French troops die in Afghan blast

13 July 2011 Last updated at 12:33 GMT Most foreign troops in Kapisa are French At least five French soldiers and one civilian have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in the north-eastern Afghan province of Kapisa, officials say.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed the soldiers had been killed while on duty in the Tagab valley. A number of others were wounded.

The troops were guarding local tribal leaders when the bomber struck.

Mr Sarkozy visited Afghanistan on Tuesday and announced 1,000 French troops would leave by the end of 2012.

The bomber walked up to the French troops who were standing by their armoured vehicles before detonating his explosives, Reuters news agency quotes a local official as saying.

"A terrorist set off a bomb close to the soldiers wounding four other French soldiers seriously and three Afghan civilians," President Sarkozy's office said in a statement.

It is thought to be the heaviest loss of life France has suffered in Afghanistan since 10 of its soldiers were killed in a Taleban ambush in the Sarobi area east of Kabul in August 2008. Another 21 were wounded.

Fighting has intensified across Afghanistan in recent months.

Last month a suicide bomber killed eight people at a police academy in Kapisa.

The Taliban said they carried out that attack, which happened shortly before the French ambassador was due to visit the area.

French soldiers have been part of the Nato-led operation in Afghanistan since 2001.

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French activists plan Gaza 'flytilla'

7 July 2011 Last updated at 19:53 GMT Ben Gurion airport is on high alert for the arrival of the activists Israel has stepped up security at Tel Aviv airport, ahead of the arrival of 500 pro-Palestinian activists, most of them French nationals, on Friday.

The so-called "flytilla" comes as the Greek authorities have blocked the sailing of an aid flotilla trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

The moves come on the first anniversary of the 2010 Freedom Flotilla.

Nine Turkish activists were killed when Israeli commandos stormed the lead ship, causing an international outcry.

As a result, Israel eased its blockade on the impoverished Palestinian territory, allowing in more food and humanitarian goods.

Israel says the restrictions are necessary to stop weapons smuggling and to put pressure on Hamas, the militant Islamist group that has governed Gaza alone since 2007.

The UN has characterised the measures as the collective punishment of Gaza's population of 1.6 million people.

'Undesirable' The Dignite is part of a 10-ship Freedom Flotilla II

Organisers of the Welcome to Palestine campaign, which the media has dubbed the "flytilla", say it expects more than 500 activists to fly in from the US and Europe to spend a week visiting Palestinian families.

All are "non-violent pacifists", the group said in a statement, dismissing Israeli media speculation about plans to stage protests or sit-ins at the airport.

However, a number of activists were turned back at Paris's Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport as they tried to board a flight to Tel Aviv on the Hungarian airline Malev.

An airport spokesman told AFP news agency their reservations had been cancelled at the request of Israeli authorities who had issued a "list of undesirable persons".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered authorities to "act with determination, while trying to avoid unnecessary friction" with anyone taking part in a provocation, a statement from his office said.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the AFP news agency on Thursday that preparations were underway at Ben Gurion: "There is a large police presence in and around the airport to prevent any disturbances," he said.

Boat blocked

Meanwhile, the Greek coast guard intercepted the lone remaining boat from a 10-ship aid convoy that has been trying to sail to Gaza since the end of June.

The French boat - Dignite al-Karama - was detained for "administrative reasons" on a refuelling stop in Crete, organisers said.

Israeli officials have dismissed as "ridiculous" claims by the organisers that Israel has sabotaged two ships - one Irish and one Swedish - and pressured the Greek authorities to block the sailings of the French yacht, as well as US and Canadian vessels.

The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators - the UN, US, EU and Russia - has urged activists to avoid a potential confrontation with Israel, pointing to last year's deadly clashes on the Freedom Flotilla that left nine activists dead.

Israel increased sanctions on Gaza in 2006 after militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It tightened them further still a year later when Hamas ousted rival Palestinian organisation Fatah from the territory.

Although the Islamist group won Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, it refuses to recognise Israel or to renounce violence and is designated in the West as a terror organisation.

Israel eased the restrictions last year in response to international pressure following the activists' deaths.

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Gold hoard found in French cellar

8 July 2011 Last updated at 15:01 GMT The coins could fetch 100,000 euros at auction, a coin expert who examined them said A French couple have found a hoard of gold coins worth at least 100,000 euros (?89,000; $140,000) in the cellar of their home in the town of Millau.

