Two a penny

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy attended a ceremony on Friday to honour two French soldiers killed in an explosion last week in Afghanistan. The ceremony took place at the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment headquarters at Vannes in Brittany.

The second soldier died of wounds at a US military base in Germany, two days after the attack.

One of the soldiers was killed and nine others seriously injured when a roadside bomb exploded during a reconnaissance mission north of the Afghan capital Kabul last Friday. .

The latest death brings to 31 the total number of French soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

Afghanistan – France – French military – Nicolas Sarkozy – Taliban
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More foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year than in any other since US forces ousted the Taliban from Kabul following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States

.French President Nicolas Sarkozy has launched plans for a carbon tax to encourage industry and households to cut energy consumption.
The levy, initially set at 17 euros ($29) per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions, will translate into a rise in the price of fuel for cars, domestic heating and factories.
“The gravest challenge that we face is climate change.. .
In the works for months, the tax has caused a political furore in France, with disagreements within the ruling party on how exactly it would work and objections from opposition critics who say it will hurt the poor at a time of economic hardship. Every one of our compatriots must feel concerned,” Mr Sarkozy said in a televised speech aimed at winning over a sceptical public.
The government has been under suspicion of seeking ways to increase its revenues in a year when fiscal income has plunged as a result of the recession, causing the budget deficit to balloon.
Those households too poor to pay income tax would receive “green cheques” from the state to compensate them for higher energy bills.
Mr Sarkozy rejected that criticism, pledging that the carbon levy would not increase the burden on households because the rise in fuel bills would be offset by cuts in income tax. An opinion poll by Ifop for the magazine Paris Match, published this week, found that 65 per cent of people were hostile to the tax.
Mr Sarkozy faces an uphill battle to convince voters to accept the plan.
The system will differentiate between people who live in urban areas with good public transport and those who live in rural areas and are more dependent on cars.
“The aim of ecological fiscal policy is not to fill state coffers but to incite French people and companies to change their behaviour,” Mr Sarkozy said, adding that households that keep energy consumption low could end up better off financially. The rural households will get more money back from the state, he said. The rural households will get more money back from the state, he said. Mr Sarkozy argued that with 80 per cent of electricity produced in France coming from nuclear plants which have low emissions, it would make no sense to increase the price of power.
A notable exception will be electricity.
Starting at 17 euros per tonne of CO2, the tax will rise over time, Mr Sarkozy said, though he did not say by how much or by when.
“What would be the point of, on the one hand, encouraging French people to acquire electric cars or solar panels and on the other hand to tax them more for those?” he said.
Some Nordic countries introduced similar carbon taxes in the 1990s and have reported that the measures helped cut emissions without crippling growth. It will be introduced in the 2010 budget, he said.
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. France will be the biggest European economy so far to adopt such a system

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AFP – The upcoming trial of former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin took a new twist Sunday with fresh revelations that the top politician knowingly plotted to smear President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Villepin goes on trial on September 21 on charges of conspiring to slander Sarkozy in the so-called Clearstream affair, a complex case dating back to 2004 when the two men were locked in a bitter rivalry for the French presidency.

The former prime minister and foreign minister, who led the charge against the US invasion war of Iraq at the United Nations, has denied any wrongdoing and struck back, accusing Sarkozy of meddling.

Lahoud told French investigators in December that he had added Sarkozy’s name to a bogus list of Clearstream account holders who had allegedly received kickbacks from arms sales to Taiwan, the Journal du Dimanche reported.

But a leading newspaper at the weekend quoted an affidavit from a key defendant, Imad Lahoud, as saying that Villepin was behind the conspiracy targeting Sarkozy.

Lahoud said he knew that Villepin was in contact with former EADS vice president Jean-Louis Gergorin, a key player in the scandal who has admitted to leaking the false Clearstream list to investigators in 2004.

By doing this, I was contributing to sidelining Nicolas Sarkozy, Lahoud, a former employee of European aerospace giant EADS, told investigators, according to the report.

I knew that Jean-Louis Gergorin was in contact with Dominique de Villepin and that the conspiracy against Nicolas Sarkozy was planned with Dominique de Villepin’s knowledge, said Lahoud.

It is rather odd to take such interest in the testimony of a man who often changes his story, Metzner said.

Responding to the revelations described as a small bombshell by the newspaper, Villepin’s lawyer Olivier Metzner noted that Lahoud’s deposition took place in December, a month after the case was closed and sent to trial.

If convicted, Villepin faces a sentence of up to five years in jail.

The trial before a Paris criminal court is shaping up as a clash between Sarkozy loyalists and supporters of Villepin, who was former president Jacques Chirac’s protege — within France’s ruling right-wing UMP party. Sarkozy is a civil plaintiff in the case.

