Paris - The French Parliament is widely expected to approve President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to return France to NATO's military command structure when it votes on the measure later on Thursday.

Because Sarkozy's UMP party and its centre-right allies have a substantial majority in both houses of Parliament, the result of the vote is a foregone conclusion.

Paris - French physicist Bernard Espagnat was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize, worth 1 million pounds (1.41 million dollars), the John Templeton Foundation announced in Paris on Monday.

The 87-year-old Espagnat was named the recipient of the world's most generous individual scientific award for his work in the field of quantum mechanics, particularly for his experimental proofs on Bell inequalities.

Bell inequalities concern measurements made on pairs of particles and were derived from the original Bell's inequality, devised by the late physicist John Bell, regarding an apparently inherent contradiction in quantum mechanics.

Paris - French physicist Bernard Espagnat was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize, worth 1 million pounds (1.41 million dollars), the John Templeton Foundation announced in Paris on Monday.

The 87-year-old Espagnat was named the recipient of the world's most generous individual scientific award for his work in the field of quantum mechanics, particularly for his experimental proofs on Bell inequalities.

Bell inequalities concern measurements made on pairs of particles and were derived from the original Bell's inequality, devised by the late physicist John Bell, regarding an apparently inherent contradiction in quantum mechanics.

Paris  - A large gang of youths armed with buckshot and stones left a number of police officers lightly injured overnight in a Parisian suburb, a police spokesman said Sunday.

About 100 young people were involved in the violence, the spokesman told French radio, adding that eight were arrested.

The number of policemen hurt were originally reported as 21, but later reduced to 10.

According to early reports, the rioting began when police responding to a call concerning a burning car were "ambushed" by an waiting band of youths in the Les Mureaux suburb. A number of homemade incendiary devices were also discovered at the scene.

London, Mar 15 : French Justice Minister Rachida Dati, who made a lightning return to work just days after giving birth, only to lose her job, has launched a political comeback.

The 43-year-old, who was considered President Nicolas Sarkozy's favourite among the "Sarko-zettes" - his women ministers, is letting everybody know that she will run for mayor of Paris, reports The Times.

Her associates have hinted that she wants to prove that her fortunes are no longer purely dependent on the whims of her estranged mentor, Sarkozy.

Berlin  - Germany and France are expected to launch joint industrial projects in the energy and automobile sectors when Chancellor Angela Merkel meets President Nicolas Sarkozy Thursday.

The plans cover innovations in the renewable energy sector and research into new methods of propulsion for motor vehicles, government sources said ahead of the meeting in Berlin.

The two countries have been at odds over plans announced by Sarkozy to give financial aid to the French car industry to help it overcome the global economic downturn.

The differences were put aside at a special EU summit held in Berlin earlier this month, but fears of protectionism still hang over the issue.