The financial scandal of a former French minister has dealt a blow to the popularity of President Francois Hollande sending his approval rating to its lowest level since coming to power. According to a poll conducted by the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, only 27 percent of participants are satisfied with Hollande, while 68 percent have expressed dissatisfaction. French Budget Minister Jerome... 

France is planning to triple the number of its soldiers fighting anti-government militants in the West African nation of Mali. “There will be a gradual build-up [in the number of French troops in Mali] to a figure of 2,500,” said a source close to Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday. The announcement of France’s plans to increase the number of troops in Mali comes after French... 

Western European countries are preparing the ground for the revision of the Schengen border control and recovery. France and Germany are primarily interested in taking such measures aimed at ensuring the EU’s internal borders. The new French president Francois Hollande, as well as his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, is in favor of strengthening the fight against illegal migration. Enhancement... 

Incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy Incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he will not make any deal with the far-right and pro-Russia candidate Marine Le Pen who stood third in the first round of the presidential polls. “There will be no pact with the National Front,” Sarkozy said in an interview with France Info radio on Wednesday. However, the French president underlined the... 

A shocking Federal Security Services (FSB) report circulating in the Kremlin today states that top French diplomat Richard Descoings was “suicided” by American intelligence agents shortly after he arrived in New York and was due to report to the United Nations that France’s Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence (DCRI) and the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were “directly... 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to continue cracking down on the so-called suspected Islamists, comparing the recent Toulouse shootings to the September 11, 2001 incidents in the US. “The trauma… is profound for our country, a little, I don’t want to compare the horrors, a little like the trauma that followed in the United States and in... 

Slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi (R) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy A French investigative news website says that slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi had contributed 50 million euros to French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s election campaign in 2007. In a report published on Monday, the Mediapart news website claimed that one of its journalists has seen documents confirming the contributions. According... 

Mohamed Merah, the suspect in the killing of 3 paratroopers, 3 children and a rabbi in recent days in France. Mohamed Merah, the man behind the Toulouse killing spree, is dead after a 32 hour siege ended in grenade explosions and gunfire. ­He jumped out of his bathroom window blazing an automatic pistol as police broke through, and was found dead where he fell. Two police commandos were wounded in... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

Accused: The prostitute's revelations are the latest in a tide of sleazy accusations to surround Strauss-Kahn which overall is now morally unsuitable to become next French President A prostitute told how Dominique Strauss-Kahn joined her at 11 orgies over six years, it was revealed in France today. The 30-year-old vice girl named Florence described in lurid detail how the disgraced economist enjoyed... 

Former French President Jacques Chirac The trial of former French President Jacques Chirac has opened in his absence in Paris on charges of misusing public funds during his time as mayor of the city. Chirac’s lawyers had last week submitted a medical report to the court, explaining that the 78-year-old is in a state of vulnerability that makes him unable to answer questions about his past, the... 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is grabbed as he speaks to supporters near the southern city of Toulouse, June 30, 2011. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been grabbed and almost knocked to the ground by a man in the southern French town of Brax. The attacker yanked Sarkozy’s suit by the shoulder and knocked him to the ground while he reached over a metal barricade to greet onlookers, AP... 

From Monday, women wearing the full Islamic veil in France could be fined up to 150 euros and be ordered to attend “re-education” classes. The law has already sparked unrest, with police arresting 61 protestors against the law Saturday in Paris. A controversial law banning full face veils in public places in France came into force on Monday. Critics say the law stigmatises Muslims – while...