Two a penny

.France coach Marc Lievremont has forgiven Mathieu Bastareaud for lying about being attacked after a loss to New Zealand last year and named him in a 30-man squad for the Six Nations championship.
The 21-year-old centre had said he was attacked by up to five people as he returned to the team hotel following a 14-10 defeat by the All Blacks in Wellington last June. .
Back in France, after being told CCTV footage showed him entering the hotel uninjured, he admitted lying and said he had fallen in his bedroom because he was drunk.
“Bastareaud deserves to be back because he is performing well with his Stade Francais club and because he has started to do the community service he has been sentenced to.
“The unhappy episode of this summer is forgotten,” Lievremont said.
Half-back Frederic Michalak, winger Cedric Heymans, centre Florian Fritz and full-back Maxime Medard were left out of a squad already without suspended scrum-half Julien Dupuy plus prop Fabien Barcella and centre Damien Traille, who are both injured.”
The France coach also recalled 32-year-old scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, fly half Benjamin Boyet, wings Aurelien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu and full-back Clement Poitrenaud. It doesn’t mean they are too old or forgotten or rejected,” Lievremont said.
“There are some players we rely on, we appreciate but who have not performed as well in recent weeks.
France will start its Six Nations campaign against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 7.
Another surprise was the call-up of newcomer Fabrice Estebanez, a 29-year-old former rugby league international, who plays either at centre or fly half with Brive.
Backs: Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Morgan Parra, Benjamin Boyet, Francois Trinh-Duc, Mathieu Bastareaud, Fabrice Estebanez, David Marty, Yannick Jauzion, Vincent Clerc, Benjamin Fall, Julien Malzieu, Aurelien Rougerie, Alexis Palisson, Clement Poitrenaud.
Forwards: Thomas Domingo, Luc Ducalcon, Sylvain Marconnet, Nicolas Mas, William Servat, Dimitri Szarzewski, Sebastien Chabal, Romain Millo-Chluski, Lionel Nallet, Pascal Pape, Julien Bonnaire, Thierry Dusautoir (c), Imanol Harinordoquy, Alexandre Lapandry, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Louis Picamoles.
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AFP – France’s top banks are demanding billions of dollars (euros) from the administrator of failed Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers, official documents issued on Friday showed.

BNP Paribas is claiming around 1.3 billion dollars, Societe Generale 800 million dollars and Dexia 400 million dollars, according to AFP’s calculations based on documents for the administrator published on the site Epiq Systems. The deadline for claims set by the US bankruptcy court was September 22, more than a year after the shock failure of Lehman Brothers. .

Like other creditors, we are engaged in a procedure to recover our debts, said a spokesman for Dexia who did not however confirm the amount sought.

Lehman’s collapse on September 15, 2008 sowed panic in boardrooms, government offices and households around the world and has come to symbolise the beginning of a steep slump that plunged the global economy into recession.

A spokesman for French insurer Axa, which is seeking 186 million dollars according to the documents issued Friday, said: We suffered a loss.

BNP Paribas – financial crisis – Lehman Brothers – Societe Generale
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BNP Paribas and Societe Generale decline to comment on their own claims

.The French parliament has approved a piracy bill that has drawn attention from around the world with its provision to cut illegal downloaders off from the internet.
The bill, which was opposed by consumer groups but had the backing of the music and film industry, is one of the toughest ever drafted in the global fight against the illegal downloading of films, music and computer games.
“The penalties will probably be quite rare, for I believe in the effectiveness of this deterrent,” said culture minister Frederic Mitterrand.
The bill was approved by 258 votes to 131.
Championed by Mr Sarkozy and singer-turned-first lady Carla Bruni, the original anti-piracy law was adopted in May after a stormy parliament battle, but was blocked in June by France’s top legal authority.
An official of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s right-wing UMP party, Franck Riester, said the first warnings to users falling foul of the new law would be sent at the beginning of next year.
Opponents said it failed to give alleged pirates enough recourse to challenge accusations and argued that web innovations would make it possible for illegal downloaders to avoid detection.
The Constitutional Council objected to a key provision which gave a new state agency the power to shut down web access for up to a year for those who download music and films illegally.
On the third strike, a judge would hand down an internet ban or, as was possible under existing but rarely applied legislation, impose a fine of up to 300,000 euros ($507,000) or a two-year jail sentence.
The new bill shifts the final decision on cutting off web users away from the state agency to the courts.
In Sweden, a similar law, which was closely monitored by France, has led to a sharp drop in illegal downloading although critics predict the effects will be short-lived and argue it is an excessive breach of personal privacy.
Account holders found guilty of “negligence” for allowing a third party to pirate music or films using their web connection would risk a 1,500-euro fine and a month-long suspension.

