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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: France

France stories: 576 news summaries

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GONE TO THE BIRDS


 Breadcrumb Latest 
 Speed Bump 
 for Collider 

$8B science project sidetracked by 'bit of baguette'

Nov 6, 09 6:29 AM CST
(Newser) - The enormous science project buried beneath the France-Switzerland border has seen all kinds of detours in its search for the so-called “God particle”—busted vacuum tubes, al-Qaeda moles—so the latest might not be a huge surprise: A piece of bread dropped by a bird onto an outdoor... More »

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bread • France • birds • Switzerland • Large Hadron Collider • Higgs boson • God particle

 Anthropologist 
 Levi-Strauss 
 Dead at 100 

French ethnologist introduced structuralist theory

Nov 3, 09 1:11 PM CST
(AP) - Claude Levi-Strauss, widely considered the father of modern anthropology for work that included theories about commonalities between tribal and industrial societies, has died. He was 100. The French intellectual was regarded as having reshaped the field of anthropology, introducing structuralism—concepts about common patterns of behavior and thought, especially myths,... More »

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Nicolas Sarkozy • France • obituary • anthropology • academics • anthropologist • Claude Levi-Strauss • ethnology • structuralism

 Chirac Must 
 Stand Trial 
 on Corruption 
 Charges 

Allegations go back to his days as mayor of Paris

Oct 30, 09 9:15 AM CDT
(AP) - Former French President Jacques Chirac has been ordered to stand trial in an alleged corruption scandal dating back to his time as Paris mayor—a case that caught up with him in retirement once he lost the judicial immunity of France's highest office. A magistrate ordered Chirac, whose 12-year presidency... More »

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Jacques Chirac • France • corruption • Paris • mayor • corruption charges

CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

 Sarko's $400K 
 Shower Steams French 

French president's turn as EU chief cost double the usual amount

Oct 28, 09 2:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - The French Senate is perhaps understandably miffed at the outrageous price tag of Nicholas Sarkozy’s 6-month stint as president of the European Union. The half-year job of hosting meetings and events appears to have cost $262 million, which is borne mostly by the host nation, an official tells the... More »

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Iraq • European Union • Nicolas Sarkozy • France • president • budget • summit • shower

Scientology Guilty of Fraud,
Rules French Court

But ruling stops short of outright ban

Oct 27, 09 6:40 AM CDT
(AP) - A Paris court has convicted the Church of Scientology's French branch of fraud and fined it $600,000, but stopped short of the ban on the group that was sought by prosecutors. Church leaders were found guilty of pressuring members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain.... More »

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fraud • Scientology • France • cult • Scientologists

 Asterix, France's Favorite 
 Comic Gaul, Hits 50 

Paris awash with celebrations of the indomitable Gaul

Oct 25, 09 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - A comic-book series beloved in France and translated in 107 languages is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month, and Paris in particular will be awash with all things Asterix. The indomitable Gaul—who pals around with Obelix, obtains his magic strength potion from druid Getafix, and answers to chief Vitalstatistix—... More »

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entertainment • France • birthday • comic books • Asterix • Gauls

Dad Busted for Kidnapping Daughter's Killer

German was trussed up, dumped at French courthouse

Oct 22, 09 3:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - A French man has been arrested after the German convicted of killing his daughter was found bound, gagged, and dumped in front of a French courthouse. Cardiologist Dieter Krombach was found guilty in absentia by a French court for killing 14-year-old Kalinka Bamberski in 1982, but German authorities refused to... More »

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Germany • France • kidnapping • extradition • manslaughter • Andre Bamberski

Muslims, Gays Clash Over French Soccer Match

Muslim team banned after refusing to play Paris Foot Gay

Oct 21, 09 5:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - An amateur soccer game sparked an ugly culture clash in France after a Muslim team refused to play a rival that welcomes openly gay players. On the eve of the match between Creteil Bebel and Paris Foot Gay, the Bebel president sent an email declining the match: "In light... More »

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homophobia • France • soccer • Muslim • homosexuality • gay

Obama Had Hand in Secret Talks With Iran

Worked out deal with France, Russia to process uranium

Oct 20, 09 10:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama personally stepped in multiple times during the secret multinational talks with Iran that led up to the negotiations that began yesterday in Vienna, White House sources tell Time. When Iran put the word out that it needed enriched uranium plates for its aging research reactor, the Obama... More »

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Iran • nuclear proliferation • Russia • Barack Obama • France • nuclear program

 Après Le Deluge: 
 French Battle 
 Anglo Terms 
 in Web Age 

Experts struggle to create equivalents for terms like 'cloud computing'

Oct 14, 09 4:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Defenders of the French language are fighting a rear-guard action against a flood of Anglo-Saxon computing terms. In a process that lags far behind advances in technology, experts are tasked with finding French equivalents for new computing technology. The terms must then be passed by a panel of linguists and... More »

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Internet • France • language • translation • terminology • foreign languages • computing • French