They were working on their drains when they dug up the 34 coins in a little clay pot, French media said.

The coins date from 1595 to the French Revolution, which began in 1789, said a local coin expert who evaluated them.

The most valuable is a double louis from 1640, during the reign of Louis XIII, worth 6,500 euros.

The coin expert, Marc Aigouy, told AFP news agency that he offered either to buy the coins from the couple or to organise an auction on their behalf.

He said if American and Japanese buyers participated, the coins could fetch at least 100,000 euros.

Mr Aigouy said the couple wish to remain anonymous but they live on rue Droite, an old Roman road which is the oldest street in Millau, in southern France.

Under French law, the couple are allowed to keep the treasure because it was found on their own property, Mr Aigouy said.

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'Swap deal' for French hostages

30 June 2011 Last updated at 22:55 GMT Herve Ghesquiere (R) and Stephane Taponier received a warm welcome back in France

One of two French hostages freed by the Taliban in Afghanistan says he believes there was an exchange deal involving money and prisoners.

Herve Ghesquiere, a TV reporter, told the BBC he had no proof of this, but said he and cameraman Stephane Taponier had not been released after 18 months in captivity "for chocolates".

The Taliban have also said several of their members were freed from prison.

But the Afghan government has denied any prisoner exchange took place.

The French government insisted no ransom was paid for its citizens.

Mr Ghesquiere and Mr Taponier were kidnapped with interpreter Reza Din in Kapisa province in December 2009. All three were released on Wednesday.

'Isolated'

The French authorities have remained silent about what triggered their release after lengthy negotiations, but Mr Ghesquiere said the Taliban had been promised "money and at least two prisoners".

Continue reading the main story

France was forced to accept the conditions put forward by the Islamic Emirate”

End Quote Zabiullah Mujahid Taliban spokesman "I don't have any proof. Officially, there was no ransom. But of course, it was not for chocolates," he told the BBC World Service.

He said their captors did not say why they were being held, but that it "was clear in the beginning" that they wanted to exchange them.

"The negotiations were very long," he explained. "You have many Taliban commanders, many different small power brokers in the region.

"We were in Kapisa - the French army sector - and it was very difficult for the French secret services to negotiate. I am sure, because we are alive... that they did great, great work, but it was very, very long.

"After 15 June, we felt something [was going to happen]. We moved a lot - before then we stayed in the same house. We talked to the Taliban and they said: 'Yes, something is going on.' We were very optimistic."

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that the French government had tried to get the journalists released "through the use of force... but their efforts proved futile and the enemy was forced to retreat suffering heavy casualties".

"Finally, France was forced to accept the conditions put forward by the Islamic Emirate [the Taliban] and agreed to an exchange in return for the release of a number of mujahideen leaders."

Mr Ghesquiere also described the ordeal that saw him become one of the longest-held Western hostages in Afghanistan.

"We were captured at the very end of December 2009. We were together for three-and-a-half months. Then we were separated. I was completely alone for eight months - between mid-April and mid-December last year.

"It was complicated to be so isolated, confined in a room only 12 sq metres [130 square feet]."

He said he listened to the BBC World Service "almost every day", and that it had been his "only link between our room and the external world".

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French X Factor won by Englishman

29 June 2011 Last updated at 12:14 GMT Matthew Raymond-Barker: 'I don't have any idea why I won'

A British student who was knocked out in the early stages of the UK's X Factor has gone on to win the French version of the show.

Matthew Raymond-Barker, a 22-year-old language student from London, won in the final on Tuesday night.

He decided to give X Factor a second shot while he was studying in Toulouse.

He told BBC World Service that being English in a French competition may have helped him stand out.

Mr Raymond-Barker and his challenger Marina D'Amico, aged just 17, performed alongside international stars Beyonce and Bruno Mars in the final.

He beat Ms D'Amico by just 1,300 votes, and was visibly shocked when the result was announced live on French TV.

He thanked all those who had helped and supported him throughout the competition, before exclaiming, in English, "I don't believe it!"

Second chance

On the night of the final he sang Tik Tok by Kesha, a medley of Love The Way You Lie and Don't Stop the Music by Eminem and Rihanna, Vivre Ou Survivre by Daniel Balavoine, and Michael Jackson's Man in The Mirror.

Though he clearly struggled to hit some of the highest notes on the latter, the jury praised his energy, his presence on stage, and his progress throughout the competition.

Matthew Raymond-Barker sung in both English and French throughout the contest.

