News

Powell tries to repair rift with France

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Colin Powell is reaching out again to France to try to overcome differences that were exacerbated by the U.S. war with Iraq.

“The values that pull France and the United States together are far more powerful than any problems that come along and will be surmounted,” Powell said at a ceremony.

The State Department is marking the start of a traveling exhibit of the Marshall Plan, the program that helped France and other European nations recover from World War II.

Uneasy France quick to judge

Marie-Leonie (her family name has not been released) was the 23-year-old mother whose tale of an anti-Semitic attack on Paris’ RER suburban railway system sent the nation into a paroxysm of guilt and fear.

According to her account to police at the weekend, she was set upon by a gang of six young men of Arab and African origin who took her for a Jew because she was travelling to the rich 16th arrondissement of the capital.

After ripping her clothes and cutting off a length of hair, they reportedly scratched her face with knives and drew swastikas on her body. They also overturned the pram with her 13- month old baby inside, and then robbed her.

France's Ruling Party Chief Quits

Former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe has resigned as leader of President Jacques Chirac’s ruling Union for a Popular Movement, paving the way for a party succession battle.

Juppe announced his resignation Friday, following his conviction earlier this year in a corruption case. He received a suspended prison sentence and was banned from public office for 10 years. The case is under appeal.

France’s powerful finance minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, is vying for the party leadership. He is to address party members later Friday.

Armstrong Takes Big Step Toward 6th Tour de France Crown

Lance Armstrong of the United States has taken a big step toward a record sixth Tour de France cycling crown by surging ahead of key rivals on the difficult 12th stage in the Pyrenees Mountains.

Armstrong finished just behind Friday’s stage winner Italian Ivan Basso, as both clocked 5:03:58 hours for the 198 kilometers. But fellow-American Tyler Hamilton, German Jan Ullrich and Spaniards Iban Mayo and Roberto Heras were among the pre-Tour contenders who lost time to the five-time champion.

Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner, lost 2:30 minutes to Armstrong. Heras was 2:57 behind, and Hamilton gave up 3:27 minutes.

British Troops Lead France's Bastille Day Parade for First Time

British troops have led France’s annual Bastille Day parade for the first time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, a treaty which ended centuries of hostility between the two countries.

Thousands lined Paris’ major boulevard, the Champs-Elysées, to witness the Wednesday parade led by members of British Queen Elizabeth’s royal guard and participate in Bastille Day festivities.

Bastille Day commemorates the day angry crowds stormed the Bastille prison in Paris in 1789, sparking the revolution against the French monarchy.

France re-establishes ties with Iraq

France announced Monday that it had re-established diplomatic relations with Iraq, severed under the leadership of the dictator Saddam Hussein.

In Paris, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said that France “wants to participate in the political and economic reconstruction of Iraq.”

Political analysts said that, given France’s longstanding opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, it was unlikely that it would suddenly win reconstruction contracts.

Australian Cyclist McEwen Wins 9th Stage of Tour de France

Australian cyclist Robbie McEwen has won the ninth stage of the Tour de France, but Frenchman Thomas Voeckler remains the overall leader as the race heads into the mountains.

McEwen finished the 160.5-kilometer ride between St. Leonard de Noblat and Guéret in 3:32:55, just ahead of Norway’s Thor Hushovd. Stuart O’Grady of Australia was third in the sprint finish.

Thomas Voeckler of France retained the overall lead, 2:53 ahead of O’Grady. Sandy Casar of France is third overall. Five-time champion Lance Armstrong of the United States is sixth overall (9:35 off the lead). Armstrong is trying to win the Tour for a record sixth time.

Swastika attack woman 'lied'

The alleged admission came shortly after the she was taken into custody – four days after the alleged assault on a train in the suburbs of Paris.

The 23-year-old woman said six men cut her clothes and drew swastikas on her body, accusing her of being Jewish.

The woman has been detained for falsely reporting a crime, state prosecutor Xavier Salvat told AFP news agency.

She could face up to six months in prison and a 7,500-euro ($9,200) fine if convicted.

The case has sparked widespread condemnation amid concern that racist and anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in France.

0

France Airport to Reopen Part of Terminal

France’s busiest airport will reopen the undamaged part of a terminal in which the roof collapsed in May, killing four people, the transport minister said Wednesday.

Gilles de Robien said a segment of the three-building 2E terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport would return to service on July 15.

“We can open the terminal that didn’t give way,” he told France-Info radio.

In the May 23 disaster, falling glass, steel and masonry killed four travelers two Chinese, one Czech and one Lebanese. Three others were injured

Paris Flocks To See 'Fahrenheit'

France’s passion for cinema and the collective antipathy for U.S. President George W. Bush made Wednesday’s opening here of “Fahrenheit 9/11” a headline event that quickly proved a boon at the box office.

But, alas, even Michael Moore could not escape that critical Gallic eye.

The movie that won its cinematic stripes at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in May, taking the Golden Palm, the highest award, wracked up “extraordinary” ticket sales for its first afternoon showings in Paris, according to an official at the MK2 movie chain.

It stole the headlines in several French papers. Elevating the movie to an event, the left-leaning Liberation left the praiseful commentary to its nationally known executive editor.