France

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She Views Life From Behind a New Face

First such transplant patient shares her new perspective

(Newser) - Isabelle Dinoire, the French woman who in November 2005 received the world's first partial face transplant, has taught herself how to eat and speak again, but what she really wants to learn, the Guardian reports, is how to kiss. In a new book published in France yesterday, Dinoire describes her...

Airbus Execs Accused of Insider Trading

Ex-CEO, others sold millions before A380 delay announced

(Newser) - Accusations of "massive" insider trading by Airbus executives and shareholders have exploded into full-out political scandal. French investigators have learned that 21 top executives and two big shareholders in EADS, the Franco-German consortium that owns the airplane company, cashed in stocks shortly before Airbus announced a June, 2006, production...

The New English Commute: via the Channel

UK buyers say oui oui to working in London, living in France

(Newser) - The Independent reports on the rise of a new phenomenon of Britons commuting to work in London—from France. Middle-class buyers, priced out of "character" English homes and stuck in cookie-cutter subdivisions, are increasingly purchasing properties in Normandy and other parts of France's north—where prices are as much...

Sarko's First Budget Offers No Big Shakeups

Eschewing austerity, France set to run another huge deficit

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy presented his first budget to the French national assembly yesterday, but tax cuts have largely replaced the overhaul of the public sector he promised during his election campaign. Super-Sarko's plans to shake up the French economy have run aground, the Guardian reports: huge public debt, ballooning social security...

Swiss Fight Fire With ...Er, Rap
Swiss Fight Fire With ...Er, Rap
Sep 25, 2007 8:25 PM CDT

Swiss Fight Fire With ...Er, Rap

Video promotes new emergency number

(Newser) - Tired of receiving directory assistance calls on their emergency line, Swiss firefighters filmed a rap video that no one could forget. The resulting “118 Project," which clears up the  confusion, has become a YouTube sensation. “They chose rap because it is spoken and not sung,” a...

Sarkozy Heroics Made-for-TV
Sarkozy Heroics Made-for-TV
Sep 25, 2007 8:39 AM CDT

Sarkozy Heroics Made-for-TV

President's 1993 "Human Bomb" story remade for television

(Newser) - In the hagiography of Nicolas Sarkozy, no story looms larger than the then-mayor's 1993 negotiation with a psychotic who took children hostage at a daycare center. Now, writes the Times of London, French state television is releasing Human Bomb, a docu-fiction of the 46-hour standoff between Sarkozy and the hostage...

Sarko Calls for Tougher Iran Sanctions —Not War

Prez backs away from earlier threats

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has no doubt that Iran "is trying to obtain an atomic bomb," but France seeks tougher United Nations sanctions rather than war, he insisted yesterday. Sarkozy's comments clearly backed away from an earlier statement by his foreign minister that Europe must prepare for war...

Freedom Fries Fattening French
Freedom Fries Fattening French
Sep 20, 2007 5:15 PM CDT

Freedom Fries Fattening French

Celebrated food culture struggles to resist import of American obesity

(Newser) - Freedom Fries be danged, French waistlines are taking a decidedly American curve: As fast food and bigger portions invade, some 42% of the famously foodie nation's population is clocking in as either overweight or obese. But officials say don't let them eat cake, predicting US-level obesity if the trend isn't...

Sarkozy Braces for Union Battle
Sarkozy Braces for Union Battle
Sep 18, 2007 4:02 AM CDT

Sarkozy Braces for Union Battle

Pension cuts could trigger crippling strikes in president's first test of leadership

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy could face the first major obstacle of his four-month reign this week when he tries to slash the pensions of 500,000 workers who enjoy more generous retirement packages than other civil servants. Polls show Sarkozy's plan is supported by 65% of the public, but striking...

French Minister Backs Off Iran War Threat

"Negotiate, negotiate," Kouchner now says after storm of criticism

(Newser) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday backpedaled on comments he'd made threatening war with Iran if it didn't drop development of its nuclear program. "The worst situation would be war, and to avoid the worst, the French position is very clear: negotiate, negotiate, negotiate," he said after criticism...

