EU-DIGEST

Nowhere is finer than the French capital at this time of year - by Natasha Edwards.

Paris is more beautiful than ever in winter, especially at night, when many buildings, notably the bridges and monuments along the Seine, are floodlit. Winter is also the period in which you’ll find some of the year’s best exhibitions, restaurants revel in oysters, foie gras, truffles and game, and you can get into the festive spirit at the free outdoor ice rinks in front of the Hôtel de Ville and Gare Montparnasse (December 20- March 1; skate hire €5). Even Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are great for visitors, as several major attractions, including the Centre Pompidou and Eiffel Tower, public transport, cinemas and many restaurants stay open and Parisians take to heated café terraces in the afternoon. And, if you wait until after New Year, you will catch what looks set to be a very tempting round of January sales.

Labels: EU, France, Paris, Tourism

EUROPEANA - EU Presents Ambitious Open-Source Library Digitization Project - Site Promptly gets 10 million hits per hour and crashes

A cadre of European politicians gathered Thursday at the Museum of the 18th century in Brussels to launch Europeana, a digital museum that allows visitors to explore classic paintings, photos, recordings and texts in the same manner in which it is possible to search, say, Amazon.com. Trying to access Europeana on the day of its launch, though, was akin to navigating the Vatican Museums in the tourist-thick month of August. It was impossible to see anything, as the project’s three servers were totally overwhelmed. The Commission said Saturday in a press release that the site received about 10 million hits per hour throughout Thursday - double server capacity.

The site was taken down Friday evening and is expected to be back up in mid-December.

Technical challenges included harvesting and normalizing metadata from more than 1,000 different museums and libraries from around Europe. Half of participating cultural heritage institutions so far are French. The Louvre in Paris, the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (which contributed footage shot on French battlefields in 1914) and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam are three of the biggest participating museums.

Europeana, which is still in beta, was programmed using only open source applications. Everything on Europeana is allowed to be downloaded. Europeana’s three servers are located in the Hague, where the project is headquartered, but programmers plan eventually to put mirror servers around the world.

Labels: EU, Europeana, France, Internet, Netherlands, Search Engines

EU/France - All Aboard: High-Speed Train Gets Wi-Fi - by Nathasha Lomas

French train operator SNCF is to roll out onboard wi-fi across its entire TGV Est fleet by the end of 2010, following a successful trial of the technology. SNCF said a paid-for wi-fi service for first and second class passengers will launch in autumn 2009 on a number of trains, with a full rollout on all TGV Est departures in France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland by the end of 2010.

Earlier this year the operator trialled a free wi-fi service on three TGV trains, travelling at speeds of up to 320km/h, including an international service to Switzerland.

Labels: EU, France, TGV

35th anniversary

A special EU-Digest report on the 35th anniversary of Eurobarometer

EU-35 years of successful Eurobarometer polling

To mark this important event, the European Commission (with the support of the EC Representation in Paris), in cooperation with the French Presidency, the European Parliament and Sciences Po is organizing the anniversary conference in Paris today November 21 and tomorrow.

The main objective of Eurobarometer as a polling tool, founded in 1973, is to identify and analyze trends in public opinion in all Member States and in the Candidate Countries. The Paris conference aims to discuss the role of public opinion polls in developing a European public sphere. The conference will focus on several crucial topics, like: the upcoming EP elections, lessons learned from European referenda, public debate on tomorrow's Europe, Eurobarometer's methodological challenges.

The event today brings together representatives of significant influence and expert knowledge from EU institutions, EU member states, politicians, academics and journalists. Among the many confirmed keynote speakers are: Margot Wallström, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Nicole Fontaine, Jacques Santer, Noëlle Lenoir, Henning Christophersen, Gijs de Vries, Thierry Saussez, and Jacques-René Rabier.

