Paris  - The French government on Wednesday sharply criticized comments made by Pope Benedict XVI regarding the effectiveness of condoms in the fight against AIDS.

"Such statements are a danger to public health policies and the protection of human life," foreign affairs ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier told journalists in Paris. "The condom is an important element in the fight against the spread of AIDS."

Paris - Millions of French workers from the public and private sectors were expected to take part in a one-day strike and nationwide demonstrations to protest the economic policies of President Nicolas Sarkozy and his government beginning late Wednesday.

The second nationwide job action of the year takes place amidst an atmosphere of mounting anger following a series of controversial factory closures and layoffs in France by German tyre manufacturer Continental, Japanese electronics giant Sony and French petroleum group Total.

Paris  - An 85-year-old French man who is hard of hearing mistook a firefighter for a burglar and shot him to death, a police spokeswoman from the southern French city of Belley said on Wednesday.

Neighbours had called rescue workers because they were worried about the health of the old man. When he did not respond to shouts at the door, the firemen broke into the apartment.

The old man mistook the noise for a break-in, locked himself in a room and fired a shot that struck and killed one of the firefighters.

Paris  - As expected, lawmakers in the French National Assembly voted late Tuesday in favour of a measure that effectively approved President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to return France to NATO's military command structure.

By a vote of 329 to 238, the deputies passed a vote of confidence in the foreign policy conducted by Prime Minister Francois Fillon and his government, including the decision to return to full NATO membership.

In 1966, then-president Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of the alliance's military command and evicted US bases from French soil.

Paris  - As expected, lawmakers in the French National Assembly voted late Tuesday in favour of a measure that effectively approved President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to return France to NATO's military command structure.

By a vote of 329 to 238, the deputies passed a vote of confidence in the foreign policy conducted by Prime Minister Francois Fillon and his government, including the decision to return to full NATO membership.

In 1966, then-president Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of the alliance's military command and evicted US bases from French soil.

Berlin/Paris - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy stepped up their call for next month's summit of the world's most powerful economies to agree to concrete measures for overhauling the global financial sector.

In a joint letter ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) richest and emerging economies' summit in London, Merkel and Sarkozy said the meeting needed to produce "concrete results for reinforcing international financial regulation" and to draw up an action plan aimed at strengthening the role of global financial institutions.