France

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French Women: Don't Call Me 'Mademoiselle'

Two groups pushing for 'madame' to be used in all cases

(Newser) - French men get to be "monsieur" their whole lives, and French women would like to stick with a single honorific as well. Jezebel reports on the effort to kill "mademoiselle," a campaign backed by Osez le Feminisme (Dare to be Feminist) and Chiennes de Garde (Watch Bitches)....

French Left Captures Senate
 French Left 
 Captures Senate 
Sep 26, 2011 3:52 AM CDT

French Left Captures Senate

Major right-wing loss spells trouble for conservatives

(Newser) - Socialists and other left-wing parties captured the French Senate in yesterday's elections for the first time since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958, reports the BBC . France's sputtering economy and high unemployment, combined with divisions among the right, caused the dramatic shift. This "will go...

Deaf Travelers Kept Off Flight for 'Security Reasons'

French government weighs in

(Newser) - A group of hard-of-hearing travelers in France was barred from its flight after checking its bags for “security reasons,” a French airline said. “Just as we were about to board, someone from the company told us we couldn't,” said a member of the group, 18...

First French Women Fined for Wearing Veils

Veiled woman running for president of France

(Newser) - Two French women have received the country's first fines for wearing a full-face veil—and they hope the fines will be the first nail in the coffin of the ban. The Muslim women, who were fined more than $100 each after wearing the veils while trying to deliver a...

DSK Admits 'Moral Failing,' Denies Rape

Tonight's French TV appearance could draw record audience

(Newser) - Making his first public appearance since his arrest on rape charges in New York four months ago, Dominique Strauss-Kahn admitted today to a moral failing: "What happened was more than an inappropriate relation. It was an error," the former IMF chief said on French television. "I regret...

Praying Banned in Paris Streets
 Praying Banned in Paris Streets 
Sep 16, 2011 7:17 AM CDT

Praying Banned in Paris Streets

The 'street is for driving, not for praying,' interior ministry says

(Newser) - Starting today, praying in the streets of Paris is illegal, and Interior Minister Claude Gueant said the ban could soon be extended to the rest of France, particularly to Nice and Marseilles, where “the problem persists,” the Telegraph reports. The “problem” in this case being Muslim worshipers...

Chirac, PM Took $20M From African Leaders: Aide

Claims money was sometimes hidden in drums

(Newser) - Former French president Jacques Chirac and his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, have been accused of taking $20 million in illicit payments from African heads of state, allegations that both men deny. Lawyer Robert Bourgi, a onetime aide to the politicians, made the accusations in a radio station interview today,...

Explosion Rocks Nuclear Waste Site in France

At least one dead, three injured

(Newser) - An explosion hit the Marcoule nuclear plant in southern France today, killing at least one person and injuring three others, the BBC reports. The site handles nuclear waste and recycles plutonium from nuclear weapons into MOX fuel, but does not include any reactors. The explosion occurred near a furnace, but...

Obama, Jay-Z, Steve Jobs: America Is World's Coolest Country, Poll Says


 It's Official: 
 US Is World's 
 Coolest Country 
15-country poll
Sep 6, 2011 11:26 AM CDT

It's Official: US Is World's Coolest Country

Obama, Jay-Z, Steve Jobs help win crown

(Newser) - When it comes to foreign policy, perhaps Americans aren’t the world’s favorite nationality. But the US has clearly cornered the market on coolness. Just ask the 30,000 people from 15 different countries polled by social networking site Badoo.com. When asked to choose the coolest country, America...

Michel Rocard: Dominique Strauss-Kahn Is Mentally Ill
 Former PM: DSK 'Mentally Ill' 
Aug 31, 2011 6:59 AM CDT

Former PM: DSK 'Mentally Ill'

Michel Rocard writes off fellow Socialist's political career

(Newser) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been handed back his passport , bid farewell to the IMF , and, according to Socialist Party leader Martine Aubrey, will soon be returning to France—where controversy awaits. Michel Rocard, France's prime minister from 1988 to 1991, has told a French TV station that DSK's repeated...

Rich French to Sarkozy: Please Tax Us More

Billionaires urge Sarko to plug budget holes with their cash

(Newser) - As Nicolas Sarkozy prepares to unveil deep budget cuts, some of his country's richest citizens are asking him to take more of their money. Billionaire L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and 15 others have signed a petition urging the government to hit France's wealthiest people with a "...

French Company Launches Lingerie Line for Little Girls

Even 4-year-olds are included

(Newser) - What 4-year-old doesn't need a frilly bra and panty set? A French fashion line of lingerie aimed at children and teenage girls is making awkward waves thanks to photos of young models in risquè outfits and seductive poses, reports Fashionista . Jours Après Lunes claims to be "the...

Investors: Merkel, Sarkozy Plan a Letdown

Investors want big moves, not baby steps

(Newser) - Yesterday's meeting of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel underwhelmed markets, which had been hoping for more radical steps to help the euro zone, reports the Wall Street Journal . It seems investors want more than what the two proposed—among other things, an elected euro-zone president—...

As Merkel, Sarkozy Meet, More Sour Financial News

German GDP was expected to grow 0.5% in Q2 ... and it didn't

(Newser) - Today's financial word of the day: Germany. All eyes are on Angela Merkel's 10am ET talks with Nicolas Sarkozy, as the pair meets to weigh additional moves that could bolster investor confidence in the euro zone. That task will no doubt be a bit tougher following today's...

French Turning Into Les Chubbies

Modern snacking brings modern obesity to land of baguettes and cheese

(Newser) - Modernization and globalization are buffeting French food traditions, giving rise to American-style snacking and—quelle horreur—American-style obesity, reports NPR . Over the past decade, adult obesity rates have climbed to 14% from 8%—still just half the rate of the United States, but enough that the French government is taking...

Lagarde Faces Probe in $400M Deal

Court orders look at $400M arbitration deal

(Newser) - Well, at least there’s no maid involved this time: A special French court has ordered an investigation into newly minted IMF chief Christine Lagarde, over her role in a $400 million arbitration deal with tycoon Bernard Tapie. The much-maligned settlement, awarded in 2008, came after Tapie sued a French...

Hackers Turn Sarkozy's Site Into 'Get Him Out' Game

Elysee Palace site hijacked

(Newser) - Inventive French hackers managed to turn their country's equivalent of the White House website into an anti-Nicolas Sarkozy game. For several hours, visitors to the Elysee Palace website were rerouted to a page—viewable here — featuring a cartoon image of the president being pushed out of the presidential...

French Fight Erupts Over Marauding Wolves

Shepherds want to hunt sheep killers at will

(Newser) - Call it Yellowstone sur Seine. French shepherds are demanding the surging wolf population be culled following increasing sheep deaths by the growing packs of protected canines. Wolves are now roaming the Vosges Mountains on the Alsace-Lorraine border for the first time in 80 years. Some experts predict the wolves could...

US Recognizes Rebels as Libya's Government

Other nations will follow suit, freeing up billions of dollars

(Newser) - The US will officially recognize the Libyan rebels’ Transitional National Council as the country’s legitimate government, Hillary Clinton announced today at a meeting in Turkey of nations intent on resolving the country's chaos. All 30 members of the International Contact Group gathered there will ultimately recognize the TNC...

Poll: French Voters Prefer DSK to Sarkozy

But most don't want Strauss-Kahn to run

(Newser) - If French voters had to choose between Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential election, the incumbent would be out of a job, a new poll finds. Some 54% would opt for the former IMF chief currently charged with attempted rape, according to the Independent , which notes...

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