Tag: France

PARIS - France on Monday called on Algeria to allow anti-government protests, inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, to take place freely and without violence. "What is important in our eyes us is that freedom of expression is respected and that the demonstrations are able to take place freely and without violence," foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters.
France welcomed as a "step in the right direction" the Algerian government's promise of political

BAGHDAD - France must act quickly to show its support for the Tunisian people following a series of misjudgments, the country's new envoy to Tunis said on Sunday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's administration has been accused of moving slowly to condemn the violent repression of protests earlier this month that led to the downfall of Tunisia's longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
"We must very quickly show France's solidarity with the Tunisian people - and show we

PARIS - France is "determined" to keep troops in Afghanistan despite a threat from Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden linking their mission to the fate of French hostages, the foreign ministry said on Friday. "We are determined to pursue our action in favour of the Afghan people with our allies" in the NATO-led ISAF force that is fighting the ousted Taliban rulers in Afghanistan, ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters.
In a tape broadcast on Al-Jazeera television on

ANKARA - Turkey is in preliminary talks with France for the construction of a nuclear power plant but Japan has the priority, Anatolia news agency quoted Turkey's energy minister as saying on Friday.
France has expressed interest in building the plant and French energy companies Areva, EDF and GDF Suez have submitted certain proposals, Taner Yildiz said, without elaborating.
"We are evaluating this on the condition that talks with Japan have the priority," he said, according

PERTH - e United States cruised to victory over France in their Group B tie at the mixed teams Hopman Cup on Monday, as Great Britain suffered an unexpected early exit at the hands of Italy.
The unseeded US pairing of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner won both singles matches to secure the tie, before completing a clean sweep by claiming the mixed doubles against French duo Kristina Mladenovic and Nicolas Mahut.
The talking point of the clash was the singles rematch

PARIS - The faces of two French reporters kidnapped a year ago in Afghanistan were projected on Wednesday onto the Arc de Triomphe as the government faced mounting pressure to secure their release.
"Free Stephane and Herve and their three colleagues," read the slogan on the Paris landmark beneath the faces of cameraman Stephane Taponier and reporter Herve Ghesquiere.
The journalists, who work for France 3 public television, were seized along with three Afghan colleagues,

PARIS - France on Monday dealt another blow to Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo by promising to recognise as the country's Paris ambassador the envoy sent by his rival Alassane Ouattara.
Paris is in the process of recognising the envoy named by Ouattara, seen by the international community as the winner of a disputed presidential election last month, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.
Asked to confirm reports that the current ambassador named by

PARIS - Nuclear-armed France on Thursday welcomed the US Senate's approval of a treaty slashing US and Russian nuclear arsenals but called also for the ratification of a treaty banning atomic blast tests.
The US ratification on Wednesday of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) after a months-long political battle is "an essential step towards this accord coming into force," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bernard Valero said.
"Reducing Russian and American nuclear arsenals

NEW DELHI: France signed a 9.3-billion-dollar framework agreement to sell two nuclear reactors to India on Monday during a trade-centred visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to New Delhi.
India inked the deal with France's state-run nuclear group Areva for the purchase of two reactors for a new plant in Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra.
"Negotiations (with Areva) have reached an advanced stage to pave the way for the launching of nuclear power reactors in

BELGRADE: Novak Djokovic ranked Serbia's historic Davis Cup win above his Australian Open crown, and $20 million earnings, as defeated France left Belgrade damning sections of the crowd as "imbeciles". World number three Djokovic and the unheralded Viktor Troicki swept Serbia to a first Davis Cup title on Sunday, overturning an overnight deficit to beat nine-time winners France 3-2.
"Number one," said 23-year-old Djokovic, when asked where the title stands amongst his

PARIS: France on Friday rejected demands from an Al Qaeda cell holding five French hostages in northern Africa that it negotiate their freedom with Osama bin Laden and pull its troops out of Afghanistan.
"France cannot accept that its policy be dictated by anyone outside," new Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said after Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) head Abdelmalek Droukdel made the demands in an audio recording on Thursday.
His message said that France would

PARIS: President Nicolas Sarkozy sent in police on Wednesday to clear blockades at France's fuel depots that have caused petrol shortages as unions kept up resistance to an unpopular pension reform due for a final vote this week.
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said three major depots were unblocked overnight and Sarkozy said it would not let the country be paralysed by protests against a bill that seeks to raise the minimum retirement age to 62 from 60.
"If this disorder