Labels: EU, Eurobarometer, France, Green Policy, Political, Polling

Nicolas Sarkozy calls for rethink over US missile defence system in Europe - by David Charter

Barack Obama was handed an early foreign policy hot potato yesterday when President Sarkozy proposed a truce in the row over US plans for a missile defence system in Europe. Taking it upon himself to make the EU’s first intervention in the debate – and getting the backing of Russia, which has threatened to position missiles in Kaliningrad – Mr Sarkozy proposed a summit next year on a new pan-European security system, after a suspension of activity from both Moscow and Washington. The French President’s latest piece of off-the-cuff diplomacy caught most of the main players by surprise and raised eyebrows for seemingly trying to bounce the next US President into a policy change as well as talks about a security organisation to rival Nato

Note EU-Digest: compliments to Mr. Sarkozy. The "missile project" was an initiative by the Bush administration, against the wishes of a majority of the citizens in the countries involved and the EU. The missile shield plan also turned into a major stumbling block for Russia and the EU to develop neccesary closer ties. Mr. Obama once in the White House does best to scrap it.

Labels: EU, France, G20, Nicolas Sarkozy, US

France stands strong against economic crisis

The French economy has confounded expectations by not following Germany into recession. The French Economy Minister, Christine Lagarde, says the economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the third quarter of the year. Everyone, including the official statistics office had been predicting that economic activity in France would shrink in the third quarter, as it did in the second quarter, thus ushering in a technical recession. Instead France's economy grew, only by a tiny 0.14 per cent, but that was enough.

Labels: Economy, EU, France

Vandalism disrupts French high-speed train service

Vandals jammed iron bars into two electrical lines on a high-speed rail track in northern France, disrupting service Saturday on more than 30 trains to London, Brussels and other routes, the national rail authority said. No injuries were immediately reported, but hundreds of people were stranded for hours on the tracks and others crowded into train stations awaiting delayed departures. The chief of the SNCF national rail network said it was the fourth act of "malice, even sabotage," on high-speed French rail lines in the past three weeks.

Note EU-Digest: "This not a question of vandalism anymore. The culprits when caught must be treated as serious criminals.

Labels: EU, France, Railways, TGV, Vandalism

With Obama's victory, Europe's minorities sense new possibilities : Robert Marquand

The election of Barack Obama may have revolutionized the world's view of America. But for Africans and Arabs in Europe, he is much more – a liberator figure whose success and social mobility will help them one day crack open the closed doors of European politics. In Paris's black neighborhoods, in the barber shops, the African boutiques, the crowded bus stops, the groceries, President-elect Obama's election is felt deeply and personally – creating a sense that it is time to push for more. "Obama has restored belief in the American dream," says Pap Ndiaye, who is with the School for the Advanced Study of the Social Sciences in Paris. "But his election also has a direct social effect in France, because the black youth think it is possible there [in the US] but not here.

Note EU-Digest: Very true. In some countries like the Netherlands this is already happening. Click on this link to read the story.

Labels: Barack Obama, EU, France, The Netherlands

France - Nicolas Sarkozy 'Le King of Bling Bling' YouTube video smash hit in France - by Umee Khan

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, is caricatured as "Le King of Bling Bling" in an animated YouTube clip which has become a hit in France. In the latest clip, the French leader can be seen surrounded by scantily-clad women, singing "I am the King of Bling-Bling" in the five minute video. At the start of the film, Miss Bruni's voice can be heard before Sarkozy is seen driving through town in a sports car. He is then seen wearing a lot of gold jewellery or "bling", smoking a cigar and clutching several mobile phones - before 'rapping' with glamorous women in a nightclub.

Labels: EU, France, King of Bling Bling, Nicolas Sarkozy

French minister opposes Georgia, Ukraine entry to NATO

France's minister for European affairs on Wednesday said he was opposed to Georgia and Ukraine entering the NATO military alliance for now because it would not benefit Europe. "I think that it is not the right time for membership for Georgia and Ukraine," Jean-Pierre Jouyet said on the sidelines of a European Parliament session. "It is not in the interests of Europe or its relations with Russia." NATO foreign ministers are in December set to once again examine Georgia and Ukraine's candidacy for membership, strongly denounced by Moscow. While Jouyet said he was expressing his personal opinion, he in fact confirmed a view repeatedly expressed by Paris.

Along with Germany, France has been reluctant to take the two ex-Soviet states into the alliance and draw the wrath of Russia, which has made it clear it would regard such a move as something close to a hostile action by NATO. Note EU-Digest: this is a wise move. Letting these countries in might be of interest to the US government, it certainly is not in the interest of the EU's relationship with Russia.

