France

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France Launches Airstrikes in Mali

President Hollande says terrorists 'threaten us all'

(Newser) - France launched airstrikes today to help the government of Mali defeat al-Qaeda-linked militants who captured more ground this week, dramatically raising the stakes in the battle for this vast desert nation. French President Francois Hollande said the "terrorist groups, drug traffickers, and extremists" in northern Mali "show a...

Putin to Depardieu: You Are Now Russian!

No word on whether actor, upset over French tax plan, accepts the offer

(Newser) - Gerard Depardieu, who has waged a battle against a proposed super-tax on millionaires in his native country of France, has been granted Russian citizenship. A brief announcement on the Kremlin website revealed that President Vladimir Putin, who had previously expressed solidarity with Depardieu , signed the citizenship grant today. A representative...

France Council Blocks 75% Tax on Millionaires

Government plans to resubmit plan soon

(Newser) - French President Francois Hollande's controversial plan to levy a 75% tax on income above 1 million euro ($1.3 million) has been rejected by a constitutional council, reports Reuters . The tax had been set to go into effect in 2013, despite the protests of many the nation's high...

US Closes Embassy in Central African Republic

Country's president seeks help against rebels

(Newser) - With rebels advancing in the Central African Republic, the US has evacuated its ambassador and his staff and closed its embassy in the country. Washington is urging Americans not to visit the country, where violence is surging, the AP reports. Rebels have captured 10 northern towns, and locals in the...

French Secret for Long Life: Stinky Cheese
 French Secret 
 for Long Life: 
 Stinky Cheese? 
in case you missed it
Dec 22, 2012 7:30 AM CST

French Secret for Long Life: Stinky Cheese?

Researchers investigate 'French paradox' of longevity

(Newser) - It's packed with fat and salt—yet a moldy blue cheese could help you live longer, say researchers. Though the French enjoy a diet high in saturated fats, its women share the title of Europe's longest-living, with a life expectancy of 85.3 years. That prompted researchers to...

'Pathetic' Depardieu Quits France in Tax Rage

Trades barbs with PM, turns in passport after he moved to Belgium

(Newser) - For those American liberals who threaten to move to France should a presidential election not go their way, Gerard Depardieu is noisily heading in the opposite direction and burning his bridges as he goes: The actor is publicly surrendering his French passport and lambasting socialist PM Jean-Marc Ayrault, who had...

18th-Century Chateau Razed 'By Mistake'

Workers got it confused with a smaller building

(Newser) - Residents of a sleepy French village in Bordeaux have been left dumbfounded after discovering their local 18th-century chateau was completely bulldozed "by mistake." The mayor's office in Yvrac said today that workers who were hired to renovate the grand 140,000-sqaure-foot estate in November and raze a...

French Sperm Quality Takes Huge Hit

 French Sperm Quality 
 Takes Huge Hit 
new study
Dec 5, 2012 7:20 AM CST

French Sperm Quality Takes Huge Hit

Concentration of sperm in semen falls 32.3% over 16 years: study

(Newser) - The good news: The male population of France is still fertile. The bad: Its sperm isn't nearly what it once was. A 16-year study of 26,600 of the country's men found their sperm count has sharply fallen, with the number of millions of spermatozoa per milliliter down...

Champagne Sales Point to Gloomy 2012

Europe isn't snapping up the bubbly like it used to

(Newser) - Whether it's a stand-in for Europe's spirits or its wallets, the message is the same: It's been a rather gloomy 2012, at least according to Champagne sales, with shipments of the bubbly down 5% in the first three quarters. And though a holiday bump will occur per...

Furious Europe Rips Israel Over New Settlements

UK, France, Sweden summon ambassadors to express displeasure

(Newser) - Israel's decision to approve 3,000 new homes on occupied territory is drawing sharp condemnation from European allies, with at least three governments summoning ambassadors to express their disapproval of an action they say undermines an already troubled peace process. Israeli envoys were called out in France, Britain, and...

Formidable! Burger King Returns to France

Chain departed the country in 1997

(Newser) - Call it The Remembrance of Onion Rings Past. The French are buzzing over the return of Burger King after an absence of more than 15 years, reports the New York Times . The first Burger King opened on Paris' Champs Elysées in 1980, but fast food was a foreign concept...

Sorry, Sarko: Carla Bruni Backs Gay Marriage

Says it's personal, not political, for her

(Newser) - Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy opposes gay marriage—but his wife feels otherwise. With the country considering a bill to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption, Bruni tells France's Vogue that she's "rather in favor because I have a lot of friends—men and women—who are in...

'Apocalypse' Village to Media: You're the Problem

People in Bugarach can't wait for the 'end of the world' to end

(Newser) - A mysterious online rumor has brought immense fame to a village in France —but for locals and visitors the biggest annoyance seems to be reporters who keep asking about it, the Guardian reports. The sleepy village of Bugarach is known as the one place destined to survive the Mayan...

France Loses AAA Rating on Weak Growth

Moody's downgrades the government's bond rating

(Newser) - Moody's Investors Service has downgraded France's government bond rating, citing the country's weak economic growth outlook and its exposure to Europe's economic crisis. The rating agency lowered France's rating one notch today from triple-A—its top rating—to Aa1. The outlook for the rating remains...

Anti-Gay Marriage Parisians Clash With Topless Activists

Catholic marchers attack counter-protesters

(Newser) - Clashes erupted in Paris yesterday when topless protesters from the Ukrainian group Femen challenged a Catholic-led march to oppose gay marriage. The activists were punched and pushed to the ground after chanting "In Gay We Trust" and spraying white powder from bottles, the AP reports. A law proposed by...

Turkey Recognizes Syria Rebels

It's a major boost for new coalition, though US is still wary

(Newser) - The newly formed rebel coalition in Syria got another major boost today: Turkey announced its formal support, days after France became the first Western nation to do so, reports the Voice of America . The Syrian National Coalition is "the sole legitimate representative of the people of Syria," said...

US Pledges $30M More in Syria Aid

France formally recognizes opposition coalition

(Newser) - Two pieces of good news this week for the newly-formed Syria opposition coalition : France became the first Western country to officially recognize it as the only valid representative of the Syrian people, and the US pledged $30 million in humanitarian aid. Hillary Clinton pledged the additional aid today at a...

France's Champagne Harvest Is Worst in 40 Years

But this year's bubbly won't be affected

(Newser) - Wet weather and hailstorms combined to make this year's Champagne harvest—the real capital C stuff from France—the worst in 40 years, reports BloombergBusinessweek . Damaged vineyards in the Champagne region yielded 40% fewer grapes this year, says an industry spokesman in Paris. The only good news is that...

France's Gay-Rights Bill Takes Step Forward

Ministers back it, so it's now on to National Assembly and Senate

(Newser) - France's top ministers have given the nod of approval to the country's rather suddenly contested gay-marriage and adoption-rights bill, reports CNN . President Francois Hollande's Cabinet today pushed the bill forward, sending it to the National Assembly and Senate, which are expected to vote on it in February...

France: We're OK With Gay Marriage ... Right?

Suddenly it's a political hot potato

(Newser) - New French President Francois Hollande rode to victory promising to legalize gay marriage, and with a majority of the public supporting it, what could go wrong? A lot, it turns out: Religious and rural leaders are opposing him, ambitious conservative politicians are piping up, and even his own Socialist ministers...

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