He admits his spoken French was "a bit iffy" when he first arrived in the country, but he is now fluent, and thinks the French appreciated the "massive effort" he made with the language.

And he was much more relaxed second time round.

"I thought I've got nothing to lose - it's going to be a good experience whatever happens.

"I just had the aim to go one step further than I did in the UK, but it obviously worked out a lot better!"

Not the 'lazy' way

"I was just trying really, really hard to do my best here," Mr Raymond-Barker told the BBC.

"I'm not the best singer in the world, believe me, but I just try really hard.

"I know people say that X Factor is the really quick way to do it - like it's the lazy way - but it can show your determination.

The jury praised the British singer's energy

"I'm not going to pretend it didn't hurt when I was rejected from the UK competition - I cried on the way back on the Tube!"

So what's next for Matthew Raymond-Barker?

"I think I'll be staying in France for the time being, and then hopefully in the future I can spread my wings and fly to many different countries."

He has won a recording contract and his first single, Vivre Ou Survivre - which he sang last night - will be released on Saturday.

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French food fight for Brazil firm

29 June 2011 Last updated at 07:34 GMT Pao de Acucar was founded in Sao Paulo in 1948 Two French food giants are locked in a battle to take over Brazil's number one retailer, Grupo Pao de Acucar.

Proposals to merge Pao de Acucar with the local operations of Carrefour are opposed by rival Casino, which already has a stake in the Brazilian group.

The proposed Pao de Acucar-Carrefour deal would create a firm with a 27% market share and sales of more than $40bn (?25bn) a year.

Pao de Acucar is already Latin America's second-biggest retailer.

As well as its Pao de Acucar and Extra supermarket chains, it also has a majority stake in the Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia chains that sell electrical goods and furniture.

Pao de Acucar's shares rose 12.6% on Brazil's main stock exchange on Tuesday after news of the deal emerged.

Secret talks

Brazilian investment fund Gama announced the merger plan on Tuesday. Under the terms of the offer, it will combine Pao de Acucar and Carrefour's Brazilian assets into a new company, to be called Nova Pao de Acucar.

Gama said investment fund BTG Pactual and the BNDES state development bank had committed $2.8bn to the deal, as well as $710m in debt financing.

The deal followed talks between Carrefour and Pao de Acucar chairman Abilio Diniz, whose family founded the firm in Sao Paulo in 1948.

Since 1999, Pao de Acucar has been part-owned by another French firm, Casino, which denounced the proposal to merge with Carrefour as "illegal".

Casino said it was disappointed with Mr Diniz for negotiating a deal without its authorisation.

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Aubry bid for French Socialists

28 June 2011 Last updated at 11:09 GMT Ms Aubry (left) took over the party soon after the 2007 defeat Martine Aubry has announced she will compete to be the Socialist candidate for the 2012 French presidential election.

Ms Aubry, party leader and daughter of former European Commission President Jacques Delors, declared her bid in the city of Lille, where she is mayor.

Bids for the party ticket close in July, with a vote in the autumn.

The Socialists last held France's top political office in 1995 under the late Francois Mitterrand.

The current conservative President, Nicolas Sarkozy, is widely expected to stand for re-election, boosted by the elimination of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had been tipped as the Socialists' best hope before being sidelined by sexual assault allegations in May.

Other likely contenders for the Socialist candidacy, which will be decided at primary elections in October, include former party leader Francois Hollande and Segolene Royal, who was defeated by Mr Sarkozy at the 2007 election.

'A taste for the future'

Within France, Ms Aubry is best known for introducing the country's 35-hour work week when she was employment minister under Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in the late 1990s.

"I want to restore France's strength, its calm and its unity," Ms Aubry said in Lille.

"I want to give a taste for the future and a desire for a common destiny back to everyone."

She condemned the policies of Mr Sarkozy, saying they were orientated towards benefiting "the most privileged".

Nominations for the Socialist primaries close on 13 July.

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Google faces French court claim

28 June 2011 Last updated at 10:24 GMT The FTC is looking at whether Google manipulates its search results to steer users to its own sites French search engine 1PlusV is suing Google for 295m euros (?264m), the largest damage claim the search engine has faced in Europe.

It claims that Google used its market dominance to block the development of rival services.

An earlier complaint from 1PlusV and others, including Microsoft, triggered a European Commission investigation.

It also faces a probe from the US Federal Trade Commission.

