French Premier Skeptical of Ransom Demand
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Experts on Islamic militant groups are skeptical about a Web posting demanding &#36;5 million in ransom for two French journalists held hostage in Iraq, France's prime minister said Monday.
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French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin voiced his concern Sunday at a bungled training exercise by police who allowed a bag with a small amount of explosives to be flown out of the main Paris airport.
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France was torn between hope and doubt about its two hostages in Iraq on Wednesday after a purported French negotiator announced their imminent release but officials insisted they knew nothing about his ...
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France's prime minister says his government will defend Societe Generale against any hostile takeover bids.
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France's president is heading for a showdown with European finance ministers over the French economy.
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France appears reluctant to commit its own forces to save the government, but the rebels are unlikely to win much recognition if they win
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President Nicolas Sarkozy&#39;s refusal to pardon prisoners on Bastille Day stirred debate, with the justice minister on Monday calling it a &quot;true political break&quot; with past practice by French leaders.
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French President Nicolas  Sarkozy told railway workers on Friday he would not be  blackmailed into withdrawing a reform of their pensions  privileges by strikes and street protests.
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Confusion surrounded the fate of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq on Thursday after a new purported statement from the kidnappers denied they had demanded a $5 million ransom or set a 48-hour deadline.
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PARIS : The captors of two French journalists allegedly put forward new demands for their release, but French officials cast doubt on the authenticity of the demands and remained cautiously optimistic about securing their release.
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French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre  Raffarin called a ministerial crisis meeting on two French  journalists held hostage in Iraq on Monday as efforts to secure  their release threatened to turn into a fiasco.
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The French government held a crisis  meeting on Thursday over the fate of two journalists held  hostage in Iraq after a new purported statement from the  kidnappers denied they had demanded a ransom or set a deadline.
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called left-wing Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to back his offer to try to help secure the release of hostages held by rebels in Colombia, including a French-Colombian politician.
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The French President has called for national unity for the sake of two French hostages in Iraq, as a row broke out over a failed attempt to free them.
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The French prime minister defended thousands of job cuts at Airbus on Thursday, but protests over the losses at the planemaker silenced three German plants in a backlash that could threaten recovery hopes.
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Â· Ex-president questioned as immunity comes to endÂ· Party officials said to have been on Paris city payroll
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Confusion surrounded the fate of two  French journalists held hostage in Iraq on Thursday after a new  purported statement from the kidnappers denied they had  demanded a $5 million ransom or set a 48-hour deadline.