Labels: EU, France, Georgia, Ukraine

Sarkozy Wants to Lead Euro Zone Until 2010

French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly said he wants to become president of the euro zone countries once his term as EU heads expires at the end of the year.According to the French daily Le Monde on Wednesday, Oct. 22, several advisors to the French president have confirmed this strategy. Sarkozy's ambition is based on his firm conviction that the crisis in Georgia and the financial crisis both demonstrated that Europe was in need of a strong leader. According to Le Monde, Sarkozy believes that without such an individual at the helm, the EU would never have been able to negotiate with Moscow or decide on an effective plan to rescue European banks. However, it seems unlikely that other EU countries will go along with the idea. In an interview published Wednesday in the French business daily La Tribune, German Finance Minister Michael Glos said the proposal of a single economic governance of euro zone countries was "not suitable for resolving the current problems."

Note EU-Digest: "the idea certainly has merit, or at least a compromise of the idea, whereby the 15 euro-zone leaders elect a Chairman to speak on behalf of the group".

Labels: EU, France, Sarkozy

France's point man on poverty fights to tax the rich - by Susan Sachs

At a time when some politicians here are calling for lower taxes and a growing number of working families are sliding into poverty, a French Robin Hood has appeared on the scene. Martin Hirsch, a long-time social activist and former president of France's biggest private charity, is fighting to tax the rich to pay the poor.It is a battle that many of Mr. Hirsch's sympathizers thought was not winnable under a right-wing government, and it might seem even more so with bank bailouts and stock market volatility grabbing headlines. But Mr. Hirsch, working from inside the system as President Nicolas Sarkozy's point man on poverty, appears to be close to pulling off the most costly French aid program in years

Labels: EU, France, Social responsibility

Europe matters once again, thanks to its impatient, competent, and hyperactive leader - by Lara Marlowe

CAN NICOLAS Sarkozy save the world? In just two months, with his stewardship of crises in the Caucasus and on world financial markets, the French president has attained the image of an international statesman of rare ability. Mr Sarkozy is changing the way the world sees Europe, and the way Europe sees itself. "All has to change," he said at the closing of the EU summit here yesterday. "This [financial] crisis has given us the opportunity to reconcile Europeans with Europe. I'm ready to place a bet: Europe will have a better image after the crisis." Mr Sarkozy called the euro group's emergency summit on Sunday, then on Wednesday persuaded all 27 member states to adopt the bank rescue plan. His next mission - one he has talked about for years - is to "refound capitalism" the world over; nothing less.

Labels: EU, France, Sarkozy

France eyes local tax overhaul - by Ben Hall in Paris

The French government is to reform the country’s system of local taxation within three years in a bid to improve the competitiveness of its business, according to the industry minister. Luc Chatel told the Financial Times that Paris would initiate an overhaul of the taxe professionnelle in the new year and aim to put the changes in place before the end of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s five-year term, which ends in 2012.

Labels: Economy, EU, France

France - Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne in tie-up talks - by Scheherazade Daneshkhu

Groupe Banque Populaire and Groupe Caisse d'Epargne, two of France's biggest savings banks, have entered into merger talks in an attempt to weather the financial market turmoil. If successful, the merger between the mutually owned banks would create France's second-biggest retail bank after Crédit Agricole, which took over Crédit Lyonnais in 2003. It would have a network of 8,200 branches and, according to the banks, €480bn ($656bn) of savings and deposits.

Labels: Bank Mergers, Banking system, EU, France

Sarkozy Deserts Bush, Europe Drifting From America

When Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France, it appeared that for the first time a French President was going to play a second fiddle to President Bush. He gave the impression that he was also a staunch rightist who was bent upon reversing the liberal and leftist traditions of France and tows the neo conservative and reactionary policies of President Bush. However, the recent developments in Europe and the Middle East show that Sarkozy has parted company with Bush.

What made Sarkozy change his policies? Europe is fundamentally different than the United States. America remains the only country in the world that is loyal to the pure and unadulterated consumerist capitalism. Europe has long back deserted the traditional capitalism and has adopted the concept of a social welfare state based upon what can be called utilitarian capitalism. This form of capitalism can also be called “Capitalism with a human face”.

