almost invisible to the eye. It began to spread across Europe in the early hours of Wednesday before stretching east to Norway, Sweden and Finland and south across Scotland and the UK, engulfing Britain totally by Thursday afternoon.
The prevailing northwesterly wind is forecast to continue for at least four days, and the ash already in the atmosphere will take between 24 and 36 hours to drift across Britain, the Met Office said. The ash was expected to reach ground level in Britain last night, starting in Scotland, according to NHS National Services Scotland. “It is important to stress that the concentration of particles which does reach ground level is likely to be low and should not cause serious harm,” it said.
“If people are outside and notice symptoms such as itchy or irritated eyes, runny nose, sore throat or dry cough, or if they notice a dusty haze in the air or can smell sulphur, rotten eggs, or a strong acidic smell, they may wish to return indoors.”
The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in less than a month, triggering floods and shooting smoke and steam miles into the air. About 700 people from rural areas near Eyjafjallajökull were evacuated yesterday due to flash flooding, as water carrying chunks of ice the size of houses rushed down the mountain.
Video footage from the scene shows spectacular images of hot gases melting the thick ice, and sending cascades of water thundering down the steep slopes of the volcano. When the volcano on the southern tip of Iceland was last active, in 1821, the eruptions continued, on and off, for two years.
Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said: “It is likely that the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some days or weeks. But \ it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather.”
Geophysicists in Iceland were alerted to tremors below the peak of the volcano, 75 miles (120km) east of Reykjavik, just before midnight on Tuesday. They were far stronger than some last month, and the released magma melted a hole through 650ft (200m) of ice covering the crater.
By 7am the following morning, the airborne debris, more than 20,000ft high, had started to move slowly southeast. Forecasters initially hoped the cloud would be carried past most of Britain, but by the early hours of yesterday they began preparing for the worst.

NATS statement on Travel News page

~~~

AND FROM BBC NEWS

"It is likely that the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some days or weeks. But where it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather," Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told the Associated Press.

"It depends how the wind carries the ash."

The last volcanic eruption beneath the glacier was on 20 March.

The eruption before that started in 1821 - and continued for two years.

Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the highly volatile boundary between the Eurasian and North American continental plates.

NATS statement on Travel News page


~~~

Statement from NATS (National Air Traffic) on Icelandic volcanic eruption: Friday April 16, 0230
The cloud of volcanic ash continues to cover much of the UK and the eruption in Iceland continues. Following a review of the latest Met Office information, NATS advises that restrictions will remain in place in UK controlled airspace until 1900 (UK time) today, Friday 16 April, at the earliest.
However, flights in Northern Ireland and the Western Isles of Scotland to and from Glasgow and Prestwick may be allowed up to 1300 (UK time) today, subject to individual co-ordination. North Atlantic traffic to and from Glasgow, Prestwick and Belfast may also be allowed over the same period. We will review further Met Office information and at 0830 (UK time) we will advise on the arrangements that will be in place until 0100 (UK time) on Saturday, 17 April.
In general, the situation cannot be said to be improving with any certainty as the forecast affected area appears to be closing in from east to west. We continue to work closely with airports, airlines, and the rest of Europe to understand and mitigate the implications of the volcanic eruption.

NATS statement on Travel News page

~~~

15 April NEWS HEADS

FRANCE: Mayor’s plan to turn Paris riverbank car-free stirs controversy
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe has unveiled a plan to ban cars from certain areas of the French capital, including the scenic banks of the River Seine. But not everyone’s pleased with the greener, more social urban plan.

FRANCE: Prosecutors reject US request to extradite Iranian engineer
French prosecutors have turned down a US request to extradite Iranian engineer Majid Kakavand after French armament experts concluded that equipment allegedly exported to Iran by the defendant could not be considered a threat.

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14th April NEWS HEADS from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English

FRANCE: Le Pen daughter bids to keep far-right helm in the family
As France's far right adjusts to the news that its leader Jean-Marie Le Pen is to retire, his daughter Marine has presented the party with the very real possibility of a Le Pen dynasty by throwing her hat into the ring.

Organization of the electricity market
14.avril

The Minister of State, Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the sea, in charge of green technologies and climate negotiations, introduced a bill on the reorganization of electricity market.

This project follows the recommendations of a commission composed of elected officials and economic experts, lawyers and industry, chaired by Mr. Champsaur, the Government has implemented in late 2008. The report of this commission led to consultations, following which the Government announced in September 2009, he would initiate legislative reform.

