France
Latest stories
Europe Reopens Greek Bailout Deal Amid Dire Crisis Warnings

European ministers embarked Saturday on overhauling a rescue package for Greece, ahead of crunch French-German talks to resolve a row over a crisis that threatens to cause global recession.

Amid dire warnings that the debt crisis is endangering all of Europe, ministers said that banks had to take a greater share of the pain in a rescue package agreed in July but already seen as insufficient to solve Greek woes.

W140 Full Story
China Offers 'Full Fledged' Support for G20 Summit

China on Saturday pledged "full fledged support" for next month's G20 leaders summit in France, as the deepening Eurozone crisis threatens to tip the global economy back into recession.

Vice Premier Wang Qishan, China's top official on financial affairs, made the comments during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who stopped over in the Chinese capital following a visit to India.

W140 Full Story
Sarkozy Urges Forgiveness, Reconciliation in Libya

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for forgiveness and reconciliation in Libya on Friday, adding that Moammar Gadhafi's death is not a cause for celebration despite his crimes.

Libya has found "its freedom and democratic hope. ... Now it is up to the Libyans to turn the page on the terrible years of Gadhafi and to build this future. The Libyans have a duty of forgiveness, reconciliation and unity," Sarkozy said on the sidelines of a development conference held as part France's chairmanship of the G20.

W140 Full Story
NATO to Meet to Mull Ending Libya Campaign

NATO ambassadors gather at 14:30 GMT on Friday to discuss an end to the alliance's six-month air campaign in Libya following the death of Moammar Gadhafi and the fall of his last bastions, diplomats said.

A NATO official said ambassadors from the 28-member alliance would meet in Brussels "with Libya on the agenda of talks".

W140 Full Story
Foreign Governments Call for Building New Libya

Foreign governments from Britain to China hailed a new day for Libya following Moammar Gadhafi's death and called on the new government to move swiftly to rebuild a shattered economy and restore order amid chaotic celebrations.

Amid the overwhelmingly positive response, there were concerns too about further political violence or a veering off into extremism in the wake of Gadhafi's nearly 42-year regime. Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the international community needed to work with the governing transitional council to ensure Libya "does not become another Iran."

W140 Full Story
France Says NATO Operation in Libya Can be Considered 'Finished'

NATO's operation in Libya can be considered over now that Moammar Gadhafi is dead and the new regime is in control of the entire country, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Friday.

"I think we can say that the military operation is finished, that the whole of Libyan territory is under the control of the National Transitional Council and that, subject to a few transitory measures in the week to come, the NATO operation has arrived at its end," Juppe told Europe 1 radio from India.

W140 Full Story
Frenchwoman's Kidnappers Demanding Cash for Body

The Somali kidnappers of a disabled Frenchwoman who died after being snatched from her home in Kenya are demanding a ransom for the return of her body, France said on Thursday.

"The hostage-takers are even trying to sell the remains, it could not be more despicable," French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told the i-TELE news network.

W140 Full Story
Sarkozy Says New Daughter a ‘Private Joy': Carla to Reveal the Name

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed delight Thursday at the birth of his new daughter, declaring it a "very profound joy, a joy all the deeper because it is private."

Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy had decided not to officially announce the birth, but Sarkozy reacted warmly when waste-processing plant workers gave him gifts during a visit to the western Mayenne region.

W140 Full Story
France: Syria Must Respect Lebanon’s Sovereignty

France condemned on Wednesday the Syrian army’s repeated incursions into Lebanese territory.

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Syria should respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence.

W140 Full Story
First 200 French Soldiers Leave Afghanistan

The first 200 French soldiers left Afghanistan on Wednesday, kickstarting troop withdrawals announced three months ago by Paris as part of NATO plans to wind down its combat mission by 2014.

In total, a quarter of France's current troop deployment is scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan before the end of 2012, ahead of a full drawdown of NATO's combat mission scheduled for 2014.

W140 Full Story