Paris, France | AFP | French President Francois Hollande announced Thursday he would not seek re-election next year as he bowed to historically low approval ratings after a troubled five years in power. The 62-year-old Socialist leader put a decisive end to speculation in a solemn televised statement from …
Read More »Rwanda opens probe into French officials’ genocide role
KIGALI, Rwanda | AFP | Rwanda on Tuesday opened a formal probe into 20 French officials suspected of playing a role in the 1994 genocide, in a move likely to further sour diplomatic ties with France. Kigali has long accused France of complicity in the genocide of some 800,000 mostly …
Read More »Disgraced ex-IAAF chief’s friends pay French bail
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Longstanding friends of former Senegalese world athletics boss Lamine Diack, who faces charges of corruption and taking bribes to cover up doping cases in Russia, have stumped up a bail payment of 500,000 euros ($550,000), his family said Monday. A statement seen by AFP in …
Read More »Sarkozy knocked out of French presidential race
Paris, France | AFP | Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy crashed out of the presidential election on Sunday, suffering a humiliating defeat in the first round of the rightwing primary. Sarkozy was beaten into third place after a stunning upset by Francois Fillon, who served as his prime minister, with …
Read More »France’s Le Pen, Trump are ‘identical phenomena’
Washington, United States | AFP | US President-elect Donald Trump and France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen are part of “identical phenomena” that have swept the two countries, the mayor of Paris said Friday. Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who was in Washington accepting an environmental award from Foreign Policy magazine, added …
Read More »Tintin drawing sells for record 1.55 mn euros in Paris
Paris, France | AFP | An original drawing from “Explorers on the Moon”, widely regarded as one of the two best Tintin adventures, sold for a record 1.55 million euros at a Paris auction on Saturday, auction house Artcurial announced. The 50 cm X 35 cm drawing in Chinese ink …
Read More »Iran back, signs major gas deal with France’s Total
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran signed a deal with France’s Total on Tuesday to develop a major offshore gas field, its first big contract with a Western energy firm since sanctions were loosened in January. Total will lead a consortium also including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran’s …
Read More »Page from Tintin moon adventure may raise $1m at auction
Paris, France | AFP | A page of original comic strip drawings from one of the best Tintin adventures, “Explorers on the Moon”, is expected to sell for up to $1 million when it goes under the hammer later this month. The page, entitled “We walk on the moon”, has …
Read More »Bulgarian nurses hail ‘new evidence’ clearing them in Libya HIV scandal
Sofia, Bulgaria | AFP | Five Bulgarian nurses jailed for eight years in Libya over an HIV epidemic at a children’s hospital welcomed on Saturday media reports accusing Kadhafi-era spies of deliberately infecting the infants. The five nurses, who along with a Palestinian doctor, became known as the “Benghazi six” …
Read More »Rwanda accuses 22 French officers over 1994 genocide
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Rwanda has published a list of 22 French officers it accuses of helping plan and execute the 1994 genocide, in the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries. Rwanda’s National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (known by its French acronym CNLG) issued …
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