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French NewsFRANCE: Socialists gear for close run-off voteView our special coverage: 'Desperately seeking top Socialist' Watch our reports: 'Socialist Left factions in dire straits in Paris' 'Grassroots militants pick Ségolène Royal - again' Former presidential candidate Segolene Royal will square off against Martine Aubry, the architect of France's 35-hour work week, in a runoff Friday after opposition Socialists remained divided in a vote for a new leader. After a fierce contest that left the party more divided than ever, Royal got 42.45 percent of votes in a first round Thursday while Aubry came second with 34.73 percent. Leftist Euro-MP Benoit Hamon was eliminated from the contest. The results did not include France's overseas territories. The Socialist Party's 233,000 members cast their ballots after a party congress meant to unite behind a consensus candidate ended in disarray at the weekend. With none of the contenders garnering a majority, a runoff vote was to be held between Royal and Aubry on Friday, national elections secretary Bruno Le Roux said. Turnout was 59.9 percent, he added. After three consecutive defeats in presidential elections, the Socialists have been bogged down in internal squabbling and unable to score any points off President Nicolas Sarkozy since he took office last year. Leading the pack but by no means assured of victory, Royal, 55, has promised to reshape France's left by opening the party's doors to a younger membership and possibly forging an alliance with centrists. But critics accuse her of wanting to transform the Socialist Party into her own personal electoral machine for the 2012 vote, and while she remains popular with the rank-and-file many of the party barons have turned against her. Her detractors contend the party should be a forum of ideas to formulate alternative policies to those of the right-wing government. The Socialists are not scheduled to nominate their presidential candidate before 2011. Royal on Thursday brushed aside criticism of her style and renewed her vow to reform the party. People will get used to it. They will get used to my political persona and will want me to be myself, to change the Socialist Party, she told Europe 1 radio. Party members are choosing a successor to Francois Hollande, Royal's former partner and father of her four children, who sided with Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe during the leadership battle. Delanoe has bowed out and is backing Aubry, 58, the mayor of Lille and daughter of former European Commission president Jacques Delors for the post. One of Royal's fiercest foes, Aubry is pushing a platform that calls for anchoring the party firmly to the left. She also received backing for the runoff from 41-year-old Hamon, who called on his supporters to vote massively for her. The infighting has left most commentators wondering whether the party of late president Francois Mitterrand can overcome its divisions and become a governing force in time for 2012. One thing is certain: the current Socialist Party needs to go back to the drawing board, commented the leftist Liberation newspaper. The winner will have to come in with a big broom, create a new programme for a party that has lost its voice at a time of economic crisis and remobilise distraught members who now openly express their despair, it wrote. French politics - Martine Aubry - Ségolène Royal
UK - CRIME: British suspects deny notorious French student murdersTwo men accused of the horrific murder of a pair of French students in London in June pleaded not guilty Friday, opening the way for the case to go to a full trial. Nigel Edward Farmer, 33, and Daniel Sonnex, 23, denied all charges against them over the killings of Gabriel Ferez and Laurent Bonomo, both 23, whose mutilated bodies were found in a burnt-out flat in southeast London on June 29. The students had been bound, repeatedly stabbed in the head, neck, torso and back and set alight, in a case which shocked even hardened murder squad detectives. Farmer and Sonnex, who have been charged with murder, false imprisonment, burglary and arson, were remanded in custody until a full trial starting on April 21 next year. France - United Kingdom
FRANCE - INDUSTRY: Crisis hits all sectors, from food to carsThe historic French mustard firm Amora-Maille announced it was closing three of its plants in Dijon, the capital of Burgundy. The charming provincial town has been producing world-renowned mustards for over a century. In total, the company, a subsidiary of Unilever, is cutting more than half of its workforce by 2009. The company will concentrate most of its activities in its plant in the town of Chevigny where it plans to invest 10 billion euros. Management explains that these drastic cuts are needed to offset harsh competition from low-cost brands and rising production costs, but it a bitter pill to swallow for workers. Another sector hard-hit by the financial crisis is the automobile industry. Peugeot-Citroen, one of Europe's largest car companies, said on thursday it would shed some 3,700 jobs across France. The assembly plant located in the northwestern city of Rennes will be the worst hit, with 1,700 jobs to be axed. Peugeot has already shed 15,000 jobs in the last eighteen months and has slashed production by 30% this quarter alone. The carmaker is responding to a 17% drop in the European car market this year A further 10% drop is expectedfor 2009. automobiles - financial crisis - France