In the runup to his trial, Villepin has floated the idea of challenging Sarkozy for the party nomination for the 2012 presidential vote and has become one of his most vocal opponents. .

Villepin, Lahoud, Gergorin and two other defendants are to stand trial in the case, with hearing scheduled to last until October 21

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REUTERS – Suspected Salvadorean gang members killed French filmmaker Christian Poveda, whose 2008 film La Vida Loca crudely depicts the hopeless lives of members of the infamous Mara 18 street gang, local police said on Wednesday.

Poveda, 53, was shot on a road 10 miles (16 km) north of the capital of San Salvador, as he drove back from filming in La Campanera, a poor, overcrowded suburb and a Mara 18 stronghold.

La Vida Loca (The Crazy Life) closely followed the lives of several heavily tattooed gang members, some of whom were jailed or killed during the shooting of the film.

President Mauricio Funes said in a statement on Wednesday night that he was shocked by Poveda’s murder and ordered a thorough investigation.

Poveda first came to El Salvador in the early 1980s to cover the civil war that ravaged the poor Central American for over a decade.

The late filmmaker Christian Poveda spoke to them about shooting La Vida Loca in June.

The Mara 18 and rival Mara Salvatrucha gangs make up a huge criminal network that runs from Los Angeles, where a diaspora of Salvadoreans lives, down through chunks of Central America. .7 million people.

Authorities estimate there could be as many as 30,000 so-called mareros, who sell drugs, rob illegal migrants or extort businesses in the tiny country of just 5.

assassination – cinema – El Salvador – shootings

.The men’s singles formbook continued to be strictly respected at the US Open with fourth seed Novak Djokovic and seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both cruising into the second round.
There were straight-sets wins too for 10th seed Fernando Verdasco, 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez and for 17th seed Thomas Berdych as, for once, most of the day’s drama was being played out in the women’s tournament.
The 2008 Australian Open champion revealed afterward that he had reached agreement with retired American player Todd Martin to join his coaching team for Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic, the fourth-seeded Serb who lost to Roger Federer in the 2007 final, was too powerful for a fading Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, winning at a canter 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
“He always looks for positives and that is exactly what I need. .
The 24-year-old from Le Mans failed to get past the third round in his two previous appearances at Flushing Meadows, but he won the boy’s title here in 2003 and he is the only player to defeat Roger Federer since May.”
Tsonga was even more expedient, defeating American wildcard Chase Buchanan 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 in a mismatch out on the Grandstand Court.
– Knock out blow –
The Frenchman, runner-up to Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open, wrapped up the first set in just 23 minutes and it was the second game of the set before Buchanan opened his account by holding serve.
That came in the quarter-finals at the Montreal Masters, where he remarkably won from 1-5 down in the deciding set.
Tsonga will next play Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 with a quarter-final against Rafael Nadal in prospect further down the line if the seeding goes according to plan.
That was but a brief respite for the home player though as Tsonga powered away again losing just two more games as he went through in 78 minutes.
“It will be tough against Nieminen as he is just coming back from injury and will be hungry to do well.
“I didn’t know what to expect of him (Buchanan) and I was wary as I remember when I was younger and had his ranking I was convinced I could beat anyone, anytime,” he said.”
Spain’s Verdasco served up 12 aces and hit 36 winners on the way to a 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 win over Benjamin Becker of Germany, while Berdych of the Czech Republic, seeded 17, saw off Wayne Odesnik of the United States 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
“But I am in good shape and playing well, so why not.
The only slight diversion from the script came from American qualifier Jesse Witten, a former collegiate stand-out, who stunned 29th-seeded Russian Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.
Gonzalez, whose best showing at the US Open was a quarter-final appearance in 2002, defeated Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in an all-Chilean clash.
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AFP – French trader Jerome Kerviel is to stand trial over the massive multi-billion trading scandal at Societe Generale last year, sources close to the case said Monday.

Investigating magistrates Renaud van Ruymbeke and Francoise Desset ordered Kerviel to answer charges of breach of trust among others before the Paris criminal court.

One of France’s three biggest banks, Societe Generale shocked the financial world when it unveiled losses of 4.

No date has been set for the trial, which is not expected to begin before the end of the year at the earliest.1 billion dollars) in January last year.9 billion euros (7.

The bank has said Kerviel was a rogue trader who went to great lengths to conceal his dealings.

The losses were incurred when Societe Generale was forced to unwind more than 50 billion euros of unauthorised deals Kerviel is said to have made.

Other than breach of trust, Kerviel faces charges of falsifying and use of fake documents and tampering with computer information, according to the sources.

The 32-year-old trader has countered that his managers knew of his actions and kept silent as long as he was making good returns. .

He faces a possible sentence of five years in prison and 375,000 euro fine if convicted.

Societe Generale’s then-chairman Daniel Boutin described Kerviel as a terrorist and fraudster who had betrayed the confidence of his managers.

