Paris - The French nuclear energy supplier Areva said Thursday it had signed an agreemen

Paris - A court in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Thursday ruled that a company on the island of La Reunion must pay French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
40,000 euros (58,400 dollars) in damages for having used her nude photo on a line of shopping bags, French media reported.

The court found that the Pardon company had used Bruni-Sarkozy's image without authorization and had caused her "moral and patrimonial damage," the online edition of the daily Le Monde reported.

The company is also prohibited from selling or otherwise distributing the bag and must pay 3,000 euros in court fees.

Paris - An appeals court in the eastern French city of Colmar on Thursday confirmed a 200,000-euro (292,000-dollar) fine imposed on Volvo for the deaths of two children in a 1999 accident.

The court found that the Volvo 850 TDI driven by a French teacher ran over the two children, aged 9 and 10, because its brakes had not functioned correctly.

The children had been on the way to school when the fatal accident occurred. A third child was seriously injured.

Paris - An appeals court in the eastern French city of Colmar on Thursday confirmed a 200,000-euro (292,000-dollar) fine imposed on Volvo for the deaths of two children in a 1999 accident.

The court found that the Volvo 850 TDI driven by a French teacher ran over the two children, aged 9 and 10, because its brakes had not functioned correctly.

The children had been on the way to school when the fatal accident occurred. A third child was seriously injured.

Paris - French bank BNP Paribas disclosed Thursday that it is postponing its planned takeover of the troubled bank and insurance company Fortis, citing a Brussels court ruling.

On its website BNP Paribas cited a December 12 ruling by a court in Brussels ordering a 65-day freeze on any transaction involving Fortis in a case involving a suit filed by some 2,000 shareholders challenging the selloff of the bank.

BNP Paribas also called off an extraordinary shareholders meeting which had been set for Friday to vote on the Fortis takeover.

In late September, a joint rescue plan by The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg was announced effectively to nationalize Fortis and then break up the company into separate units in each of the countries.

Paris- One day after five sticks of dynamite were planted in a large Paris department store, French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Wednesday announced a series of measures intended to increase public security.

Parking regulations will be made stricter around department stores and airports, and customers in large stores and passengers at airports could be searched more often, Alliot-Marie said.

In addition, more police officers will be deployed in Paris and other large cities, with about 2,200 more police in the streets than usual over the Christmas period, she said.