A close friend of Francois Hollande said Tuesday that the French president-elect will name Jean-Marc Ayrault, the head of the Socialists' parliamentary bloc, as his prime minister.

"I think he will be named later, yes," Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the head of France's financial markets watchdog AMF and a classmate of Hollande's at the elite Ecole Nationale d'Administration, said on French radio.

A massive block of limestone in France contains what scientists believe are the earliest known engravings of wall art dating back some 37,000 years, according to a study published Monday.

The 1.5 metric ton ceiling piece was first discovered in 2007 at Abri Castanet, a well-known archeological site in southwestern France which holds some of the earliest forms of artwork, beads and pierced shells.

France on Monday condemned the violence in the northern city of Tripoli and urged the Lebanese “not to import the Syrian conflict.”

“France calls on all the Lebanese to put their country’s interest above all else and to give priority to dialogue, national unity and civil peace, in order to avoid importing a conflict they have nothing to do with into their country,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

Iran's foreign minister hailed Francois Hollande's election as French president, voicing hope it can boost bilateral ties, as he met visiting former French socialist premier Michel Rocard.

Ali Akbar Salehi "welcomed the victory of Francois Hollande and hopes to see a new approach taken between Tehran and Paris in all areas based on mutual respect" during their meeting in Tehran late Friday, the official IRNA news agency reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday she believes a stable partnership with Socialist French president-elect Francois Hollande is possible after she backed his rival Nicolas Sarkozy.

In answer to a journalist's question to that effect, the conservative leader said: "Yes, I think I can, because we know that... good Franco-German relations are quite simply very important for both countries."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a "new era" in Franco-Turkish relations in a congratulatory phone call to president-elect Francois Hollande, officials said Friday.

In the call late on Thursday, Erdogan said he hoped "Turko-French relations will from now on be free from artificial questions currently affecting them," an official in Erdogan's entourage said.

The European Union sharply condemned Thursday's two powerful blasts in Damascus, describing the attacks as "an act of pure terrorism."

"We strongly condemn the twin bomb attacks," said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Voting began across Algeria Thursday in the country's first polls since the Arab Spring swept the region, with the ruling party, its Islamist allies and a boycott movement all hoping for victory.

The first of the more than 48,000 polling stations in Africa's largest country opened at 8:00 am (0700 GMT), many under tight police surveillance.

France strongly condemned Wednesday's bomb attack on a convoy of U.N. observers in Syria, including the Norwegian major general heading the mission, foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

"We strongly condemn the attack targeting the convoy of General Robert Mood, head of the Syrian observer mission," said Valero. "We hold the Damascus regime responsible for the observers' security."

Outgoing French leader Nicolas Sarkozy's cabinet met for its last session on Wednesday as president-elect Francois Hollande held talks with top Socialists to gear up for next month's parliamentary vote.

Hollande also held consultations on forming a government and preparing for his first foreign visit, to Berlin, where he is expected to get a frosty reception over his plans to renegotiate the European fiscal austerity pact.