The draft law regulates the relationship between electricity suppliers to ensure that every provider is enabled to offer competitive prices to its customers. Each vendor will acquire, from EDF, up to the stringent needs of its customers in France and under the supervision of the Commission for Energy Regulation, electricity at a price representing the full costs of producing the electronic Park Nuclear-EDF. This system will be in place until 2025 and limited in volume.

The bill also changes the system of regulated tariffs, by continuing the tariffs for small customers, and by providing for the termination thereof for large customers, given the establishment of provisions for all suppliers to submit a sustainable manner to their customers competitive offers.

The bill also includes a provision following the report of the Working Group on controlling peak demand for electricity was submitted on 1 April 2010 the Minister of State for parliamentarians Serge Poignant and Bruno Sido. This provision requires all suppliers to eventually have the capacity to erase consumption or production enough to supply all their customers. It strengthens the security of supply and incentives to invest.


Sarkozy confident Brazil to buy French Rafale jets
WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday that he was confident Brazil would purchase 36 next-generation fighter jets from France even though the time may be running out to close a deal.

Brazil is in the final stages of buying 36 jets worth more than $4 billion, which are to be assembled locally. The deal could eventually rise to more than 100 aircraft.

The three finalists are the Rafale made by Dassault (AVMD.PA), the Gripen NG made by Sweden's Saab (SAABb.ST), and the F-18 made by U.S.-based Boeing Co (BA.N). But Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim has said he favors the Rafale.

"I am confident," Sarkozy told reporters on the sidelines of a summit on nuclear security hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama. "It is developing precisely on schedule."

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13 April News Heads

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT: Sarkozy says France will not give up nuclear weapons
France will not give up its nuclear weapons, because doing so would "jeopardize" its security, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday as global leaders from 47 nations gathered for a landmark summit on nuclear security in Washington.

FRANCE: Toscan de Plantier murder suspect to fight French extradition 'tooth and nail'
A Paris judge has issued a Europe-wide arrest warrant for British journalist Ian Bailey, who is the prime suspect in the murder of Sophie Toscan de Plantier (pictured). Bailey spoke out today to vehemently protest his innocence.

FRANCE: Prosecutor's office probes suicides at France Telecom
The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an inquiry into human resources policies at France Telecom in response to formal complaints against the company after a spate of suicides at the ex-state monopoly.

AFGHANISTAN: Taliban release video of captured French journalists
The Afghan Taliban have released a new video of two French journalists who were abducted last December in north-east Afghanistan, according to the US-based SITE, an Islamic online monitoring website.

EUROPE: France and Italy say EU ready to enact Greek rescue plan
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Friday that the EU is ready to implement its aid plan for Greece. Berlusconi added that the EU had a "responsibility" to support the debt-saddled country.


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12 april News

FRENCH OPPOSE HIGHER RETIREMENT AGE according to poll

PARIS (Reuters) - Most French people are against raising the retirement age from 60 years as part of government plans to overhaul the pension system, a survey for RTL radio showed.

While 80 percent of participants agreed that reform was needed, only 39 percent supported the idea of working until they were older, according to the poll carried out by Hattis Interactive and published Sunday.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to overhaul the pension system to help tackle the country's social security deficit and is expected to raise the official retirement age.

The deficit has climbed steadily in recent years and doubled in 2009 as the economy tipped into recession and rising unemployment cut away contributions.

The pension regime should be the same for public and private sector workers, according to 82 percent of those surveyed for RTL, although that view was held by only 61 percent of public sector participants.

The issue of raising the pension age also revealed a political split, with 78 percent of left-leaning and 77 percent of green participants against an increase, while 62 percent of right-leaning participants were in favor, the poll showed.

Harris Interactive surveyed 1,073 people aged 15 and over on Thursday and Friday via the Internet, according to RTL.

French Labor Minister Eric Woerth, who is piloting pension reform, said earlier this month he would hold consultations with unions and employers on April 12.
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Font-Romeu : la saison de ski en légère hausse - P-O La station catalane, gérée par Altiservice, a enregistré cet hiver 464 000 jours-ski

Le manque de neige début décembre a mis un temps la station en péril, surtout avec l’arrivée de la clientèle catalane.
« Seuls 20% du domaine étaient alors ouverts », rappelle le directeur d’Altiservice Font-Romeu, Alain Luneau.
Mais à partir de janvier, la station phare du Languedoc-Roussillon a pu rattraper son retard par rapport à l’an passé, avec notamment une fréquentation en hausse de 11% en février.
La saison s’est clôturée, le 5 avril, avec un léger gain de 3%.
« Cela correspond à 464 000 jours-ski, un peu au-dessus de notre prévision initiale de 415 000. »
Altiservice Font-Romeu réalise à l’occasion 9,5 M€ de CA (contre 9,2 M€ en 2009).


