French gourmet desert chef Gaston Lenôtre passed away at the age of 88 on Thursday, according to the chef's company, Maison Lenôtre. He became famous worldwide for his gastronomic creations.

Electricity consumption has soared in France, reaching an an all-time high with current freezing temperatures. EDF, the French national electricity supplier, expressed concerns over a possible shortage, French media reported.

The financial crunch has seen store managers in Paris kick off the January sales with discounts of up to 70 percent. Clothing sales dropped by 4 percent in 2008.

Nine hostages on a French ship seized by pirates offshore from Nigeria have now been freed, according to Bourbon, the owner of the vessel. Terms of the release were not communicated, but all hostages are in good health.

Nicolas Sarkozy is to overhaul the manner in which criminal investigations are conducted, newspaper Le Monde has reported. The speculation has incited fears the justice system will become exposed to political influence.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made an unscheduled return to Egypt to meet President Hosni Mubarak, and step up efforts end to the violence in Gaza. The US has signalled that it wants to see "an immediate ceasefire".

Two cars packed with petrol bombs were launched at the doors of a Toulouse synagogue in an attack described by French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie as "stupid and revolting". No one was hurt in the attack.

The trials of two suspected Al Qaeda leaders and a third man went on trial Monday in a Paris court. The three men are accused of planning the 2002 suicide bombing of a historic synagogue in Tunisia that killed 21.

France's public broadcaster, France Television, has taken the first step toward eliminating advertisements from its programming. The evening prime-time slot will be absolutely ad-free beginning on Monday.

French Justice Minister Rachida Dati has given birth to a baby girl. The child, named Zohra, was born two weeks prematurely and is the first child for the 43-year-old single mother.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked authorities to be uncompromising with vehicle arsonists and said that they should lose their driving licences. Something of a tradition in France, this New Year's Eve burning saw a record 1,147 cars torched.

Pirates off the coast of Nigeria have seized a ship belonging to Bourbon, a French maritime services company, and are holding nine crew members hostage, the company said in a statement Monday.

The halal food business accounts for three billion euros in sales in France and more than 150 billion dollars throughout the world. Big companies want to be part of that growing market, but in France there is no law to regulate production.

A French warship foiled an attack by Somali pirates on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden after it received a distress signal from the boat. The eight men arrested will be taken to Somalia for trial.

Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris, where she rejected French suggestions for a truce and gave a speech saying that Hamas habitually abused peace overtures.

French actress Isabelle Huppert, two-time Cannes best actress winner and inductee into the Legion of Honour, will head the 2009 Cannes jury, say organisers. This year's festival, the 62nd edition, will take place from May 13 to 24.

In his televised New Year's message from the Elysée Palace in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he will fly to the Middle East on Monday in a bid to find a path toward peace between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers.

Electricity consumption has soared in France, reaching an an all-time high with current freezing temperatures. EDF, the French national electricity supplier, expressed concerns over a possible shortage, French media reported.

The financial crunch has seen store managers in Paris kick off the January sales with discounts of up to 70 percent. Clothing sales dropped by 4 percent in 2008.