The poor performance of the American consumerist capitalism as compared to the European utilitarian capitalism has convinced Europe that it is on the right track. Failure of the American policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran as well as the deepening economic crisis at home has convinced the Europeans that time has come to put a distance between America and Europe. The resurgence of Russia as a global power and the relative decline of the American power has also led the Europeans to review their relations with Russia and America and adopt a more balanced and independent stand in the conflict between the two countries.

Labels: Bush, EU, France, Sarkozy

Russia agrees Georgia withdrawal deadline

Moscow has agreed to withdraw its forces from Georgia outside of its two breakaway provinces within one month, the presidents of Russia and France said Monday following the latest efforts to end the region's territorial crisis.

Labels: France, Russia

France Economy Minister Lagarde says U.S. real estate, banks still troubled

The U.S. economy has not yet recovered from the financial crisis and its banking and real estate sectors still face difficulties, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said on Monday. Lagarde said France was downgrading its 2008 growth forecast partly because it had underestimated the impact of the U.S. crisis, and that it would now follow developments there closely. "American banks, especially regional banks, will again see difficulty in the weeks and months ahead," she told France Culture radio.

Labels: EU, France

France not to seek sanctions on Russia at EU summit on Monday

France will not seek to impose sanctions against Russia over the current Russia-Georgia conflict at the European Union summit scheduled for Monday in Brussels, French media cited a source from the Elysee as saying.

"We are now in dialogue with Moscow, not in the phase of sanctions," the source was quoted by AFP as saying on Friday. Time for sanctions "is certainly not coming," it said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country is now holding the rotating presidency of the European Union, called a special summit in Brussels to discuss the Russia-Georgia crisis and the future relationship between Russia and the EU.

Labels: EU, France, Georgia, Russia

Sarkozy Reaches Out to Syria - by Steven Erlanger

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has announced plans to go to Syria next Wednesday to pursue restoring diplomatic ties and to seek the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, a French-Israeli soldier believed to be held by the Palestinian group Hamas, which is headquartered in Syria. Though the American government lists Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, France has moved to open talks with its president, Bashar al-Assad.

Labels: EU, France, Syria

France to take long look at Afghan mission

The death of 10 French soldiers in an ambush by insurgents in Afghanistan has stoked a cry at home for France to rethink its commitment to the seven-year mission led by the United States. Most French voters want out, and the opposition is ratcheting up the pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy's government — though analysts say France and other allies will dig in for the fight even as they insist upon a new look at NATO's strategy against the Taliban and al-Qaida. The word "quagmire" has popped up repeatedly when Afghanistan is discussed in Paris political circles — even in Sarkozy's own party — since Monday's well-planned ambush of a French-led patrol in the Uzbin Valley east of Kabul. It was the deadliest attack on international troops in Afghanistan in more than three years, and the latest sign that the insurgency is growing stronger.

Labels: EU, France

France pays tribute to 10 fallen soldiers in Paris ceremony

France held a commemoration ceremony on Thursday to honour 10 French soldiers killed in a gun battle with insurgents earlier this week in eastern Afghanistan, as questions are being raised over the official account of how the soldiers died. French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined dignitaries and the soldiers' families inside Paris's Invalides palace, where France's war dead are honoured, as lines of uniformed men and women filled the boulevard outside the iconic building. Under the great dome of the Napoleonic institution rested 10 identical coffins bearing the bodies of the soldiers, whose deaths mark the largest single loss of life for any of the international forces engaged in combat in Afghanistan in more than three years.A majority of the French are opposed to the mission in Afghanistan, and the opposition Socialists are demanding a parliamentary committee meet to examine this week's battle. Reports also emerged Thursday of Afghan officials claiming that four of the French soldiers were captured and then executed by the Taliban, the CBC's Common said. Survivors were quoted as saying NATO air support arrived late and then bombarded French positions, while Afghan soldiers called in as backup reportedly also fired on the French.