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10th April NEWS HEADS from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English


FRANCE: Govt to reimburse owners of houses set for demolition after Xynthia
The government has announced it will fully indemnify owners of the 1,510 homes slated for demolition after the devastating Hurricane Xynthia. But some owners warned they would not move.

FRANCE: Prosecutor's office probes suicides at France Telecom
The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an inquiry into human resources policies at France Telecom in response to formal complaints against the company after a spate of suicides at the ex-state monopoly.

EUROPE: France and Italy say EU ready to enact Greek rescue plan
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Friday that the EU is ready to implement its aid plan for Greece. Berlusconi added that the EU had a "responsibility" to support the debt-saddled country.

CRIME: France issues warrant for English journalist, accused of 1996 murder
A French judicial source has revealed that a French arrest warrant is out on Ian Bailey, a British journalist implicated in the beating death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, wife of a French film producer, in Ireland in 1996.


EasyJet fined euro1.5 million in French labor dispute

PARIS
A French court has ordered low-cost airline easyJet to pay euro1.55 million ($2.07 million) in damages and fines for employing airport workers in France on British contracts.

The Britain-based company has been convicted of keeping 170 workers at Orly airport south of Paris on British contracts between 2003 and 2006.

The court in the Parisian suburb of Creteil handed down the verdict Friday. The company was fined euro150,000 and ordered to pay another euro1.4 million to French state employment agency and other plaintiffs.

EasyJet maintains it was adhering to French law at the time. French rules now require foreign airlines to apply French contracts to airport workers in France. French labor contracts are generally more costly to companies than British ones.


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9th April NEWS HEADS

AFGHANISTAN: Soldier's death brings French toll in Afghanistan to 40
A French soldier was killed in Afghanistan when his supply convoy was attacked by insurgents near Kabul, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said Tuesday. The soldier was the fortieth to have died in action since the US-led invasion in late 2001.


PARIS JOURNAL - an American take the Sarkozy marriage rumours

Rumor of Infidelities Sets Off Modern French Farce
PARIS — The French, like it or not, have found themselves immersed in another presidential psychodrama, spiced with Internet rumors of infidelity, intelligence and police investigations, complaints about press manipulation and foreign plots and the removal of security protection from a former minister of justice who just happens to have been a favorite of a former wife.
It’s Tartuffe in the age of Twitter.
This French farce began with a rumor on Twitter that may or may not have been cooked up by some journalists indulging in some mischief before regional elections in which President Nicolas Sarkozy and his center-right party did badly.
The postings were picked up in March by a blog on the Web site of the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, but not printed in the paper itself. Then numerous foreign newspapers — especially the British and Italian press, which gleefully recycle almost anything published here — printed coy stories based on the blog.
The rumors, which seemed like an especially exaggerated joke at the time, had Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the president’s wife, engaged in an affair with an old friend of hers, another singer, while Mr. Sarkozy was supposedly involved with a married, karate-champion junior minister. Given the histories of the presidential couple, and Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy’s oft-quoted doubts in her younger days about her capacity for monogamy, the story had legs just long enough to run for a bit, despite denials.
But Mr. Sarkozy, as is his wont, became incandescent. Not only was the blog removed from the Web site of Le Journal du Dimanche, which is owned by a Sarkozy friend, Arnaud Lagardère, but two journalists involved with the Web site were fired.
Mr. Sarkozy also apparently smelled a plot, perhaps by the Socialists to undermine him before the elections, perhaps by other forces, including, aides hinted, his political rival, the former prime minister Dominique de Villepin, or the British financial markets worried about the French push for harsher regulation of the City of London.
He ordered an investigation by the French domestic intelligence agency, and then Le Journal du Dimanche filed a criminal complaint, setting off a police inquiry into the “introduction of fraudulent information into a computer system.” The very same issue was at the heart of the Clearstream trial, in which Mr. Sarkozy and others sought the prosecution of Mr. de Villepin for conspiracy to plant false information about fake bank accounts intended to receive arms-sales kickbacks. Mr. de Villepin was accused of planning a smear campaign in 2003-4 intended to undermine Mr. Sarkozy’s presidential ambitions.
The investigation into the rumors of infidelity appeared to point to Rachida Dati, 45, the elegant and intelligent daughter of a Moroccan father and an Algerian mother, as the source. While she was close to Mr. Sarkozy and his second wife, Cécilia, and served as his spokeswoman for his successful 2007 presidential campaign, Mr. Sarkozy fired her, exiling her to a European parliamentary seat in Brussels, where Ms. Dati is said to be extremely bored.
