Sports minister Roselyne Bachelot has told France's World Cup players they are no longer heroes in the eyes of children.

FRANCE coach Raymond Domenech insisted last night the decision to send Nicolas Anelka home was the correct one.

The France squad returned to training this morning, a day after refusing to take part in a routine session in protest at the decision to send home Nicolas Anelka.

The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, has asked his sports minister Roselyne Bachelot to meet with the key people involved in the bitter national team row which has wrecked their World Cup chances.

France striker Nicolas Anelka has been sent home from the World Cup after after refusing to apologise for his half-time rant at coach Raymond Domenech.

By Ian Moriarty

French President Nicolas Sarkozy collapsed suddenly while jogging today on the lush grounds of the Chateau of Versailles, then was rushed by helicopter to a military hospital where he will remain overnight, his office said.

LANCE ARMSTRONG, pictured, insists he is not bothered by being “particularly monitored” by anti-doping controls at the Tour de France.

The swine flu epidemic has spread deeper into the United States, Europe and Latin America, experts said today.

France today reported its first two cases of swine flu, while another is still to be confirmed.

Health Minister Mary Harney is due to attend an emergency EU meeting in Luxembourg today to coordinate efforts to prevent the spread of swine flu in Europe.

EU health ministers are expected to ban flights to Mexico in the wake of the swine flu outbreak at their emergency meeting today.

France’s health minister said today she is working on a Bill which would prevent under-18s drinking in bars or buying alcohol at supermarkets.

A FRENCH “right to die” advocate who was refused permission for an assisted suicide has been found dead in the latest twist to a drama that has reopened a euthanasia debate the country thought it had concluded three years ago.

Around 10,000 cafe owners and tobacconists marched through Paris today in protest at a smoking ban they fear will ruin their businesses.

French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot wants cycling to crack down harder on doping cheats after this year’s tainted Tour de France.

Cycling may have a new star in Alberto Contador but the Spaniard’s heroics in this year’s Tour de France took a back seat on Monday as the sport’s doping problem continued to dominate.

Surging flood waters killed three men and swept a woman off a bridge in storms that lashed southern France, closing schools, roads and power plants and causing dozens of people to flee their homes.

In one outburst after another, French and German ministers lashed out at the US defence secretary today with one even evoking a four-letter word, in the clearest sign yet the Iraqi crisis has split the Atlantic alliance.

FRANCE'S Atlantic coast could be swamped with oil from the sunken tanker Prestige within days after high winds tore up an oil slick out at sea, authorities said yesterday.