France

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740 Evacuated in Latest Eurostar Snafu

(Newser) - Some 740 passengers had to be evacuated from a packed Eurostar train from Paris last night after the electricity failed. Passengers were plunged into darkness as they awaited rescuers with ladders shortly after the train left the chunnel and headed toward London.

French Food Chain Slammed for Switch to Halal

Lack of bacon burgers irks right-wing politicians

(Newser) - French fast-food chain Quick is under attack from nationalist politicians for switching to a Muslim-friendly menu in 8 of its 362 restaurants. The decision to make burgers from halal beef and replace bacon with turkey in the restaurants, all located in heavily Muslim areas, is an "unacceptable" sign of...

French Nailed for Selling Fake Pinot to Gallo

E and J Gallo unwittingly sold fake Red Bicyclette

(Newser) - French winemakers have been convicted in a massive scam to dupe unwitting Yanks by passing off 18 million bottles of a cheaper wine as Pinot Noir. The French producers sold the wine to major US buyer E and J Gallo for its popular Red Bicyclette brand. By calling a cheaper...

France Ordered Troops Into Nuke Cloud

Troops used as guinea pigs during '60s nuclear tests

(Newser) - France used its own troops as guinea pigs during nuclear testing in the Sahara Desert in 1961, according to a newly declassified report. After one test, hundreds of conscripts were ordered to play war games within 700 yards of the spot where a nuclear bomb had just exploded to discover...

France Denies Citizenship Over Full Islamic Veil

(Newser) - The French government has denied citizenship to a foreign national on the grounds that he forces his wife, a French citizen, to wear the full Islamic veil. The man, whose current nationality was not disclosed, needed citizenship to settle in the country. The French immigration minister said the man's request...

Bruni Quits Festival Over Song That Mocks Sarko

Elysee Palace rumored to have vetoed San Remo appearance

(Newser) - France's first lady Carla Bruni has pulled out of Italy's San Remo music festival, surprising organizers who suspect she may be acting on her husband's orders. The withdrawal is being blamed on a song in the festival's competition that pokes fun at hubby Nicolas Sarkozy and suggests he may use...

Yes, Yes, YES! There Is a G-Spot: French Docs

Don't listen to the Brits on sex, physicians warn

(Newser) - Yes, Virginia, there is a G-spot. That's what French docs want the world to know in a reminder that when it comes to sex, don't ask the British. UK scientists at Kings College recently declared that there was no proof that the female hyper-pleasure center exists. But French physicians declared...

France: No More Combat Troops for Afghanistan

Minister says France will consider sending extra trainers

(Newser) - The 7,000 reinforcements NATO has promised to send to Afghanistan along with the American surge won't be coming from France. French officials have ruled out sending more combat troops to the country but will consider sending more trainers for Afghanistan's army and police, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told CNN...

Carlos the Jackal Sues to Protect Image

From prison, terrorist claims life as his intellectual property

(Newser) - Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, the imprisoned international terrorist better known as Carlos the Jackal, is suing a French production company making a documentary about him, demanding final cut on the film. Ramírez argues that the film will violate his intellectual property rights to his “biographical image” unless...

France Blinks in Burka Ban
 France Blinks in Burka Ban 
Jan 26, 2010 2:12 AM CST

France Blinks in Burka Ban

Panel urges full veils barred in public facilities

(Newser) - The French government appears to be backing down a tad in the great burka ban controversy. While President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a total ban on full Muslim veils, which he considers a sign of "debasement," a French government committee is recommending that burkas or nijabs be...

Reporters Try to Live on Twitter, Facebook Alone

Journalists will hole up in French farmhouse, use only social media

(Newser) - Five journalists plan to lock themselves in a French farmhouse and try gathering news using only Facebook and Twitter. During their 5-day sojourn, the journalists will be cut off from all other links to the outside world—there will be no TVs, and other web surfing is strictly prohibited. Then...

