News

French rocker jailed for lover's death

VILNIUS (Reuters) – A Lithuanian court has sentenced French rocker Bertrand Cantat to eight years in jail for beating his actress girlfriend Marie Trintignant to death in a hotel room row.

Trintignant, a member of one of France’s most famous acting families, died last August of head injuries sustained during the fight in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius where she was shooting a film. She was aged 41 and mother of four children.

Convicted of homicide, Cantat, the lead singer of one of France’s most popular rock bands Noir Desir (Black Desire), faced up to 15 years in prison.

His lawyers have 20 days to appeal, as does the public prosecutor, and the Frenchman could also ask to serve his prison term in France once the final sentence is determined.

Conservatives Routed in French Elections

President Jacques Chirac and his ruling conservative party suffered a crushing defeat in regional midterm elections Sunday, with the opposition Socialists, and their Green and Communist allies seizing control of the vast majority of regional councils. The results marked a sharp rebuke for the government’s attempts to reform France’s costly health care, pension and education systems.

Chirac’s party was expected to lose a number of regional councils after its poor showing in last week’s first round of voting. But the scale of the defeat today was so widespread that analysts immediately began speculating whether Chirac’s prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, will be replaced in a sweeping post-election cabinet reshuffle that is expected this week.

French Lawyer Jacques Verges to Defend Saddam Hussein, says the BBC

March 27 (Bloomberg) — A French lawyer who made his name defending some of the world’s most notorious figures will defend Saddam Hussein, the former leader of Iraq, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported on its Web site.

Jacques Verges, 79, said he will mount a defense case for the former Iraqi leader and for former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the BBC said on its Web site. It isn’t clear what charges Hussein will answer or what form his trial will take, the BBC said.

According to Verges, the request to defend Hussein came in a letter from the former dictator’s nephew, Ali Barzan al-Takriti, the BBC reported. Verges will be supported by about 12 other French lawyers, the BBC said.

OPINION: Meanwhile: The U.S. and France go back a long way

Each day, as I enter the House of Representatives to vote, I find it hard to avoid two rather prominent portraits adjoining the speaker’s platform. The first is of George Washington; the second, of the Marquis de Lafayette.

One might ask why Lafayette, since John Adams, Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln, among others, would be more obvious picks. But Lafayette it is, side by side with his friend, the father of our country.

Events and friendship between the United States and France have had, over the years, a great impact on our history. Clearly, the United States would not have held together in its early years without the dynamism of George Washington.

The Cheapest Disneyland Paris Visit – Buy a Share

The cheapest way to visit Disneyland Paris may be to buy a single share in Euro Disney, the company that operates the theme park.
  
Shareholders who trekked to Euro Disney’s annual meeting on Thursday at Marne-la-Vallee, about an hour by train or car from central Paris, were given two same-day tickets for the firm’s parks there, the Magic Kingdom and Walt Disney Studios.

When you know that Euro Disney shares were trading at 0.45 euro each on Thursday, and that the current entry price at the parks is 49 euros ($59.42) for an adult and 39 euros for a child, it’s easy to do the math!

Too bad this only works if you can attend the annual meeting. The good news is you have a whole year to plan for it!

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France arrests 3 bomb suspects

The suspects, two men and a woman, were taken into custody Thursday in Paris and the suburban Val-de-Marne region, police officials said.

They were being held for questioning at the headquarters of French anti-terrorist police.

On Thursday, French authorities said a letter had been received from AZF claiming it was suspending its terror threats while it improves its ability to carry them out.

In excerpts from the letter published in the Paris daily newspaper Le Monde, AZF said it was suspending its activities in order to correct “technical problems.”

The letter carried the logo “AZF” with an arrow in the top left corner.

French consultant tells Kerry: Be less Gauling

A French-born marketing guru has a pointed warning for Democratic wannabe John Kerry: You come off as way too French, mon ami.

“The whole French connection is ‘off-code,’ ” said psychologist Clotaire Rapaille, who helps Fortune 100 companies sell everything from shampoo to the PT Cruiser car by psychoanalyzing cultures. He calls it decoding cultural archetypes.

“The French are thinkers – ‘I think, therefore I am.’ Americans want somebody that is going to take action . . . All this association [of Kerry] with thinking too much and nuance and five-sentence answers is off-code,” he told The Post.

Bush to renew ties on France trip

US President George W Bush will meet French President Jacques Chirac when he visits France in June, the White House has announced.

He will take part in ceremonies on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landing, a turning point in World War II.

Relations between France and the US were badly strained by the US-led war in Iraq last year.

This announcement is a sign that the two nations are trying to patch up their differences over the war.

France led widespread international opposition to the war, angering the US.

But recently, President Bush has tried to reach out to countries alienated by the invasion, saying they have to work together to overcome the West’s enemies.

Suspected Bomb Found on French Rail Track

France’s state-run SNCF railway found a suspected bomb half-buried on the main line between Paris and the Swiss city of Basle on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said.

It said in a statement that the device, discovered near the city of Troyes about 90 miles southeast of the French capital, had been made safe by bomb disposal experts.

The statement did not say who was suspected of planting the device but said it did not resemble one left by a shadowy group calling itself AZF, which is demanding cash and threatening to blow up part of the track.

No mention was made in the statement of any Islamic threat.

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Voters Deal Blow to France Conservatives

A rejuvenated French left and the ruling center-right government began jockeying for position on Monday after voters delivered a stinging rebuke to Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin’s reform plans in the first round of regional elections.

No clear victor emerged from Sunday’s vote in France’s 26 regions ahead of next week’s decisive second round, but political observers said the 40-percent showing for the mainstream left was a sign of broad voter discontent.

A rejuvenated French left and the ruling center-right government began jockeying for position on Monday after voters delivered a stinging rebuke to Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin’s reform plans in the first round of regional elections.