Labels: Afghanistan, France, Nato

Ten French and 20 US troops killed in Afghanistan battle

Ten French soldiers have been killed in fighting with Taliban insurgents east of the Afghan capital, an Afghan military official said today. The soldiers, part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), were killed in a major battle with insurgents that began on Monday about 30 miles east of Kabul, he said.The Taliban said on its Web site that 20 US soldiers had been killed in the fighting, which they said erupted after militants ambushed a convoy of Afghan and foreign forces late on Monday.

Labels: Afghanistan, EU, France

Property in France: Market report

According to recent reports, for the first time in 10 years the price of French property is starting to fall. Not by a great deal and not everywhere, but enough to make buying, selling or renting property an even more interesting exercise. In its April issue, the French economic journal Capital (www.Capital.fr) devoted nearly 30 pages to a recent and perhaps surprising phenomenon – the accumulating evidence that property prices are at last starting to fall. After 10 years of steady climb – by a total of 130% since 1997 – two independent reports and research undertaken by the magazine itself show that even by December last year, the price per square metre had fallen by an average 3% (from €3,367 six months earlier to around €3,316 per m²) across a broad spectrum of French properties. One of the consequences of the price rises that lasted up to the end of 2007 has been an overall slowing down of the market for both primary and second homes, as occupiers decided to say put, and potential purchasers found that the cost of buying property had risen from an average 3.8 to 5.1 years equivalent family income.

Government figures for the first quarter of 2008 show a dramatic slowdown, particularly in the sale of new-build properties, down overall by 27.9% compared with the same time last year, with three departments (Limousin, Lorraine and Auvergne) showing reductions of more than 60%. The country’s stock of new-build properties awaiting buyers now stands at 105,600 – an all time record.

Labels: EU, France, Real Estate

Sarkozy accused of hypocrisy as his wife meets the Dalai Lama - by John Lichfield

The French First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, will meet the Dalai Lama in France this week – adopting for the first time her self-proclaimed role as a kind of queen of human rights. Officially, Mme Bruni-Sarkozy will meet the Buddhist spiritual leader as a man of faith, not as as a symbol of Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule. In truth, her role will be more ambiguous and more political, deflecting criticism from her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, who announced last week that he would not "provoke" the Chinese government by meeting the Dalai Lama while the Olympic Games were in progress in Beijing.

The French media have, almost universally, interpreted the deployment of the First Lady to greet the Tibetan leader as a clumsy attempt to combine realpolitik and principle.

The centre-left newspaper Libération said: "To human rights activists [the President] is saying 'Carla'. To the Chinese, he is saying: "here I come'." The first secretary of the Socialist Party, François Hollande, said: "Nicolas Sarkozy has already won the gold medal for hypocrisy." Elysée officials said that the decision was made at the suggestion of the Dalai Lama himself, who advised Paris that it was "better not to annoy the Chinese during the Olympics".

Labels: EU, France, Sarkozy, Tibet

France - Bruni wants a child with Nicolas Sarkozy

Just days after the release of her new music album in which she sings of her love for Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni [Images] has expressed her desire of having a baby with the flamboyant French president. "I'd love to have children with Nicolas. I hope to, if I am young enough. It would be a dream," Bruni, who already has a child from her first marriage, said in an interview to Vanity Fair magazine at Elysee Palace in Paris. However, the 40-year-old former Italian supermodel-turned-singer has ruled out fertility programs. "If it comes, I'd be the happiest person in the world, but if it doesn't come, I'm not going to tempt the Devil. If life doesn't give me another child, well, it has given me so much already," Bruni said.

Labels: Bruni, EU, France, Sarkozy

Sarkozy says will not sign WTO deal as it stands

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday he would not sign the current version of a global trade deal unless it was modified.Talks to salvage a global trade deal faced a crunch point on Thursday after three days of scant progress and officials said it would be clear soon whether it was worth pressing on.

Labels: EU, France, Sarkozy, WTO

France calls on gas-consuming countries to club together

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said European countries should club together to give them greater bargaining power in their negotiations with gas suppliers such as Russia. At a time of soaring energy prices, 'we believe it would be better to strike a common stance in Europe,' Kouchner told a joint news conference with his Austrian counterpart Ursula Plassnik. 'Russia negotiates with us as if Europe didn't exist. They negotiate on a one-on-one basis which is understandable but not to our advantage,' he said.