Post for Sarko Son Sparks
Howls of Protest

Law student tapped to run huge, lucrative business district

Oct 13, 09 4:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's not every day that a 23-year-old law student is tapped to manage the largest office park in Europe, but when you are Jean Sarkozy, anything's possible. The son of the French president, who already has a local government post, has the ruling party's official backing to run La Dé... More »

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Nicolas Sarkozy • France • Paris • nepotism • Jean Sarkozy • commercial real estate

 Tudor Sailor 
 Bones Set 
 for Exhibit 

400 went down on Mary Rose as dismayed king watched

Oct 12, 09 5:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - The bones of King Henry VIII's faithful fighters will soon go on display in a Portsmouth museum, nearly 500 years after they were defeated at sea by the French. The sailors of the flagship Mary Rose went down to defeat in a battle among 80 other Tudor vessels against 225... More »

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France • England • warfare • navy • The Tudors • King Henry VIII

 Hadron Collider 
 Physicist Admits He 
 Was Al-Qaeda Mole 


Standford University Ph.D. was about to mount attack: officials

Oct 12, 09 2:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - A top-level nuclear physicist working on the Hadron Collider has admitted being an Al-Qaeda spy, French officials are reporting. Adlène Hicheur, 32, is expected to be charged today after investigators discovered he suggested targets to the terror organization, reports the Independent. French officials believe the Stanford University Ph.D.... More »

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Algeria • France • physicist • scientist • al-Qaeda • terror network • CERN • Large Hadron Collider • terror attack • Adlène Hicheur

Nuclear Scientist Arrested for Alleged al-Qaeda Ties

CERN says researcher didn't work on dangerous projects

Oct 9, 09 2:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - French authorities have arrested a researcher working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on suspicion that he has been in contact with al-Qaeda. Police say they believe the 32-year-old and his brother contacted people linked to the terror group online, and they had been planning an attack in... More »

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terrorism • France • al-Qaeda • CERN • Large Hadron Collider • European Organization for Nuclear Research • LHC Beauty

French Minister Slammed Over Sex Tourism

Mitterand defended Polanski, admitted 'paying for boys' in book

Oct 8, 09 6:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterand's own past has come back to haunt him in the wake of his calls for Roman Polanski's release. Opposition lawmakers have brought attention to passages in his autobiography where he defends sex tourism and admits paying for young—and, he implies, underage—boys. "I... More »

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France • underage sex • Roman Polanski • sex tourism • Frederic Mitterand

 Sarko to French Pols: 
 Put Down the Croissants 

French government gets the fitness bug after president loses 15 pounds

Oct 7, 09 7:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy has lost 15 pounds since he married Carla Bruni, subsisting on a diet of cottage cheese, fruit compote, and bottled water—and he's not the only one in the French government who's slimming down. As the Times of London reports, Sarkozy is pressuring his ministers to lose weight,... More »

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Nicolas Sarkozy • France • weight loss • diet • French politics • overweight • Carla Bruni • Christine Lagarde

Fan Crush Crashes Bruni's New Website

Showcase for 'ultimate modern woman's' charity work collapses under onslaught

Oct 6, 09 3:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - A much-hyped website showcasing Carla Bruni's work as France's first lady crashed within minutes of its launch yesterday after receiving thousands of hits. Administrators at carlabrunisarkozy.org said the site—which describes the ex-model as "the ultimate modern woman"—couldn't cope with the demand and advised visitors to... More »

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philanthropy • Nicolas Sarkozy • France • website • Carla Bruni • first lady

 Zut Alors! 
 French 
 Attack 
 Big Macs 
 at Louvre 

Wake up and smell the French fries, Mona Lisa

Oct 5, 09 3:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - News that a McDonald's will open just yards from the entrance of the Louvre museum has sent lovers of French culture into conniptions. “This is the pinnacle of exhausting consumerism, deficient gastronomy and very unpleasant odors in the context of a museum,” sniffed one art historian who works... More »

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McDonald's • France • museum • The Louvre

France, Poland Backtrack
on Polanski Support

Calls for director's release dropped as public backlash grows

Oct 1, 09 4:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - The governments of France and Poland are beginning to distance themselves from Roman Polanski amid a public backlash against earlier support for the film director, who holds passports from both countries. In France—where the foreign minister called for Polanski's release earlier this week—a government spokesman said yesterday that... More »

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Poland • France • extradition • Roman Polanski • child rape

 Whoopi Calls 
 Polanski Case 
 'Not Rape-Rape,' 
 Triggers Uproar 

Hollywood supporters facing off against angry feminists over sex with teen

Sep 30, 09 4:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Whoopi Goldberg's comment that Roman Polanski's sex with a 13-year-old girl wasn't really "rape-rape" has added fuel to the growing conflagration between the film director's Hollywood supporters and angry feminists. "I know it wasn't rape-rape. I think it was something else, but I don't believe it was rape-rape,... More »

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crime • France • Los Angeles • rape • district attorney • feminists • Roman Polanski • child rape • Samantha Geimer • anal sex

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