Auvergne

New controls on syndic charges

Minor building work must be included in management fees ? as hidden extra charges spiral

Chainsaw husband cuts up furniture

A CHAINSAW-wielding husband took things too far as he went along with his wife?s demand to split things down the middle during their divorce ? he cut up the sofa, the dinner table and a computer.

G…

Sarkozy acts on bank bonuses

NICOLAS Sarkozy has confronted the chief executives of the major French banks and announced a crackdown on inflated bonuses and excessive risk-taking.

In his first major engagement since returning fr…

Woman throws thong at judge

A WOMAN who threw her thong at a judge in court has been arrested and taken into police custody.

The woman, aged in her thirties, was sitting in the public gallery at Perpignan magistrates court when…

Another driver hit with smoking fine

A DRIVER in Paris who was fined for smoking at the wheel has accused police of ?an abuse of power?.

The man was stopped on Sunday after he moved his car a few metres past a red light in the middle …

Cost of university continues to rise

STUDENT unions have warned that the rising cost of starting university is forcing some people to think twice ? especially in the capital.

France?s two biggest student unions have both published dat…

The good times have rolled

FRANCE’S ‘national happiness quota’ peaked in 2001 according to a Canadian study.

The measure, ( Bonheur intérieur net ) seen as an alternative to gross domestic product, takes into account several …

France hits new peak for births

THE number of births in France is on the increase and hit 828,400 in 2008 ? up 1.2% from 2007.

National statistics body Insee said there had been 796,000 infants born in metropolitan France and 32,4…

All Paris job centres closed

ALL job centres in the Paris area have closed to prepare for a flood of job seekers in September.

Around 250 Pôle emploi offices have shut their doors today to process a backlog of cases.

Pôle emp…

French fishing zone for Med

FRANCE is planning an exclusive French fishing zone up to 70 nautical miles off the Mediterranean coast.

Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said the measure was necessary to ?protect French fish…