Europe, France | featured news

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right bloc suffered a comprehensive defeat in Sunday's local elections, but managed to cling on to power in one mainland region to avoid a whitewash, exit polls said.

A newly authenticated Van Gogh has gone on display 35 years after a discredited art collector bought it in Paris, convinced it was painted by the famed Dutch master but never able to prove it.

Curbs on wearing the full Muslim veil came a step closer in France Tuesday with a report that will call for a ban on the dress in post offices, universities, hospitals and state-owned premises, as well as public transport.

Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said France will slap a one-off 50% tax on bonuses awarded to bank employees next year.

Roman Polanski seemed to have little to lose last summer when his lawyers pressed to dismiss the child rape case in California that has haunted him since he fled to France three decades ago.

A French court today convicted the Church of Scientology and six of its members of organized fraud, but stopped short of banning the church.

French prosecutors have reportedly launched a preliminary investigation against the Astana cycling team, following the discovery of syringes belonging to the squad during this year's Tour de France.

France arrests a researcher at Europe's top particle physics lab who is suspected of links to al-Qaeda, officials say.

French tourists heading to risky foreign destinations could be asked to foot the bill if the French government comes to their rescue.

Germany and France enjoyed a shock return to economic growth in the second quarter of the year, data showed on Thursday, ending their recessions earlier than many policymakers and economists had expected.