RWANDA - F24 EXCLUSIVE: Kabuye: 'I'm not scared because I'm innocent'Watch our debate: 'France and Rwanda weighed down by history?' French judicial officials on Wednesday charged a longtime comrade-in-arms of Rwanda's president over an assassination in the run-up to the 1994 genocide, as anti-European protests unfolded in Kigali. Germany extradited Rose Kabuye, a former guerrilla leader who now serves as chief of protocol to President Paul Kagame, 10 days after police acting on a French warrant arrested her as she arrived at Frankfurt airport. French officials took charge of her in Frankfurt, and she was flown to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris aboard an Air France jet. From there she was transferred to the main law courts in Paris to appear before anti-terrorism investigating magistrate Marc Trevidic, Kabuye's lawyer Bernard Maingain told AFP. Judicial officials later confirmed Kabuye was put under judicial investigation -- in effect, charged -- with complicity in murder in relation to terrorism. She was later released on condition she not leave France without permission and appear when requested by magistrates, her lawyers said. I'm not so scared because I am very innocent, Kabuye said on the France24 television news channel after being released. I know that when I get a chance to explain what happened everything will be okay, so I am not scared, she added. French investigators suspect Kabuye, 47, of involvement in the downing of an executive jet that killed presidents Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi and two French pilots on April 6, 1994. Habyarimana's ethnic Hutu supporters went on the rampage following the attack, slaughtering 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutu men, women and children in a 100-day orgy of bloodletting. French investigators accuse Kagame's Tutsi rebels of attacking the Falcon 500 jet, although other observers have speculated that Hutu hardliners killed their own president to serve as a pretext for the subsequent killings. Kabuye was a senior military leader during Kagame's successful war to drive out the genocidal Hutu militias, and the arrest of his trusted lieutenant has cast a fresh chill on already frosty ties with France. Rwanda severed diplomatic relations with Paris in 2006 after a French anti-terrorism judge issued their first arrest warrants over the case. Kagame accuses France of having actively supported the Hutu militias, and the legal dispute has stymied attempts by both governments to re-establish friendly ties 14 years after the massacre. He has accused Europe of persecuting the genocide's survivors instead of hunting its perpetrators, some of whom are said to be living in Europe. Large numbers are also believed to be involved in unrest currently shaking neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. It is not only Rose who is in the dock, it is Rwanda that is in the dock, Kagame said on Monday. Her arrest led to three days of demonstrations in Rwanda and on Wednesday tens of thousands of people again took to the streets of Kigali to vent their anger. Large numbers were seen by an correspondent converging on the German embassy -- Rwanda expelled the German ambassador after Kabuye's arrest -- and the local offices of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Kigali, however, may soon turn the tables on Paris. Judicial sources there say Rwandan prosecutors could soon issue warrants and indictments against some of the 33 political and military French officials named in a Rwandan report on France's alleged role in the events of 1994. These who could find themselves accused include former prime ministers Alain Juppe and Dominique de Villepin and former foreign minister Hubert Vedrine. Some European investigators fear that Kabuye deliberately delivered herself to German authorities so her lawyers could gain access to the case files prepared against her and other Kagame allies. France - Rwanda - trial
e=mc2: 103 years later, Einstein proven rightIt's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists. A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms. According to the conventional model of particle physics, protons and neutrons comprise smaller particles known as quarks, which in turn are bound by gluons. The odd thing is this: the mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks is only 5 per cent. Where, therefore, is the missing 95 per cent? The answer, according to the study published in the US journal Science, comes from the energy from the movements and interactions of quarks and gluons. In other words, energy and mass are equivalent, as Einstein proposed in his Special Theory of Relativity in 1905. The e=mc2 formula shows that mass can be converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass. By showing how much energy would be released if a certain amount of mass were to be converted into energy, the equation has been used many times, most famously as the inspirational basis for building atomic weapons. But resolving e=mc2 at the scale of sub-atomic particles - in equations called quantum chromodynamics - has been fiendishly difficult. "Until now, this has been a hypothesis," France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said proudly in a press release. "It has now been corroborated for the first time." For those keen to know more: the computations involve "envisioning space and time as part of a four-dimensional crystal lattice, with discrete points spaced along columns and rows." -
