French soldier killed in northern Mali: Hollande

PARIS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A French soldier has been killed while fighting Islamist rebels in northern Mali, French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday. A legionnaire from the 22nd parachute regiment has died in a clash with Islamists in nort

U.S. welcomes French military action in Mali

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States welcomed the French military action in Mali and was providing support to the French forces, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday. It's absolutely critical to stop the offensive

French Foreign Minister Meets Burmese Opposition Figure

France's top diplomatic envoy met with Burma's leading opposition figure Sunday, as he became the latest Western official to visit the Asian nation following a series of fast-paced reforms. The trip comes shortly after the United States restored full

French Government Unveils Plan to Grow Jobs, Economy

As the World Bank warns Wednesday that Europe probably is already in recession, France's government has announced a series of measures to grow the country's economy and make it more competitive. Five days after Standard Poor's downgraded France and e

French President Outlines New Economic Plans

The embattled president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is outlining new economic proposals during a broadcast Sunday that observers say is aimed at boosting his poor standing with voters ahead of April's general election. Though Sarkozy has yet to annou

French club Auxerre sacks the coach on poor results

PARIS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- France's top league club Auxerre fired on Sunday the coach Laurent Fournier after failing to lead the team to advanced standings and improve its results. The decision (of firing Fournier) has been thought for a long time.

French Presidential Campaign Enters Final Phase

French voters will cast their ballots on Sunday (4/22/12) in the first round of a presidential election that should ultimately see France's first Socialist leader in nearly two decades. The campaign enters it's final phase as Conservative President N

Sharapova Wins French Open

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova won her first French Open title with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sara Errani of Italy on the red clay at Roland Garros in Paris Saturday. Sharapova is now the 10th woman in tennis history to win all four Grand Slam tou

S&P Downgrades French Credit Rating

Standard Poor's Friday downgraded the credit ratings of nine European countries caught up in the eurozone crisis. This includes France, which has Europe's second-largest economy. SP's downgrade of France's credit rating has been expected for weeks. F

Chinese and French leaders meet ahead of G20 summit

CANNES, France, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao met here Wednesday his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on bilateral ties and other issues of common concern, including the Group of 20 summit scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Hu poin

French sports minister quits government

PARIS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno announced Monday her resignation from the centre-right government after winning a seat in the country's upper house of parliament. A day after being elected as senator of Paris, Jouan

French cyclists win gold, silver at U-23 road worlds

COPENHAGEN, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- French cyclist Arnaud Demare won gold on the fouth day of the UCI U-23 Road World Championships Friday. Another Frenchman Adrien Petit grabbed the silver medal. Demare and Petit had solid performance in the last sprin

IMF taps French Lagarde as new Managing Director

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Tuesday that it has selected French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to serve as its next Managing Director. The Executive Board of the IMF said it has picked Lagarde t

Nadal grabs sixth French Open title

PARIS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Rafael Nadal defeated the third seed Roger Federer in four sets to win the French Open title for the sixth time on Sunday,Nadal, 25, took the opening two sets 7-5, 7-6 (3) before the 29- year-old Swiss pulled one

French, German Leaders Agree on European Debt Plans

French and German leaders say they will present plans to stabilize the crisis-stricken eurozone by the end of the month. The agreement by Europe's two economic powerhouses comes ahead of a key Group of 20 summit early next month. At a news conference

French Football Federation Accused of Racism

France's national soccer federation has been rocked by allegations of racism, with reports its top brass wanted to introduce quotas for ethnic-African and Arab players in its training academies. The results of two investigations into the matter are d

Ferrer takes opening win at French Open

PARIS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The World No. 7 David Ferrer from Spain easily went through Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in straight sets, winning his first round match in the men's singles at the French Open on Sunday. Ferrer stepped into the Philippe Chatr

NASA plans unmanned Orion flight in early 2014

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- NASA plans to add an unmanned flight test of the Orion spacecraft in early 2014 to its contract with Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the multipurpose crew vehicle's design, development, test and evaluation, the U.S. s

Next Generation Internet Addresses Gets Test Flight

On Wednesday, Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and other major Internet companies will participate in what is being called IPv6 or Internet Protocol Version 6 Test Day. The 24-hour trial run is being held to test a new communication system for the Internet,

Air Mauritius to add one weekly flight to China's Shanghai

PORT-LOUIS, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Air Mauritius will add one more weekly flight to China's business hub Shanghai from Jan. 24, 2013, the national airline of Mauritius said in a statement on Friday, bringing to two weekly fights due to increased demand.