Hollande, Sarkozy set to advance to French runoff

Socialist Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy are heading for a runoff in the race for France’s presidency, according to partial official results after a first round of voting Sunday.
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French elections: Economy may sink Sarkozy

French voters headed to the polls on Sunday in round one of a presidential ballot, with economic despair on course to make Nicolas Sarkozy the first president to lose a fight for re-election in more than 30 years.

In a contest driven as much by a dislike of Sarkozy’s showy style and his failure to bring down unemployment as (more…)

France goes to the polls

France is voting in the first round of a presidential election expected to show a groundswell of support for the far left and extreme right.

Nicolas Sarkozy, seeking a second five-year term in the Elysée palace, spent the final days of a bitter campaign insisting he could overhaul (more…)

Sanctions halved Syria’s foreign reserves; France

Western sanctions have halved Syria’s foreign reserves and should be stepped up to force Damascus to comply with a U.N.-backed peace plan, France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. (more…)

Lebanese-Syrian Brothers Look West

By Eric Pfanner
While most winemakers keep a wary eye on the skies and the critics’ scores, Karim and Sandro Saadé anxiously watch the news

US and Russia clash over Syria at UN

United Nations, NY- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, addressed the UN Security Council Monday with clashing views on how to tackle a year-old uprising. (more…)

France to cut peacekeeping force in Lebanon by nearly 30%

France will cut the number of its troops participating in a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon by 400 to around 1,000 by the summer to speed up a transfer of responsibility to Lebanese forces, the French foreign ministry said on Tuesday. (more…)

France demands that Syrian leaders face international justice

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Monday demanded at the UN Security Council that Syrian leaders face international trials over the deadly crackdown on opposition protests. (more…)

Air France cancels all flights to Syria

Air France on Wednesday said it had cancelled its Paris-Damascus service “until further notice” because of unrest linked to ongoing protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“Because of the situation in Syria, Air France has decided to suspend its flights to Damascus until further notice,” a spokesperson said, after the airline had already cancelled two flights to Damascus earlier in the week. (more…)

France closes its Syria embassy after French journalists escape

France said Friday it is closing its embassy in Syria, a day after two French journalists escaped to Lebanon after being trapped for days in the besieged Syrian city of Homs.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy made the announcement in Brussels, (more…)