DIPLOMACY: France, Germany show united front ahead of EU summit
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Friday in Freiburg to hammer out joint positions before next week’s EU summit. The Franco-German proposals rejected increasing the bloc’s rescue fund and joint sovereign bonds. Read More
DIPLOMACY: France, Germany seek joint positions ahead of EU summit
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet Friday in Freiburg to hammer out joint positions ahead of next week’s EU summit. Franco-German proposals are expected to include rejecting the creation of a eurozone bond. Read More
DIPLOMACY: France, Syria fear violence if Hariri probe indicts Hezbollah
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday to discuss how Lebanon can avert renewed violence if a UN tribunal indicts members of Hezbollah in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese premier Rafik al-Hariri. Read More
DIPLOMACY: French firms seal lush deals during visit by China’s Hu
Chinese officials have signed a raft of lucrative contracts with aircraft manufacturer Airbus and French energy giants Total and Areva during a visit to France by China’s President Hu Jintao. Read More
DIPLOMACY: Trade deals on agenda as Chinese president visits France
Chinese President Hu Jintao (right) arrives in France on Thursday for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and to conclude a series of contracts worth billions of euros between French and Chinese firms. Read More
DIPLOMACY: Sarkozy seeks support for G20 agenda at Francophone summit
French President Nicolas Sarkozy outlined his agenda for France’s forthcoming presidencies of the G20 and G8 on Saturday at the opening of a summit of French-speaking nations in the Swiss town of Montreux. Read More
DIPLOMACY: France, Egypt want Med Union summit to underpin Mideast talks
The presidents of France and Egypt met on Monday in Paris to discuss how a planned November summit of the Mediterranean Union could contribute to a Middle East peace accord after the resumption of direct Israeli – Palestinian talks. Read More
DIPLOMACY: France and Romania agree to cooperate on Roma
Two Romanian ministers were in France Wednesday at a time of unease between the two countries over President Sarkozy’s crackdown on Roma in France. The countries have agreed to closer cooperation on reintegration of Roma into Romanian society. Read More
DIPLOMACY: French PM declares ‘war’ on al Qaeda after hostage killed
France is now at war with Al Qaeda, France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon (pictured) said Tuesday, after the group’s North African branch executed 78-year old French national Michel Germaneau. Read More
DIPLOMACY: French president, first lady visit Great Wall on second day of China visit
France’s presidential couple visited the Great Wall on Thursday on the second day of a state visit to China designed to boost ties between the two countries after recent spats over Tibet. Read More