PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy’s party yesterday fought to recover from a first-round beating in French regional elections that also saw the far-right National Front surge back.

Russia’s president promised to start withdrawing forces from positions in Georgia today, but suggested they could stay in the breakaway region at the heart of the fighting that has reignited Cold War tensions.

A trader blamed by French bank Societe Generale for a massive fraud was taken into custody today, judicial officials said.

FRANCE’S presidential candidates made their final pushes for votes as polls yesterday pointed to a cliffhanger among the top four hopefuls, led by conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal.

A FRENCH police intelligence agency has warned that rioting could break out again in poor, multi-ethnic neighbourhoods around Paris one year after unrest swept the nation’s suburbs.

Al-Qaida number two Ayman al-Zawahiri called for attacks against France in a video and designated an Algerian insurgency movement as the terrorist organisation’s armed wing in the European country, a terror expert said today.

“WE LOST the World Cup, but we had a good laugh anyway”... a song that helped the French to rediscover their sense of humour after their agonising defeat has gone to the top of the charts.

Two flights chartered by the CIA made stopovers in France in 2002 and 2005, French newspaper Le Figaro said today, adding to likely questions facing US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visits Europe next week.

Four alleged members of a suspected Islamic terror cell dismantled in France were placed under investigation yesterday for terrorism financing and other charges, judicial officials said.

A suspected Islamist terror cell broken up in France is thought to have been plotting attacks on the Paris Metro, an airport and an intelligence agency’s headquarters, it was claimed today.

Air France today said it would not confirm or deny a newspaper report that said the crash of a jet in Toronto last month could have been caused by a pilot’s miscalculation.

FRENCH soccer great Zinedine Zidane says he doesn't want to be dubbed a "saviour" after deciding to make his international comeback.

The French media were very much impressed by the Irish performance on Saturday, but were a little harsher in assessing their fellow countrymen. Hugh Delaney reports.