Oil refinery of Swiss firm Petroplus in Petit-Couronne, near Rouen, northwestern France. A senior Iranian lawmaker says a number of Eastern European countries have called on the Islamic Republic not to approve a bill which will stop the country’s oil exports to the European Union member states. Member of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Mohammad-Karim Abedi said on Tuesday... 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has ridiculed Britain once again by saying that “the United Kingdom has no industry any more”, media reports said. The recent spat was made during a prime time national TV broadcast, in which Sarkozy was trying to defend his decision to introduce an increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) in an attempt to boost France’s failing economy. By enforcing the 1.6... 

Sarkozy, Karzai Agree to Push 2013 ‘Handover,’ But for Very Different Reasons. In a move that was probably inevitable after they froze training operations last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced that French troops will begin transferring control of their sphere of influence, in Kapisa Province, to the Afghan government in March and speed their withdrawal of troops. The... 

The French Senate has passed a bill which makes it a crime to publicly deny that the Ottoman Empire’s 1915 killings of Armenians was a genocide. The move sparked fresh condemnation from Turkey, and could lead to further tension. The upper house of parliament voted 127-86 in favor of the legislation on Monday, after it had been passed by the National Assembly, France’s lower house, last... 

French workers attend the rally in Paris on January 18, 2012. Thousands of people have participated in a rally in Paris, attacking French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans for dealing with the country’s unemployment crisis, Press TV reports. As France gauges the international fallout from losing its triple-A credit rating, Sarkozy has called for the formation of an emergency jobs council... 

The charismatic Marine Le Pen has campaigned hard against free trade and the European Union, and has pushed the party’s traditional tough line on crime and immigration. Marine Le Pen said she would balance France’s books if elected president by leaving the euro, slashing immigration, taxing imports and tapping the central bank for cheap loans instead of the debt markets. The National Front leader,... 

Standard & Poor's has downgraded the credit ratings of several European nations. Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the credit ratings of France, Italy, and Spain, as the European debt crisis continues to intensify. According to French government sources, the ratings agency has downgraded the country’s Triple-A credit rating, while downgrading Italy and Spain’s ratings as... 

France is satisfied with its contract with Russia for the supply of helicopter carriers of Mistral type and is ready to continue the cooperation in military-technical sphere. In particular, the French party promises this year to issue a contract to build the third and fourth helicopter. “After selling the Mistral our country is ready to offer Russia the most advanced weapons and military equipment,... 

A large corruption scandal involving President Nicolas Sarkozy has been gathering pace in France. According to Liberation newspaper, which refers to the investigative materials, Mr. Sarkozy, when serving as the Budget Minister, was involved in establishing a mechanism to pay so-called “kickbacks” when selling submarines to Pakistan during the 1990s, RBC TV reports. The French newspaper... 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L), President of France Nicolas Sarkozy (C) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso Eurozone leaders have used their New Year’s messages to warn of more economic crisis for the year ahead, as many eurozone countries expect recession in 2012. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday she expects more difficulty in 2012, but she does “everything”... 

2011 will be remembered as the year the US, Britain, France and Israel went into Imperial Overdrive in North Africa and the Middle East. Will 2012 be remembered as the year those same Western Allies unleashed World War III? ­It is not news anymore to say that the West will soon attack Iran, maybe Syria. They have been threatening to do that for years now, certainly ever since the failed Israeli invasion... 

A Turkish delegation has met with French officials in a last-minute attempt to prevent the passing of a bill by the French parliament that would criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide, Press TV reports. The Turkish delegation including lawmakers and businessmen held talks with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and President Nicolas Sarkozy’s foreign policy advisor Jean-David Levitte... 

Former French President Jacques Chirac A court in France has handed former French President Jacques Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence after finding him guilty of embezzlement and misuse of public funds. Chirac was tried on Thursday over a party-financing scandal during his 1977-1995 tenure as Paris mayor, AFP reported. Chirac, who did not attend the trial due to doctors’ recommendations,... 

A child taking part in a rally in support of the Syrian regime, holds a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The EU has stopped short of endorsing a French proposal for EU-backed humanitarian corridors that would allow aid groups and observers into Syria. ­France has called for a “secured zone to protect civilians” in Syria. It is the first time a major Western country has suggested international... 

France has joined Turkey in calling for greater international efforts to exert pressure on Syria to stop its bloody crackdown on protesters, as at least 15 more people were reported killed Friday. At the same time, Syria made its first response to a proposal by the Arab League to send a delegation of more than 500 military and civilian observers to the country, but critics said it appeared to be a...