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India to purchase France Rafale fighter jet

kaitlyn — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:26:25 +0000

[Washington Post]- The Rafale fighter jet finally has a new foreign owner after two decades of France trying to sell it. This 11 billion dollar settlement with India took place for 126 planes and a technology transfer. In France, 18 of these jets will be built and 108 will be constructed in India. Negotiations of the contract will soon begin.

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French president proposes tax shift plan to cut labor costs

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:11:04 +0000

[Bloomberg Newsweek]- President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has proposed an increase in sales tax rates in an effort to reduce labor costs. The plan is to increase the revenue generated from sales taxes so that there can be a reduction in labor taxes. France currently has higher labor costs than Germany. Sarkozy faces election this spring and is convinced that his plan will continue to fund the tremendous budget dedicated to social programs and make France more competitive in the labor market.

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France testing hi-tech speed cameras – UK next?

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:05:37 +0000

Multi-lane speed cameras are set to be introduced in France within a year. If successful, they could be posted along Britain’s roadways soon thereafter.

“The hi-tech cameras will be bad news for truckers. Lorries often have a lower speed limit imposed on them than cars but get away with going above this as long as they remain under the overall limit.

The new cameras are programmed to tell the difference between a car doing more than 70mph and a lorry exceeding a 50mph limit, even if both are in the same lane,” a Daily Mail article reveals.

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Anti-nuclear group criticizes German waste shipments to Russia

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:07:34 +0000

[Deutsche Welle]– In the wake of a French investigation into reports that nuclear waste is sent from French plants to Siberia, news has emerged that Germany has a long tradition of shipping toxic waste to Russia.

The German anti-nuclear group “Ausgestrahlt” said that since 1996, Germany’s only uranium enrichment plant in Gronau has shipped about 22,000 tons of uranium hexafluoride, which is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process, to Russia.

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Chris McKenna (Thryduulf)

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Kyrgyzstan Eyes Air Base Deals With France, Spain

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:54:10 +0000

[The Moscow Times]– Kyrgyzstan will on Monday consider renewing permission for French and Spanish troops to use its Manas air base with the U.S. military for operations in Afghanistan, parliamentary officials said.

Kyrgystan cancelled deals with France and Spain in March when it overturned its agreement with the United States on use of the base.

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www.kremlin.ru

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France rushes to Polanski’s defense

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:05:32 +0000

[Detroit News]– Was Roman Polanski “thrown to the lions because of ancient history?” That’s what the French culture minister says – though not everyone in France agrees.

The French government has rushed to the filmmaker’s defense since he was arrested this weekend in Switzerland on a U.S. warrant in connection with his guilty plea to having having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

Government ministers and France’s cultural world have lauded Polanski as a great artist, a family man and a survivor of countless hardships who deserves peace at age 76.

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Marie-Angélique

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Britain welcomes French raid on Calais migrant camp

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:14:48 +0000

French riot police raze a camp housing mainly Afghan immigrants as part of an agreement with Britain to step up efforts against illegal migrants. The camp was used as a base for risky attempts to reach Britain.

Britain’s Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the action taken in Calais would “disrupt illegal immigration and people-trafficking routes.” French police cleared and then bulldozed the makeshift forest camp – known as the “Jungle” – near the northern city of Calais on Tuesday morning.

“I welcome the swift and decisive steps that the French government has taken today to close the “Jungle” in Calais,” Johnson said.

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French police uncover ETA weapons and explosives stash

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:32:38 +0000

French police, acting on a tip-off from Spanish authorities, have found a large stash of explosives and weapons in southern France, only a day after arresting three suspected ETA members and uncovering another cache of explosives.

Police found a large stash of arms and explosives in southern France on Thursday that probably belonged to the Basque separatist group ETA, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

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France plans school closures, remote learning to tackle swine flu crisis

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:45:28 +0000

“In case of a complete pandemic we are ready to close all of the schools in France,” Chatel told the Paris-based daily Le Figaro. “No threshold has been fixed for the closing of a school. It will be adapted on a case-by-case basis,” said the minister.

Lessons would be given via the internet and public broadcasting channels, Chatel revealed. Preparations for such a scenario are already complete.

French authorities had, over the summer, worked on distance learning materials that can be broadcast on television, radio and the internet to help students forced to stay home keep up with their classes, he added.

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Jnpet

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