President Nicolas Sarkozy’s governing conservatives trounced France’s Socialists in voting for the European parliament, while an ecology-minded party vaulted to a surprisingly strong third place, according to early official results.

Parisians are braced for rush-hour chaos today as a nationwide strike was expected to cripple the public transport system and give President Nicolas Sarkozy his first real test after five months in office.

FRENCH president Nicolas Sarkozy’s call for a full reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) may leave farmers struggling to adapt again, even as they get to grips with the decoupled CAP and the Single Farm Payment.

Under new President Nicolas Sarkozy, France no longer has a policy of “permanent anti-Americanism” – but does not take orders from Washington either, the French foreign minister said today.

Investigating judges expect to file preliminary charges against former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin over an alleged smear scandal targeting President Nicolas Sarkozy, Villepin’s office said today.

France’s new foreign minister today condemned a deadly bomb attack near a busy Beirut shopping centre, and reaffirmed the importance to France of Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability.

French President Jacques Chirac ends his final full day in office today with an evening farewell to the nation that he has led for 12 years.

Judges investigating a smear scandal that targeted French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy searched the offices of one of his lawyers today.

Fresh off a whirlwind yachting break, French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy returned to work with a meeting due today with Tony Blair.

Nicolas Sarkozy, back from a post-election Mediterranean holiday, was today preparing for the French presidency.

France’s presidential election tomorrow is a ground-breaker – a choice between an immigrant’s son and an army officer’s daughter, each offering a radically different vision of how to put a dispirited nation back on track.

The woman bidding to be France’s first female president erupted in anger during a highly-anticipated TV duel with her conservative rival.

The two candidates to be France’s next president faced each other tonight in their first televised debate of the campaign before the weekend vote, and sparks flew almost from the start.

France's presidential race headed into its final week today with conservative former Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy holding a narrow but enduring lead over socialist candidate Segolene Royal.

The Taliban released a French woman aid worker abducted three weeks ago, but said today a French man and three Afghan colleagues would not be freed until French troops leave Afghanistan.

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 Socialist former French prime minister is urging Nicolas Sarkozy’s major rivals to unite in a nearly unthinkable alliance to keep the front-running conservative party candidate out of the Elysee Palace.

Extreme-right presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen today stepped up his criticism of the European Union and its symbols, calling the euro “the currency of occupation” in France.

French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his solidarity with Britain today over its sailors detained by Iran.

French voters woke up to very different airwaves today as the race for next month’s presidential elections formally took off and each of the 12 candidates was granted equal broadcast time.

French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy lengthened his lead over his chief two rivals, according to a poll released today, as all three sought to broaden their electoral base in the volatile race.

SOCIALIST French presidential candidate Segolene Royal will push for a law to allow euthanasia under certain conditions if she is elected this spring, her party said yesterday.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will become the third-longest serving EU leader in May when French president Jacques Chirac steps down.

French President Jacques Chirac will address the nation on Sunday evening in a speech in which he is likely to announce he will not stand for re-election next month.

FRANCE and Ireland are to work closely to ensure that the European Commission will not make any further concessions on agriculture in the world trade talks.

A nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and a threat to regional security, French presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy said today.

A new opinion poll suggests centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy would beat Socialist contender Segolene Royal in a likely second-round vote in France’s presidential election in three months’ time.

France today said that a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable, backtracking on published remarks by President Jacques Chirac that Iran’s possession of a nuclear bomb would not be “very dangerous”.

Iconic French farmer and anti-globalisation activist Jose Bove today announced he is running for president of France, a move that could further split the country’s divided left.

France’s Socialist Party today expelled politician Georges Freche after he was criticised for saying there were too many black players on the national football team, party officials said.

An extra €2m in humanitarian aid was today given to Lebanon by the Irish Government.

France’s presidential election would be too close to call if held today, according to two polls released today.

Nicolas Sarkozy, buoyed by his weekend nomination as the French right’s presidential candidate and by rifts in his rival’s camp, edged out Socialist Segolene Royal in a poll released today.

U2 frontman Bono is being awarded an honorary British knighthood for his services to the music industry and humanitarian work, it was announced today.

Nato leaders pledged at the end of a summit today to stay the course in Afghanistan despite mounting casualties and some governments’ refusal to send troops into combat in the most dangerous regions.

SEGOLENE ROYAL, who overwhelmingly won the backing of the main opposition Socialist Party in her bid to become France’s first female president, called on the country yesterday to work together for deep changes to overcome its malaise.

French President Jacques Chirac and leading ministers today laid the first brick at a new memorial honouring the late General Charles de Gaulle on the 36th anniversary of the iconic president’s death.

France's interior minister sent extra riot police to the southern port city of Marseille today after a group of marauding teenagers torched a bus, seriously burning a young passenger.

A criminal court convicted the president of the French Olympic Committee on corruption charges today.

The burden of possible job cuts at Airbus should be spread between its two main sites in Hamburg, Germany, and Toulouse, France, French President Jacques Chirac said today.

The leaders of Italy, France and Spain sent a letter to the EU yesterday, urging the bloc to approve measures to help them cope with the flood of illegal migrants from Africa.

World governments are playing down a leaked French intelligence document that raises the possibility Osama bin Laden died of typhoid.

UN secretary-general Kofi Annan demanded today that Hezbollah release two captured Israeli soldiers to the international Red Cross and that Israel lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.

The United Nations has received pledges of 3,500 troops for an expanded peacekeeping force in Lebanon, but it is unclear whether the soldiers represent the right mix of countries and units that could deploy quickly.