French Raise Terror Alert
French police acting on a tip-off discovered dynamite hidden in leading Pais department store Printemps today. The explosives were found in the third floor restroom of the menswear department.
French news agency Agence France-Presse said it received a letter Tuesday morning from a group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front saying that several bombs had been planted in the store.
In the letter, the group demanded the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan.
Following the discovery, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, officially raised the country's terror alert from "RUN" to "HIDE".
Did you know that we were once at war with the French for 116 years? They called it the Hundred Years' War for some reason, it must have been a typo. Anyway, the only reason it lasted so long was that we were enjoying beating them so much we decided to pan it out a bit.
Two Injured As French Riot Police Charge Protesting Farmers
SETE, France (AFP)--A policeman and a protester were injured Wednesday when riot police using tear gas battled farmers blocking an oil depot in southern France to protest over soaring fuel prices, an AFP reporter said.
The clashes at the depot near Sete on the Mediterranean coast lasted several minutes, with around a hundred farmers throwing objects at the police, who numbered around 50.
The farmers pulled back from the entrance to the depot but remained nearby after the altercation.
The incident came as fishermen called off strikes in key French ports, lifting a week-long blockade of France's largest oil refinery, but truckers and farmers stepped up their own protests over fuel prices.
Fishermen and truck drivers have been in the vanguard of a wave of protests across western Europe over rising fuel costs, as oil prices recently hit a global record of over $135 a barrel.
ONICG says 2008 French corn output up 2mmt
France will produce 14.3 million metric tons of corn, up from 12.3 million tons last year, leaving end-of-season stockpiles at a "historically high levels" of 3.3 million tons, according to the Paris-based ONIGC.