The idea of a European gas purchasing centre, as proposed by the previous EU president Slovenia and taken up by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would fit in with this, Kouchner argued, pointing out that such a facility already existed in the area of electricity. Note EU-Digest: This is an excellent idea and could also be applied in other areas related to energy supplies.

Labels: Energy, EU, France, Russia

The United States cautiously welcomed on Monday the summit of European Union (EU) and Mediterranean countries, which also brought together top leaders of Israel, the Palestinian authorities, Syria and Lebanon. "We don't have an observer there. We don't have a place at the table. But I think, generally, it's an effort that we can, at the least, be supportive of," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. Leaders from all the 27 EU member states and 16 North African, Middle East and Western Balkan countries launched in Paris, France, the Union for the Mediterranean on Sunday, aimed at boosting cooperation between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East through a series of regional projects.

The delegates approved six cooperation projects: the de-pollution of the Mediterranean, the building of maritime and coastal land highways, the fight against disasters, a solar energy program, an EU-Mediterranean university and a business development initiative.

Labels: EU, France, Mediterranean summit, Sarkozy

Colombia Frees Betancourt, US Hostages in Daring Operation - Betancourt thanks France

Colombian forces freed French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages from FARC rebels on Wednesday, July 2, after military spies tricked captors into giving them up without a single injury. Betancourt's captors were duped by a Colombian military team posing as rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Santos said the military intelligence agents infiltrated the guerrilla ranks and led the local commander in charge of the hostages, alias Cesar, to believe they were going to take them by helicopter to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas' supreme leader.

Ingrid Betancourt said she will travel to France to meet President Nicolas Sarkozy now that she is free, as she credits her survival of the ordeal to efforts by the French to press for her release. First she will be reunited with her family in Colombia.

Labels: Betancourt, Colombia, EU, France

Sarkozy calls for changing the way Europe is being built

President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday called for a profound change to the way Europe is being built as France prepared to take the helm of the European Union. "There have been errors in the way that Europe has been built," Sarkozy said in a television interview as France was to take over the presidency of the 27-nation bloc starting on Tuesday. "We must therefore profoundly change our way of building Europe," he said.France wants to push issues it says Europeans find relevant: taking steps to stem the influx of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers; assuaging fears that jobs are being lost to globalization and emerging powers like China; softening the blow of high oil prices on fishermen, farmers, truckers, and low-income households.

France's presidency will, a senior diplomat told me recently, be "fun". That is not a word used often to describe EU presidencies.

Labels: EU, France, Sarkozy

France's Nicolas and Carla assume Europe's throne - by Angela Charlton

France's first lady sings in English and dreams in Italian, and the president's roots reach to Hungary and Greece. Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy could be a metaphor for a harmonious, borderless Europe. The real Europe is a cacophonous and conflicted place, though, as the Sarkozys will soon discover: On Tuesday, they become the continent's public face, as France takes over the presidency of the 27-nation European Union. It's an unusual, important job, presiding over a bloc that boasts nearly half a billion people and an economy rivaling America's yet that struggles to manage its financial and diplomatic heft.

"Modesty" and "no arrogance" — Sarkozy's aides say these are the watchwords of the French EU presidency. Skeptics question whether the glamorous and wealthy Sarkozys can pull that off.

Labels: EU, France, Sarkozy

Study shows Climate change forces plants to higher ground

Researchers from AgroParisTech in France said the shift to higher altitudes is even larger for those plant species restricted to mountain habitats. "If all of these species moved in the same way, this is interesting to see and to analyze and it was significant enough to be considered a movement in relation to climate warming," said lead researcher Jonathan Lenoir in an interview podcast by Science.

Labels: EU, France, Global warming

Sarkozy is making enemies when he should really be making friends

Making enemies might seem a strange way to launch a presidency. But Nicolas Sarkozy just cannot help it, it seems. In the run-up to the start of France's six-month leadership of the European Union, kicking off next Tuesday, a steady stream of venom is pouring Brussels's way from Paris. The two main targets are Jose Manuel Barroso, the ex-Portuguese prime minister who heads a liberal commission, and Peter Mandelson, former New Labour brain and now powerful trade commissioner. The rhetorical knives are out.

