International Business News - France http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif France took a step toward ending its decade-long experiment with a 35-hour work week, with lawmakers passing a bill that gives companies greater latitude to extend working hours. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080724/france-steps-back-from-35-hour-work-week.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:27:21 EDT Radioactive particles spewed from a pipe at a French nuclear reactor on Wednesday, slightly contaminating 100 employees, a spokeswoman for the national electric company said. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/100-employees-at-french-nuke-site-contaminated.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:58:28 EDT Cycling's image is in tatters, and authorities inside and outside the sport are being tougher than ever on doping. Yet it hasn't stopped the drug cheaters at the Tour de France. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/96537-tour-de-france-doping.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/why-dope-riders-dont-fear-tests-rewards-beckon.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/why-dope-riders-dont-fear-tests-rewards-beckon.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:36:34 EDT Luxury retailer PPR SA said Wednesday that its sales rose 4.5 percent in the second quarter thanks to strong demand for Gucci frocks and handbags and Puma sportswear. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/french-luxury-retailer-ppr-sales-rise-4-5-percent.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:47:24 EDT A French judge on Wednesday questioned ex-Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel alongside a former superior as the new legal team for the man who allegedly triggered multibillion dollar losses at the bank said the case was just getting underway. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/socgen-trader-blamed-for-huge-losses-shifts-tactic.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:22:31 EDT PSA Peugeot-Citroen on Wednesday reported a 49 percent increase in net profit in the first half after the French auto maker's recovery plan delivered deeper cost cuts than analysts expected. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/peugeot-citroen-1h-net-up-49-percent.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:38:23 EDT PSA Peugeot-Citroen on Wednesday reported a 49 percent increase in net profit in the first half after the French auto maker's recovery plan delivered deeper cost cuts than analysts expected. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/peugeot-citroen-1h-net-up-49-percent.htm Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:37:45 EDT Authorities in southern France have lifted a ban on water sports and fishing in two rivers that was imposed after a leak at a nearby nuclear site. Other bans on drinking well water in three towns or watering crops from the Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers are also being lifted. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/france-lifts-water-ban-from-spill-at-nuclear-site.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:24:39 EDT GDF Suez made its stock market debut Tuesday, the final step in a drawn-out and torturous merger to create one of the world's largest energy companies. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/gdf-suez-makes-stock-market-debut.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:07:02 EDT French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Tuesday she expects the inflation rate to start falling in the months ahead as the economy absorbs last year's rise in fuel and food prices. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/france-sees-inflation-coming-down.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:45:41 EDT President Nicolas Sarkozy's risky bid to rewrite France's political rules with sweeping constitutional changes worked--but just barely--with both houses of parliament meeting in special session Monday to pass the measures by a single vote. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/95033-france-constitution.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/france-oks-constitution-changes-by-a-single-vote.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/france-oks-constitution-changes-by-a-single-vote.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:32:02 EDT Lawmakers meeting in special session have voted in favor of a sweeping revision of France's constitution--but by a one-vote margin that highlights the controversy behind the vote. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/france-votes-to-revise-constitution.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:43:20 EDT Electricite de France says 15 workers were exposed to radioactive contamination while carrying out maintenance at a nuclear plant in the French Alps. France's nuclear industry is under increased scrutiny following uranium leaks earlier this month. France depends on nuclear power for the majority of its electricity. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080721/15-french-nuclear-employees-contaminated.htm Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:51:34 EDT Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt took the stage and shook her hips to a Colombian superstar's guitar riffs, leading the crowd in chants of "Freedom for all!" at a concert Sunday dedicated to captives held by Colombia's FARC rebel group. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/94570-france-colombia-concert.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080720/paris-concert-presses-for-colombia-hostage-release.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080720/paris-concert-presses-for-colombia-hostage-release.htm Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:23:18 EDT Angelina Jolie has left the building. Oh, and so have the twins. Before dawn Saturday, the Hollywood superstar and her newborn twins left the French Riviera hospital where she gave birth a week ago, the hospital said in a statement. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/94107-france-jolie.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080719/angelina-jolie-leaves-hospital.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080719/angelina-jolie-leaves-hospital.htm Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:55:23 EDT French aid group Action Against Hunger says two of its workers have been kidnapped in Afghanistan and are believed to still be alive. The Paris-based group said Friday the two were taken at gunpoint early Friday morning from the house where they were sleeping in the province of Day Kundi. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/2-french-aid-workers-kidnapped-in-afghanistan.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:23:55 EDT First, an overflowing tub at a French nuclear plant spilled uranium into the groundwater. Then a burst pipe leaked uranium at another nuclear site, raising an alert on Friday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/french-nuclear-safety-questioned.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:19:53 EDT French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's new album is ranked third in French album sales a week after its release, official rankings released Friday show. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/first-ladys-album-third-in-charts.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:48:59 EDT Uranium-bearing liquid has leaked from a broken underground pipe at a nuclear site in southeastern France, the national nuclear safety authority said Friday. It was the second leak discovered at a French site this month. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080718/uranium-liquid-leaks-at-french-nuclear-plant.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:23:29 EDT The French foreign minister welcomed U.S. plans to attend talks with Iran on its disputed nuclear program but said Thursday that he did not expect much from the meeting. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080717/french-foreign-minister-us-welcome-at-iran-talks.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:06:15 EDT