Sarko Moves to Defuse Haiti Row With US 'Occupiers'

French miffed over aid bumping

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy moved to calm a transatlantic spat yesterday by praising America's role in the Haiti aid effort and pledging to unite French and American relief efforts. Some French officials had accused the US of sidelining the French effort, including a minister who angrily accused the US of...

Anger Erupts at US Takeover of Haiti Airport

France, Brazil, Red Cross furious at flight diversions

(Newser) - The global relief effort in Haiti has devolved into a nasty power struggle, with countries and aid agencies furious at the US takeover of emergency operations. France, Brazil, which runs the UN peacekeeping operation in Haiti, Doctors Without Borders, and the Red Cross all lodged complaints after their aid shipments...

Sarkozy Pushes for Burka Ban
 Sarkozy Pushes for Burka Ban 
Jan 14, 2010 9:23 AM CST

Sarkozy Pushes for Burka Ban

But it's 'essential that no one felt stigmatized,' says French prez

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy restated his support for a ban on the wearing of burkas in his country in a New Year's address today—while stressing that any decision should await the results of a parliamentary inquiry on the subject, which are expected later this month. While Sarkozy’s own party is...

Why Haiti Is So Poor
 Why Haiti Is So Poor 
A COMPILATION OF HYPOTHESES
Jan 13, 2010 8:39 PM CST

Why Haiti Is So Poor

Early break with France, ruinous Duvaliers among theories

(Newser) - With bad news still pouring in from earthquake-ravaged Haiti, Tyler Cowen pulls together some hypotheses on why the nation is so poor (noting that he doesn’t endorse all):
  • Haiti gained independence from France too soon, in the early 1800s. Caribbean neighbors Guadeloupe and Martinique waited, and get a good
...

Sex Slasher Gets 15 Years
 Sex Slasher 
 Gets 15 Years 
Jan 13, 2010 5:00 AM CST

Sex Slasher Gets 15 Years

'I wanted to cut him a bit and it went right in'

(Newser) - The niece of Britain's defense minister has been sentenced to 15 years for fatally slashing a man she picked up at a bar for sex. "I do not even dare ask forgiveness from Olivier’s family,’ Jessica Davies told a French court yesterday, referring to her 24-year-old victim....

France Mulls 'Google Tax '
 France Mulls 'Google Tax ' 
Jan 8, 2010 1:24 AM CST

France Mulls 'Google Tax '

Levy on ad revenue would be used to bolster music, film, media

(Newser) - France is considering helping out industries hit hard by the digital revolution by slapping a tax on Google and other search portals. The proposal, outlined in a government-commissioned report, calls for a share of ad revenue to be turned over to the music, film, and publishing industries. The tax would...

France No. 1 in Quality of Life

 France No. 1 
 in Quality of Life 

US IS No. 7
Jan 7, 2010 2:00 PM CST

France No. 1 in Quality of Life

It's No. 1 on list, with the US at No. 7

(Newser) - International Living crunches the numbers on everything from cost of living to health care to climate to find the nations with the best quality of life. France tops the list, with the US at No. 7. A sampling:
  • France (No. 1): "Tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes" can't trump
...

France May Make Nagging a Crime
 France May Make 
 Nagging a Crime 
serenity now!
Jan 7, 2010 7:33 AM CST

France May Make Nagging a Crime

And that's très fou , critics say

(Newser) - The wrong answer to "do I look fat?" or "honey, why don't you empty the dishwasher?" could have French couples heading for court if a new bill criminalizing "psychological violence" between married couples becomes law. The legislation, put forward by the Sarkozy government, aims to combat bullying...

Thieves Grab 30 Paintings in France

Picasso, Rousseau works vanish after Degas is stolen

(Newser) - Brazen thieves grabbed $1.5 million worth of paintings by Picasso, Rousseau and other artists from a home in southern France while the owner was vacationing in Sweden. Discovery of the theft in the medieval town of La Cadière d'Azur occurred less than a week after a $1.6...

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