AUTOMOBILES: Peugeot Citroen announces 3,550 job cutsPARIS/BERLIN - A fresh round of job cuts at Peugeot Citroen underscored the auto sector's woes on Thursday as French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed help for the struggling industry. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to pledge 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) to help the struggling industry, according to a German government paper obtained by Reuters, but in the meantime auto sales are falling and manufacturers are retrenching. PSA Peugeot-Citroen SA, Europe's second-biggest carmaker after Volkswagen AG in terms of European sales, said it planned to cut 2,700 jobs across its sites in France where it had a workforce of 114,000 in 2007. It will cut a further 850 executive and professional positions at its Rennes site in western France, which makes mid-range and high-end vehicles, a segment in decline. The problem is linked to the current climate, but is structural too (at Rennes), where the group makes the Citroen C5 and C6 models, a Peugeot spokesman said. Nine hundred workers from Rennes will also be redeployed to other sites. The group forecast sales volumes for the market as a whole would drop 17 percent in the final quarter of this year in main European markets and by at least 10 percent in 2009. Sarkozy said France would not leave large parts of the economy vulnerable to the economic crisis, picking out the car sector for special mention. I will not leave entire sectors unarmed in the face of the crisis. I am thinking about the automobile sector, he said in a speech on a visit to aerospace supply company Daher near Paris. Meanwhile the German government document said the European Union is proposing a public-private partnership for the auto sector to boost green technologies, along with supply-side measures such as lower taxes on environmentally friendly cars. The EIB would contribute 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) as part of the plan, the paper said. Senior EU officials had said on Wednesday European carmakers may need financial aid from the bloc and its governments, with General Motors Corp unit Opel seen as a possible emergency case. GOVERNMENT MONEY European auto makers have asked for 40 billion euros ($50.5 billion) in soft loans, while Opel is negotiating aid with the German government. Its parent GM and other carmakers are seeking a U.S. government bailout. However chances for the U.S. bailout dimmed as Democrat leaders expressed deep skepticism on Wednesday the talks would lead to a an acceptable compromise. A last-minute plan being crafted by Republican senators would provide $25 billion in support but Congress has at most two days left of its post-election session. Without a deal in that time, any bailout is likely to have to wait until the new administration takes over in January. I won't say it's completely over. I'm still having conversations with people. But it doesn't look good, Sen. Robert Bennett, a Utah Republican, said. Failure to craft a deal carries the risk that one or more of the U.S. automakers -- General Motors, Ford Motor Co or Chrysler LLC -- could be forced into bankruptcy. Separately GM and Toyota Motor Co said they would cut production at plants in Thailand. In France Peugeot Human Resources Director Jean-Luc Vergne said the company had to act or would put its future in danger. The company slashed its 2008 profitability outlook in October and announced big production cuts to combat the sales crisis after posting a 5.2 percent drop in third-quarter sales. They had to do something, said analyst Ulrich Horstmann at Bayerische Landesbank. Whether the latest wave of job cuts will be enough will depend on what happens to demand, he added. Car sales have fallen steeply as the effects of the global financial crisis have rippled out into the wider economy. Carmakers are slashing costs and extending the usual Christmas plant idling by a few more weeks to save cash. Nissan, GM and Ford said in October they would cut output at European sites. The catastrophe is that demand is going down more than ever, Horstmann said. Peugeot will present the plan to shed 2,700 jobs to its works council on Dec. 2. It has not yet set a date to present the separate Rennes plan for 850 departures. It has already cut 7,400 jobs since 2007 through voluntary redundancy. Peugeot shares were down 4.5 percent at 12.73 euros at 1321 GMT, underperforming the DJ Stoxx European auto sector index, which was down 2.7 percent. automobiles - France - unemployment
