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Friday, November 13, 2009 PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy says there is no place for full face and body veils such as the burqa, or for the debasement of women, in France.Sarkozy says all beliefs will be respected in France but says "becoming French means adhering to a form of civilization, to values, to morals."Sarkozy said during a speech on national identity that "France is a country where there is no place for the burqa." France has a large Muslim community but only a small minority of French Muslim women wear burqas, common in Afghanistan, or other face-covering veils.Sarkozy said in June that burqas would not be welcome in France. Since then a parliamentary panel has been looking into the possibility of banning them in public.

Thursday, August 27, 2009 PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that international financial system reform, new international order, climate change and energy would be high on agenda for the country's foreign policy. Speaking at an annual conference of French ambassadors and envoys, Sarkozy warned of flaws in the current world financial system and called for financial reforms. Sarkozy said his country had pushed leading banks to implement new rules restricting bonuses for their executives. He also promised to severely punish any breaches, calling on other countries to follow suit. The French president added he was planning to address this topic at next month's Group of 20 (G20) financial summit in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh. In his speech, Sarkozy said the Group of Eight (G8) should be extended to include emerging countries such as China, Brazil, India, South Africa, Mexico and Egypt, making it the Group of 14 (G14). "The Canadian presidency (of G8) in 20...

Saturday, July 11, 2009 PARIS: Mr Sarkozy defied the recession last year to order £240 million worth of planes, including an Airbus designed to be bigger than any flown by other European leaders, and two corporate run-arounds for shorter trips.The first, a hugely luxurious Dassault Falcon 7X with a range of 6,000 nautical miles, has now been delivered complete with the hand-painted "Carla One" glistening on its side, in honour of his wife Carla Bruni.When they married last year, Mr Sarkozy made it clear that the former super model would have the very best in aviation luxury to transport her around the world.The Falcon comes with full leather seats and teak desks - it is understood to be red, white and blue.