French Lefty Makes an Unlikely Hawk
French Lefty
Makes an Unlikely Hawk
Sep 17, 2007 4:52 PM CDT

French Lefty Makes an Unlikely Hawk

Kouchner pleases US with Iran rumblings, but he's no sure thing

(Newser) - The founder of Doctors Without Borders might seem a peculiar mouthpiece for the new law-and-order regime of Nicolas Sarkozy, but Bernard Kouchner actually fits right in with France’s more muscular foreign policy tone. The surprise choice for foreign minister,  Kouchner is an anomaly, a Socialist who supports the...

France Warns of War with Iran
France Warns of War with Iran
Sep 17, 2007 4:24 AM CDT

France Warns of War with Iran

World should 'prepare for the worst," says foreign minister

(Newser) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday threatened war with Iran to  halt its nuclear weapons program. France favors negotiations and sanctions but the world should prepare for military action if all else fails, he said in an interview on French TV. Iranian nuclear weapons would pose "a real danger...

Mayors Spurn Sarkozy Immigration Crackdown

Reject DNA testing, deportation quotas

(Newser) - French leftists aren't about to help Nicolas Sarkozy make good on the immigration crackdowns he promised during his campaign for president. Eight Paris-area mayors have refused to cooperate with measures that include deportation quotas and mandatory DNA-testing for prospective immigrants. Human rights groups denounced Sarkozy for treating immigrants as "...

Noriega Dodges French Trial in Miami Stir

Dictator's fight against extradition delays release date

(Newser) - Eleventh-hour appeals of his extradition to France kept former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega in his Miami prison cell yesterday, his scheduled release date. The dictator was set to face French money-laundering charges, but his lawyers argued that the Geneva Convention prevents his extradition because Paris doesn't recognize his prisoner-of-war status.

Royal, Now Solo, Comes Back to Politics

Defeated candidate forgives her ex but goes after his job

(Newser) - Defeated for the French presidency and newly single, Ségolène Royal is relaunching her political career with a tell-all in one of the country's mass-market celebrity mags. And not just any celebrity mag: She's on the cover of Paris Match, employer of the other woman in her relationship with...

Rugby World Cup: Forget the Ball and Watch the Men

Brawny-thighed players arrive in France

(Newser) - France has been gripped by rugbymania as fans descend for the 2007 World Cup, which begins today. Bakeries are offering pigskin-shaped loaves, and Galeries Lafayette offers fan specials as the violent sport becomes suddenly chic. But for the Telegraph's Janine di Giovanni, one of the most violent sports offers only...

US Laborers Work Hard for the Money

New UN report says Americans more productive than peers

(Newser) - Labor Day is a well-deserved rest for Americans, as a new UN report shows US laborers work longer, harder, and get more done than their counterparts worldwide. The average US worker produces the most wealth, raking in $63,885 yearly, followed by Irish laborers at $55,986. Only Norway beat...

Zut Alors! Rude French Scaring Off Tourists

Sweeten up, official warns his compatriots

(Newser) - France to the French: Take it easy on foreigners. After the land of vin and fromage fell for the first time in years as the top traveling spot, the tourism bureau has issued guidelines about courtesy, the Guardian reports. “Our greatest handicap,” said a tourist official, “is...

It's Bon Voyage for Noriega
It's Bon Voyage for Noriega
Aug 28, 2007 12:33 PM CDT

It's Bon Voyage for Noriega

Judge OKs France's extradition request for former dictator; he'll serve jail term there

(Newser) - Former dictator of Panama Manuel Noriega will be extradited to France to serve ten more years of jail time. Noriega has done 18 years in a Miami prison, and will be released for good behavior next month. He faces money laundering charges in France, but had asked to return to...

French Prez Warns of 'Bombing Iran' Over Nukes

Sarko calls for more sanctions

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy took a bead on Iran in his first major foreign policy speech yesterday, suggesting that if Iran's nuclear weapons program wasn't halted, bombing could be the only alternative. He called Iran's atomic ambitions "without doubt the most serious crisis that weighs today on the international...

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