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AFP – France intends to declare an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Mediterranean in a bid to protect dwindling fish stocks, French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said Monday.

The French government has decided to declare an EEZ in the Mediterranean …

Defined under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an EEZ lets coastal states extend their jurisdiction beyond their 12-mile territorial waters, up to a maximum of 200 miles. with a perimeter of approximately 70 nautical miles, corresponding to our existing environmental protection area, Borloo told reporters.

Borloo said the French move was aimed at protecting French fishing, but especially to protect fish and to avoid the arrival of powerful industrial fleets in the closed sea of the Mediterranean.

France, which has the world’s second largest EEZ after the United States due to its many overseas territories, had not previously declared an exclusive zone in the Mediterranean because there was no justification for doing so, Borloo said.

Under the terms of the UN convention, an EEZ gives a coastal state sovereign sovereign rights to regulate fishing activities, explore and exploit all natural resources within the zone’s waters, seabed and subsoil.

We are changing policy because it is unacceptable for boats from around the world to be able to draw on resources, especially of fish, anywhere except in the 15-mile territorial waters, without any control, he said. .

Coastal states have the right to determine the fish catch within their EEZ, while working to prevent over-exploitation in concert with regional and international organisations.

Borloo said France hoped to see more countries decree EEZs, within the framework of the 43-member Union for the Mediterranean, and for us to have a debate among ourselves for the total protection of the Mediterranean. Were all coastal states to do so, every point in the sea would fall under one or other state’s jurisdiction.

exclusive – Fishing – France – Jean-Louis Borloo – Mediterranean Sea
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Launched in Paris a year ago, the 43-member aims to foster cooperation in one of the world’s most volatile regions, with protecting marine resources one of its main stated goals

.New laws are to be introduced in France to force companies to limit executive bonuses.
The ruling UMP party says the new law will stop French firms from awarding executive bonuses in the form of stock options or shares. .
The government says it has been forced to take action because businesses have failed to accept a voluntary accord.
Last week, around 2 million people took to the streets of France, demanding more help for struggling workers and asking the Government to curb executive rewards.
Bosses at the French bank have since decided to hand back their bonuses.

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AFP – The body of the last missing French soldier killed in an army helicopter crash off Gabon was recovered Monday near the undersea wreckage, the general staff said.

A French oil firm provided an undersea robot to the recovery operation, a day after five others were pulled from the wreckage of the Cougar transport copter, said Captain Christophe Prazuk, a spokesperson for the general staff. .

In all, eight soldiers died and two survived when the Cougar went down Saturday shortly after take-off from the French carrier La Foudre during military exercises with the central African country.

The French army said it could draw on its 95 Puma and eight Caracal helicopters while the Cougars, which have been in service for an average of 16 years, are grounded.

This is a precautionary step that is routinely taken every time an incident takes place on a aircraft, said armed forces spokesperson Colonel Benoit Royal.

accident – French military – Gabon
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Among the 10 soldiers on board the helicopter were six special forces paratroopers

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AFP – The body of the last missing French soldier killed in an army helicopter crash off Gabon was recovered Monday near the undersea wreckage, the general staff said.

A French oil firm provided an undersea robot to the recovery operation, a day after five others were pulled from the wreckage of the Cougar transport copter, said Captain Christophe Prazuk, a spokesperson for the general staff. .

In all, eight soldiers died and two survived when the Cougar went down Saturday shortly after take-off from the French carrier La Foudre during military exercises with the central African country.

The French army said it could draw on its 95 Puma and eight Caracal helicopters while the Cougars, which have been in service for an average of 16 years, are grounded.

This is a precautionary step that is routinely taken every time an incident takes place on a aircraft, said armed forces spokesperson Colonel Benoit Royal.

accident – French military – Gabon
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Among the 10 soldiers on board the helicopter were six special forces paratroopers