Lost profits

1plusV, which runs the Ejustice.fr legal website and search engine, said that court action was the "logical" next step in its campaign to force closer scrutiny of Google's practices.

"Our actions benefit not just one company, but all players in the booming vertical search business," said 1plusV founder Bruno Guillard.

It filed its initial complaint with the EC in February 2010 and a formal investigation was launched in November.

Google was served notice of the claim on Monday.

"We have only just received the complaint so we can't comment in detail yet. We always try to do what's best for our users. It's the key principle that drives our company and we look forward to explaining this," the firm said in a brief statement.

At the core of 1plusV's case is the claim that it lost revenue because Google prevented it from developing specialised "vertical" search engines.

Black-listed

"Google employed a number of anti-competitive practices and unethical behaviour over a period of four years to cripple 1plusV's ability to generate business and advertising," it said in a press release.

Between 2007 and 2010, it claims that 30 vertical search engines it had created were "black-listed".

Some of these have since been "white-listed" - indexed again, it said.

It also accused Google of artificially pushing its services to the first page of search results.

Another key element of the case against Google hinges on its Adsense system which allows advertisers to buy keywords which, when typed in as a search, query produce a commercial link alongside the search results.

In order to take advantage of Adsense, 1plusV said it was forced to abandon its own search technology and adopt Google's.

Google's advertising revenues hit $8.3bn in the first quarter of 2011.

The European Union has the power to fine companies up to 10 percent of their global turnover for breaching EU rules.

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French sex case minister arrested

21 June 2011 Last updated at 09:23 GMT Mr Tron is being questioned by French police French police have detained former minister Georges Tron over sex charges, the local prosecutor's office has said.

Mr Tron resigned as junior civil service minister last month after being accused of sexually assaulting two women who worked in the town hall where he is mayor.

He was arrested on Monday for questioning, as part of prosecutors' preliminary inquiries.

He has not been charged in the case, and denies the accusations.

Police can hold Mr Tron for 24 hours and extend his arrest for another 24 hours, said prosecutor Marie-Suzanne Le Queau.

One of his deputies at the Draveil town hall is also being held.

A third accuser has also "recently brought charges" against Mr Tron, according to sources close to the investigation. Her identity or connection to Mr Tron is not known.

The first two accusers allege Mr Tron gave them reflexology foot massages which turned into forced sexual encounters.

Mr Tron resigned from the government at the end of last month over the allegations, a few days after ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York on sex crime charges. He remains mayor of Draveil.

At the time of his resignation, Ms Le Queau said that "if the facts alleged were established, they could come under the headings of sexual aggression and rape".

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Sacre brew! Iron-Age French made beer at home

15 June 2011 Last updated at 13:06 GMT The carbonised barley grains suggest they were "malted" and then roasted Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that the occupants of southeastern France were brewing beer during the Iron Age, some 2,500 years ago.

A paper in Human Ecology outlines the discovery of barley grains that had been sprouted in a process known as malting; an oven found nearby may have been used to regulate the process.

Beer brewing's heritage stretches back to the Bronze Age in China and the Middle East, but this is the earliest sign of the practice in France, where wine-making had already taken hold.

The recent find was in Roquepertuse, close to modern Aix-en-Provence, and was excavated in the 1990s.

Archaeologist Laurent Bouby from France's National Centre for Scientific Research has been studying "archaeobotany" - preserved plant remains - in the region around Roquepertuse for more than a decade.

Wine not

Dr Bouby and his colleagues have now analysed the "macrobotanical" remains found at three sites during those digs: a paved floor near an oven and hearth of a home dated to the 5th Century BC, and a ceramic vessel and a pit that were near storage containers.

Ninety percent of the barley grains that were recovered from these locations had been induced to sprout.

The malted grains and the arrangement of the finds led the team to surmise a "home-brew" scenario, which they note requires no specialised equipment.

"All that is needed is an amount of grain, some water, containers (commonly pottery vessels) in which to soak the grain, a flat paved area - possibly the floor - to spread out and turn the grain during germination, an oven to dry it in order to stop germination, domestic grindstones to grind the malted grain, hearths and again containers for fermentation and storage," they wrote.

"Evidence for all of these sorts of equipment is reported from the Roquepertuse dwelling."

Prior studies suggest that a variant of the barley plant known as six-row barley was the primary cultivated plant in the region at the time; the authors of the study now suggest that beer production may have been one of the principal reasons for this.

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