The first inkling Ms. Dati, a former justice minister, had that she might be a source of presidential displeasure was when her police protection, with its government car and driver, suddenly disappeared. She called to keep the car while she finished an appointment that evening, but it was removed thereafter. When the interior minister, a Sarkozy friend named Brice Hortefeux, called her to apologize, she reportedly hung up on him.
The chief of the domestic intelligence service, Bernard Squarcini, denied that Ms. Dati’s phone had been wiretapped and said that his investigations stopped when the police stepped in.
But then Mr. Sarkozy’s friend and communications adviser, Pierre Charon, went public, telling the Web site of the Nouvel Observateur that the Élysée was going to war. “We are going to make this disgrace a casus belli,” he said. “We’re going to do all it takes to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“As they say, fear has got to change camps,” he said, and spoke of “terror.”
For some reason, journalists at Le Journal du Dimanche and elsewhere interpreted his words as a threat.
But the Dati issue was hardly finished. Claude Guéant, the dark cardinal of the Sarkozy administration and its chief of staff, then told the weekly Le Canard Enchaîné that “the president of the Republic no longer wishes to see Rachida Dati.” The next day, however, on Wednesday, Mr. Guéant, while confirming his earlier statement, then uttered a phrase that might serve as a motto for this entertainment: “Yesterday’s truth is not, perhaps, that of today.”
Jean-François Copé, who leads the governing party’s parliamentary group, said that the deputies were “reacting very badly” to the affair. “They truly don’t need this at the moment,” he told Le Monde. “They are exasperated by this new messy outpouring and are even more sickened by the statements of Pierre Charon.”
Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy was then trotted out on Wednesday night to try to calm the waters in an interview with Europe 1 radio. The rumors of infidelity? “For me and my husband, these rumors are insignificant,” she said. “There is no plot. There is no vengeance. There is nothing. We have turned the page.”
Her husband? “The preoccupations of my husband are the French and France.”
Ms. Dati? “Rachida Dati remains truly our friend.”
La fin?


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8th April NEWS HEADS from France 24 -
the French TV station from Paris in English

FRANCE: Spy agency probed Sarkozy marriage rumours
France's spy agency, the DCRI, has confirmed it was tasked with identifying the source of rumours - since denied - about the stability of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's marriage with singer Carla Bruni.

FRANCE: Doctor freed after being taken hostage by prison inmate
A doctor was freed after being taken hostage in Paris on Wednesday afternoon by a Santé prison inmate, France’s justice ministry said. The inmate is reportedly listed as a "particularly difficult" and dangerous prisoner.

FRANCE: Police hit back after officer is fired for criticising Sarkozy’s reforms
Members of the Gendarmerie, a French military institution charged with policing rural areas, have broken out of their usual reserve to defend an officer who was discharged after publicly criticising plans to merge the force with civilian police.


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DIPLOMACY: Turkey's Erdogan to meet Sarkozy in Paris despite EU divide
Turkish Prime Minister is meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the second day of his visit to Paris, in the hopes of boosting relations between the two countries, despite France's strong opposition to Turkey's EU membership bid.

OIL: New inquiry into France's Total over alleged bribery
France’s Total oil confirmed on Tuesday that it was under investigation for bribery in connection with the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein regime, one of thousands of firms who allegedly paid to secure Iraqi oil contracts.

FRANCE: Parliament adopts bill to legalise online gambling
France’s National Assembly has passed a bill to legalise online gambling and open up the French market to international operators. French laws regulating online gambling are among the strictest in Europe.

RYANAIR - increased charges for checking in baggage.


Investigation Launched in Sarkozy's Infidelity Rumors
Two Employees of French Newspaper Website Sacked Over Affairs Rumors
Paris, April 6, 2010
A preliminary investigation is underway in France to find the origin of Internet rumors that claimed President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy were having affairs.
So far two reporters have lost their jobs. Both worked for a subsidiary of the Internet edition of France's Sunday newspaper "Journal du Dimanche," which repeated the rumors in a blog and started the media frenzy.
The probe was launched after the publisher of the "Journal du Dimanche," Hachette Filipacchi, lodged a formal complaint last week alleging someone fraudulently planted the story on one of its blogs. Hachette Filipacchi is controlled by one of President Sarkozy's close friends, Arnaud Lagardère
The investigation will look at "whether those creating rumors for these blogs did it for themselves or whether they were manipulated (by those) who might want to destabilize the life of the Sarkozy couple," Thierry Herzog, Sarkozy's lawyer, told RTL radio Tuesday.

French State Buys Renault Shares To Keep 15.01% Total Stake
PARIS (Dow Jones)--The French government will buy 0.55% of Renau