Described by workmates as a quiet, unassuming trader, Kerviel turned himself in to police on January 26, two days after the bank revealed the losses.

banking – France – Jérôme Kerviel – justice – Societe Generale

.The Indian air force has scrambled a fighter jet to intercept an Air France passenger plane after it failed to identify itself correctly. .
The pilot had used the wrong identification code, which allows ground radars to differentiate between friendly and enemy aircraft.

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An air force official says the fighter jet returned to base when the correct code was given

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A French official charged with overseeing efforts to appease racially-charged tension in a French Indian Ocean territory has accused France’s Interior Minister of orchestrating the affair.

Paul Girot de Langlade, coordinator of a political peace process on the island of Reunion, has been suspended pending an inquiry into a charge that he insulted security personnel at Orly airport by using a racial slur.

I am the victim of a politcal ploy the official told French daily Le Parisien on Thursday.

The behaviour and comments that have been attributed to me in the media for the past two days do not come from me and do not reflect reality or my personality, Girot de Langlade told France Inter radio on Saturday. The investigation into what was initially a minor incident has been orchestrated by [Interior minister] Brice Hortefeux, who wants to restore his anti-racist image, he said, referring to a series of harsh anti-immigration measures.

According to a judicial official, Girot de Langlade was stopped by security staff and asked to empty his pockets when a metal detector buzzer sounded after he disembarked from a flight at Orly airport outside Paris on July 31.

The prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Creteil has opened an investigation into public insults of a racial character.

You’d think we were in Africa.

Girot de Langlade admitted that he losts his patience while going through security at the airport. In any case, there are only blacks here, he is accused of replying, according to the official.

I told them to hurry up — granted, in an aggressive manner — but that is all that I told them, the prefect, or senior state official, said.

The Air France stewardess who was accompanying me for the transit in Orly between two planes was herself shocked by the behaviour of the security agent and apologised in the name of her company, he said.

Following the crisis, Girot de Langlade was charged with coordinating talks at which representatives of the community, employers and the state can discuss their grievances. .

French politics – racism

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AFP – A French agent who escaped after being held hostage by Islamist rebels in Somalia arrived back in France on Thursday, an official with knowledge of the operation told AFP.

The security advisor, one of two French agents kidnapped in Mogadishu on July 14, arrived in Paris at around 1:30 pm (1130 GMT) on board a special flight from Djibouti, where France has a major military base, he said.

The former hostage presented himself to African Union peacekeepers at Somalia’s presidential palace on Wednesday, explaining that he had slipped past sleeping guards from the Hezb al-Islam militia to make his escape.

He has identified himself in interviews with several media outlets since his apparent escape as 40-year-old Marc Aubriere, although it is thought possible that he gave a fake name.

&raquo More on RFI: French agent released in Somalia says he escaped without violence
French officials have not formally identified the former hostage beyond describing him as a government employee who was part of a two-man advance team in Mogadishu to help set up a Somali presidential security detail.

Having returned to France he will now be debriefed by the agency’s specialists about the circumstances of his kidnap.

Official sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told that Aubriere is an agent with the French overseas intelligence agency, the General Directorate of External Security or DGSE.

The second agent is still missing and understood to be in the hands of a second Islamist group, the Shebab, which on Wednesday said that an Islamic Sharia court would decide his eventual fate. .

An Islamist official in Somalia claimed that a ransom was paid for the freed hostage, but both the French government and the agent himself have denied that and insist he escaped through his own means

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REUTERS – French police have discovered three underground hiding places believed to belong to the Basque separatist group ETA in southern France in a widening crackdown on the militants, a judicial source said on Monday.

One of the hiding places contained 240 kg of ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make explosives, the source said.

In a major anti-ETA operation that began with a tip-off from Spanish police, French police have raided caches in forests, villages and resorts in southern France, turning up weapons, ammunition, detonators and explosives. .

That bombing followed an attack two days earlier in the northern Spanish city of Burgos that wounded 50 people in a Civil Guard family quarters.

On the first day of the raids last Wednesday, French police arrested three suspected ETA members who were wanted by Spanish authorities after a car bomb attack on the island of Mallorca in late July that killed two Civil Guards.

ETA has been fighting for half a century to carve out an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southern France.

Spanish security forces believe ETA, weakened by the arrests of several leaders and long relatively quiet, has been trying to put on a show of force to prove it is still able to strike at the Spanish state.

The Socialist government in Madrid broke off peace talks with ETA after the rebels killed two people with a car bomb at Madrid airport in December 2006.

While polls indicate most Basques seem to favour some sort of independence for their mountainous region, which already has considerable autonomy in Spain, support for violence has slipped in recent years. The group has been blamed for more than 800 deaths in the past 40 years.

ETA – France – police – terrorism