PARIS, March 28 (Reuters) – With his approval ratings and
most of his economic pledges in tatters, French President
Francois Hollande will try to convince a disillusioned nation on
television on Thursday to keep faith in him to restore the
economy to health.

Hollande will be grilled in a 45-minute interview on France
2 television, his first such appearance in several months, in a
studio whose backdrop and lighting have been prepared by his
media team to create a sombre mood.

PARIS (Reuters) – With approval ratings and most of his economic pledges in tatters, French President Francois Hollande will try to convince a disillusioned nation on primetime TV on Thursday to keep faith in him to restore the economy to health.

Hollande will be grilled in a 45-minute interview on France 2 television, his first such appearance in several months, in a studio whose backdrop and lighting have been carefully prepared by his media team to create a somber mood.

PARIS/PRAGUE, March 26 (Reuters) – The European Central Bank
sought on Tuesday to quash suggestions that a rescue deal for
Cyprus could shape future bank rescues in the bloc, insisting
the country was a unique case.

The Cyprus bailout marked a departure from three years of
euro zone crisis-fighting by penalising large bank depositors
for the first time. Smaller accounts, holding less than 100,000
euros, were spared.

PARIS (Reuters) – Anxious to avoid the fury that greeted his predecessor’s pension reforms, President Francois Hollande will ask more of old people to fix the hole in French retirement coffers but tread gently in doing so.

Even a softly-softly approach will mark the first time a left-wing president has dared to tamper with a system which is one of the sacred cows of France’s model of generous welfare provision.

PARIS (Reuters) – About 15 Islamist militants were killed by French and Chadian troops in fighting overnight in northern Mali’s Ametetai valley, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.

He said some 1,600 French and Chadian troops in that area continued to search for Islamist rebels, seven weeks into a campaign to drive al Qaeda-linked fighters out of Mali’s north.

PARIS, Feb 20 (Reuters) – The CEO of a U.S. tyre maker has
delivered a crushing summary of how some outsiders view France’s
work ethic in a letter saying he would have to be stupid to take
over a factory whose staff only put in three hours work a day.

Titan International’s Maurice Taylor, nicknamed “The
Grizz” for his negotiating style, told the left-wing French
industry minister in a letter published by media on Wednesday
that he had no interest in rescuing a plant set for closure.

PARIS, Feb 12 (Reuters) – In a dingy Parisian back street,
diners at a one-of-a-kind bistro tuck lustily into breaded horse
brain, pan fried heart of horse and broiled cheek, along with
prime rump steaks the chef cuts from the bone himself.

Seasoned aficionados queuing at one of the few horse
butchers left in Paris say they prefer theirs raw as minced
“tartare”, pepped up with olive oil, lemon juice and pepper.

PARIS (Reuters) – Francois Hollande has shot down the idea that he is a spineless, indecisive president in three days that saw him nail a landmark labor reform, stand up to anti-gay marriage protesters and dispatch troops to Mali.

The politician long nicknamed after a brand of wobbly blancmange pudding emerged from his most testing weekend in office looking like he has a lot more backbone than critics gave him credit for and should get a much-needed boost to his image.

PARIS (Reuters) – France said it launched a military operation in Mali on Friday to help the government there stem a push southwards by Islamist rebels who control much of the north, in a turnaround from its earlier stance against intervention by its forces.

President Francois Hollande said a surge by the rebels into new territory this week had heightened the security situation and prompted France, backed by the U.N. Security Council and West African nations, to respond to a plea for help from its former colony.

PARIS (Reuters) – On the campaign trail, Francois Hollande pleased working-class voters with promises of a super-tax on millionaires and sought to reassure foreign investors with commitments to restore public finances and revive French industry.

But now as he starts 2013 and his eighth month as president, the Socialist’s clumsy handling of those promises has turned the public mood against him, created the impression among many entrepreneurs that he is anti-business and prompted smirking foreign leaders to offer refuge to French tax exiles.