France Enters Hostage Crisis Talks
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The French government prepared for crisis talks Tuesday to save the lives of two journalists held hostage in Iraq, while aides to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for the release of the reporters as a deadline set by their kidnappers neared.
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CAIRO : French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier made an impassioned plea to try to save the lives of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq as an ultimatum issued by their kidnappers neared expiry.
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CAIRO Aug 30 - France scrambled to secure the release of two French journalists kidnapped by Iraqi militants who gave Paris until Monday evening to drop its controversial ban on Muslim headscarves in schools.
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French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre  Raffarin met ministers for a 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, in crisis mode, on Sunday called for the release of two French journalists kidnapped in Iraq by Islamic militants demanding that Paris rescind a ban on headscarves in state schools.
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French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin called an emergency ministerial meeting Sunday to discuss the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq, local media reported.
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French President Jacques Chirac appealed for unity Tuesday, as a bungled attempt to rescue two French hostages in Iraq sparked a growing controversy that some fear could hurt efforts to get the men freed.
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The French government Sunday scrambled to develop a response to kidnappers who grabbed two French journalists in Iraq, demanding Paris revoke a law banning Islamic head scarves in public schools. There was no sign France would capitulate.
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PARIS France&#39;s effort to secure the release of two French journalists held hostage in Iraq appeared to be in disarray Monday after a conservative member of Parliament and self-styled mediator revealed he had lost contact with the kidnappers over the
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The French government and opposition  declared a rare united front on Thursday in efforts to secure  the release of two French hostages held in Iraq.
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The French Foreign Minister has called for the release of two French journalists being held hostage by Islamist kidnappers in Iraq.
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The French foreign minister is to begin negotiations for the release of two journalists taken hostage in Iraq. In a televised address after a day of government crisis talks, President Jacques Chirac on Sunday
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France's government and leaders of its Muslim minority urged Iraqi militants Sunday to free two French journalists they were holding hostage in a bid to force Paris to revoke its ban on Muslim headscarves in schools.
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France redoubled its diplomatic efforts on Tuesday to save two French reporters held hostage in Iraq ahead of a new deadline to scrap a school headscarf ban, as the Islamic militant group Hamas called for the men&#39;s release.
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France offered Wednesday to take in any Marxist rebels exchanged in a prisoner swap if Colombia's FARC released a group of hostages including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.
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Reports say France is still talking to the kidnappers of two reporters after a deadline for their execution expires.
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French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin held an urgent meeting with three of his top ministers to discuss the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq by Islamic militants demanding the rescinding of a ban on the Islamic headscarf in French schools.