SportWallabies prop Al Baxter has praised coach Robbie Deans for his role in improving the team's forward play, ahead of the Test against France this weekend. Kiwi Deans took over the reins in December last year and despite mixed results in the Tri-Nations over the summer, Baxter believes his philosophy has greatly improved the effectiveness of Australia's pack. "He's given us a lot more freedom," Baxter said. "He's all about bringing your own skills and strengths to the game and using them, as opposed to playing under a formula or doing what someone else thinks you should do. "It's allowed a lot of guys who previously weren't running with the ball or looking for big tackles to do that, because that's what they enjoy doing and that's what their strengths are." Deans's arrival also led to an increased focus on the scrum, with Baxter revealing that the Wallabies had no dedicated scrum coach until specialist forward coaches Michael Foley and Jim Williams joined the set-up. "Under previous coaches we've had, it was seen as a restart to play as opposed to a contest, whereas certainly in the northern hemisphere it's seen more as a genuine contest," Baxter said. - Nothing for granted - The strength of the Wallabies scrum was evident last weekend in the 28-14 win over England at Twickenham, but Baxter says his colleagues in the front eight cannot afford to get carried away with the praise heaped upon them following that success. "We have more confidence in our scrum now but we certainly don't take any game for granted," he said. "We know the French are a very proud scrummaging nation and have a good scrum, so it's going to be just as tough for us this weekend as last week." One key component of the French scrum is talismanic forward Sebastien Chabal, recalled to the side after starting from the bench in the 42-17 win against the Pacific Islanders in Montbeliard last weekend. Baxter likens Chabal to All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and Springboks flanker Schalk Burger in terms of his capacity to influence his team-mates, but believes the Wallabies cannot afford to worry about him too much. "If you fully concentrate on Sebastien Chabal you forget about a lot of other fine players they have in the team," he said. "We'll certainly be making sure we try and look after him but if we fully focus on him, then their other players shine and you're in trouble." -
SportWallabies winger Drew Mitchell says he expects a more open game against France than the 28-14 win over England at Twickenham last weekend. The Wallabies drew praise for the way they handled a supposedly superior English pack in that game, but Mitchell anticipates a different challenge from Marc Lievremont's French side this weekend. "They're a lot more flamboyant and they have quite a lot of variety in their attack," he said. "They've got a big combative forward pack and they've got two big midfield centres, but they've also got guys in the halves and the 9 and the 10 who've got the skills to change the direction of the attack." The Western Force winger was pleased with his defensive contribution against Martin Johnson's men, but makes no secret of the fact he hopes for greater opportunities to attack at the Stade de France. "In the English game there wasn't a great deal of ball out wide, but defensively I was pretty happy with how things went," he said. "Conditions pending, hopefully the ball gets thrown around a little bit more [against France]." Australia is over halfway through its autumn tour, and after a Bledisloe Cup defeat to New Zealand in Hong Kong, wins over Italy and England suggest it is starting to find some form. Mitchell, though, is keen to guard against complacency and is well aware that the Wallabies have struggled to maintain their intensity after big wins in the past. "We've beaten the Springboks and backed it up with a pretty poor performance (a 53-8 defeat to South Africa in Johannesburg) and it was the same with the All Blacks, when we beat them and the same sort of thing (a 39-10 loss to New Zealand in Auckland) happened," he said. "Although the feeling was a great one after the game against England, it'd be remiss of us to not go on with it and go out there [against France] with a lot of intensity and a lot of desire to win." Having conquered the cauldron of Twickenham, Australia faces an equally daunting task in front of a fervent home crowd in the French capital. "It's up to us to get off to a good start," says Mitchell, acknowledging that the atmosphere is likely to be intense. "But crowds tend not to be too energetic and enthusiastic if their team's on the wrong end of the scoreboard, so if we can just play well and start well, hopefully that won't be a factor." -
UN to boost DR Congo forces to 20,000The UN Security Council has voted to boost the peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo by an extra 3,000 troops. But it is unclear where the soldiers will come from. The Security Council voted unanimously to send around 2,800 soldiers and 300 police officers to the DR Congo, which is experiencing upheaval on its eastern border. The peacekeepers will join the force of 17,000 already deployed in the country. However, no nation has yet committed troops to the expanded force and it may take months to assemble. The UN force has been overwhelmed by recent fighting between government troops and rebels and has been heavily criticised for failing to protect civilians. An estimated 250,000 people have fled the fighting.
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