Labels: EU, France, Sarkozy

Labels: EU, France, Israel, Sarkozy

Labels: EU, France, Military, Sarkozy

Netherlands beats France 4-1 to qualify for Euro 2008 quarter-finals

Substitute Arjen Robben set up one goal and scored another Friday to lead the Netherlands to a 4-1 victory over France and a place in the quarter-finals of the European Championship. While the Dutch clinched first place in Group C, the result left France needing a win over World Cup champion Italy in its last match to stand a good chance of advancing at the tournament. With a second classic performance in as many games, the Dutch again produced the sparkle any championship craves, compiling a total of seven goals against World Cup finalists Italy and France. The Netherlands beat Italy 3-0 Monday.

Labels: EU, EURO 2008, France, Netherlands, Soccer

Irish Referendum - France warns Ireland on EU treaty 'No' vote - by Honor Mahoney

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has warned Ireland about the consequences of voting "No" in Thursday's referendum, saying the Irish would be the "first victim" if they reject the EU treaty. Speaking on France's RTL radio, Mr Kouchner said that a "No" vote would be met by "gigantic incomprehension" in the rest of Europe."I believe the first victim of an eventual no would be the Irish. They have benefitted more than others," said Mr Kouchner. "Yes, they're not happy because maybe nobody told them that Europe is confronting the rest of the world and that to have advantages for themselves, for the Irish...well, Europe has to develop, has to go in the direction of the Treaty of Lisbon," he said.

Labels: EU, France, Ireland, referendum

For the complete report from the Telegraph click on this link

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the French first lady, taunted one of the country's most senior women politicians about her failure to seduce President Nicolas Sarkozy, a new book claims.Following a New Year's Eve dinner at the Elysée, Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy and Miss Dati were walking in the palace's private apartments when the then Miss Bruni is said to have pointed at Mr Sarkozy's bed and said: "You'd have loved to occupy it, wouldn't you?" The book says the women "who were just getting to know each other, were also learning how to detest each other". Miss Dati a Muslim and France's Justice Minister was a close friend of Mr Sarkozy's ex-wife, Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz, who called her "my little sister" - making the new Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy dislike her even more.

Two decades ago Rachida Dati, a French daughter of north African immigrants, got married to a man that she barely knew. It was not quite an arranged marriage. It was a marriage "to please her family". She immediately regretted her decision. She persuaded her Algerian husband to agree to an instant annulment. Rachida Dati was in her early twenties at the time and making her way as a young lawyer and businesswoman in Paris. Through hard work, as a law student and by taking menial jobs, she had already fought her way clear of her impoverished, immigrant family of 11 brothers and sisters just north of Lyons. Two decades later, Mme Dati is France's first senior minister of north African origin. She is a protégée of President Nicolas Sarkozy. She has been catapulted without previous experience – and her enemies insist without any political skills – into one of the most senior and potentially explosive jobs in French government.

Her political career is threatened by her response to a national debate over how much French law should be influenced by its minorities, based on a court decision that reflects Ms. Dati's own experience as a young Muslim woman struggling to make her way out of a ghetto north of the French city of Lyon. The controversy began last week when a Paris newspaper revealed that a court in the northern city of Lille had annulled the marriage of a Muslim couple because the bride, 20, had lied to her husband, 32, about her virginity. The judge did not cite the couple's religion or the bride's previous sexual experience but ruled that, under the French civil code, the young woman had breached the marital contract by being untruthful about what her husband considered "an essential quality decisive for [his] consent." Feminists, philosophers and politicians of all stripes have united to condemn the decision as a step backward for equality and a dangerous step toward incorporating religious beliefs into the laws of a proudly secular state. Note EU-Digest: Lying, if it is about one's virginity or something else, remains a lie, and has nothing to do about one's religion in order for the lie to qualify as a lie. Mme Dati is on the right track. President Sarkozy said calls for justice minister Rachida Dati to resign over comments she made about a Muslim marriage annulment amounted to a ‘baseless lynching’.

Labels: Cécilia Sarkozy, EU, France, justice, Rachida Dati, Religion