Paris - Among the many gifts Barack Obama received this week to celebrate his inauguration as the 44th president of the United States was a deluxe presentation box of French Roquefort cheese.

Little is known about Obama's cheese preferences, but it can be assumed that he will probably not be able to enjoy this Roquefort fully, because it will taste more than a little of international politics.

The cheese was a present from the president of the Roquefort-producing region of Midi-Pyrenees, Martin Malvy, to remind him that his predecessor, George W Bush, had reignited an old US-EU trade conflict just days before leaving office.

The French government is planning to give second aid package worth Euro 5 - 6 billion (up to US $8 billion) to struggling carmakers including Renault SA and PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister said that she thinks they will have a sufficient sense of responsibility to take these measures themselves but it would seem absurd to me to put state money ... into industrial sectors, into carmakers Renault or Peugeot, and for company boards to decide to award superbonuses with that money.

Marseille, France - French swimming star Laure Manaudou has decided to sit out the 2009 season and not compete at the world championships in Rome later this year.

In a statement issued on Wednesday through her lawyer, the 2004 Olympic 400 metre freestyle champion said she no longer has the will to swim competitively.

"Laure currently feels totally saturated and this has deprived her of the pleasure and desire to swim.

Paris - Despite the financial crisis in the global banking sector, French bank Societe Generale said Wednesday it expected to post profits of some 2 billion euros
(2.58 billion dollars) for 2008.

The unexpectedly strong results were the consequence of "the solidity of (its) retail banking activities and its diversified business portfolio," the bank said in a statement.

Societe Generale said it expected to have broken even in the fourth quarter of last year, which was particularly difficult for the sector.

Paris - European helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter said Tuesday its consolidated turnover for 2008 rose by 7.5 per cent to 4.5 billion euros (5.85 billion dollars).

The company, a subsidiary of aerospace giant EADS, delivered 588 new helicopters last year, making it the world's number-one manufacturer of civil and parapublic helicopters.

Order bookings for the year totaled 4.9 billion euros, "still showing a strong demand for new helicopter models and services," the company said.

However, the number of helicopters ordered fell from 802 in 2007 to 715.

Paris - The global economic crisis could lead to the failure of one out of every five small and mid-sized companies in the European automobile industry, European Commission Vice-President Guenther Verheugen said Tuesday in Paris.

Therefore, Brussels must do everything in its power to protect the sector, Verheugen said at a crisis meeting of individuals from all branches of the industry and French government officials aimed at devising state measures to aid the sector.