Paris, May 16 : Canadian Adham Sharara was re-elected as president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) during the World Championships here.

Sharara, who has held the position since succeeding Chinese Xu Yinsheng in 1999 to become the sixth ITTF chief, beat his only rival Stefano Bosi of Italy, the chief of European Table Tennis Federation, 149-53 in a vote at the ITTF General Meeting Wednesday.

An electrical engineer by trade, Cairo-born Sharara was last re-elected in Yokohama, Japan, in 2009.

Paris, May 13 : The 52nd edition of the world's premier table tennis event will be held in Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy May 13-20 with a record 463 men and 360 women participating.

The players are from 130 countries and regions competing for the five gold medals on offer - men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles, reports Xinhua.

Paris, May 8 : France has identified its first case of coronavirus infection, a virus akin to SARS, the health ministry announced Wednesday.

"This is the first and the only case confirmed in France to date", with an infection by a new virus from the coronavirus family, the ministry said.

It said the infected person had stayed in the United Arab Emirates before returning to France, and is now placed in isolation, reported Xinhua.(IANS)

Paris, April 25 : France's second largest carmaker Renault has said its revenue fell by 11.8 percent to 8.26 billion euros ($10.75 billion) during the first quarter amid persistent economic downturn in the European bloc.

In a statement issued by Renault Wednesday, the company said it sold 608,455 vehicles in the first three months of 2013, down by 4.7 percent for the same period last year as "in Europe, the market was tougher than expected", where the group reported 10-percent fall in its sales.

As to the automotive division, it contributed negatively to the group total revenue with 7.73 billion euros, down 12.6 percent, reported Xinhua.

Paris, April 3 : FC Barcelona have paid a heavy price for the 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie away to Paris Saint Germain after star player Lionel Messi had to be substituted at the halftime break and defender Javier Mascherano too being stretchered off late in the game.

Paris, March 31 - Paris' iconic Eiffel Tower Saturday evening was the target of a bomb threat, leading police to evacuate about 1,500 people from the wrought iron structure raised in 1889, police sources said.

Police evacuated the world famous monument after receiving an anonymous call of bomb attempt made from a phone booth, Xinhua reported.

Around 6.30 p. m., the police advised all the people on the site to leave. In less than an hour later, around 1,500 visitors and employees were evacuated peacefully.

Paris, March 29 : French President Francois Hollande has said that his priority is to tackle unemployment, the biggest headache for the Socialist government since he took office 10 months ago.

In a live television interview on France 2 Thursday, Hollande reiterated his commitments to the French people although his popularity plummeted in latest poll surveys and the country's economy continues to deteriorate.

Paris, March 23 : Actor Brad Pitt has reportedly spent a staggering 5 million pounds to buy a luxury yacht.

Pitt, 49, who is currently staying here in France with his six children and fiancee Angelina Jolie, is keen to take his family out for a sail, reports thesun. co. uk.

"Brad's always wanted a classic sail yacht and this one is perfect. It sleeps eight, but you can have more on board if you are just going out for a day," a source said.

"He loves the idea of taking the kids out around the islands along the coast of the South of France near St Tropez," the source added.(IANS)

Paris, March 18 : Celebrity couple Brad Pitt and fiancee Angelina Jolie are reportedly planning to have similar tattoos as part of their soon-to-happen wedding.

The couple, who raises six children - Maddox, 11, Pax, nine, Zahara, eight, Shiloh, six, and Knox and Vivienne, four - will ink the name of their children and wedding date, reports contactmusic. com.

Paris, Feb 19 : Footballer David Beckham and wife Victoria are here to celebrate son Cruz's birthday with the entire family.

The star couple are here with sons Romeo and Brooklyn and daughter Harper to celebrate third son Cruz's birthday, who turns eight Feb 20, reports dailymail. co. uk.

Dressed in a pair of jeans and overcoat, David looked serious with Harper in his arms, while Victoria wore a blue dress as she hid her face behind sunglasses. (IANS)

Paris, Feb 19 : France and China would launch a new round of cooperation and exchanges to further their historic relations, French President Francois Hollande has said.

Addressing a reception here marking the Chinese Lunar New Year, Hollande Monday said some cabinet members have visited China after the new French government was sworn in last May.

A number of French entrepreneurs are developing their business in China, an important country in the world, he said, adding that he would also pay a visit to China this year, reported Xinhua.

Paris, Jan 11 : Inviting French investments in India''s infrastructure, food processing industries, hi-tech and green technologies, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said economic and commercial relations between India and France were affected by the economic slowdown but are again growing steadily and there is considerable untapped potential for further growth.

Paris, Jan 9 : Rapper Kanye West has taken his three months pregnant girlfriend Kim Kardashian for a vacation to Paris to celebrate their baby news.

West announced his girlfriend's pregnancy during a concert in Atlantic City, New Jerseym in December. This is Kim's first pregnancy.

They were spotted together shopping at designer stores Lanvin and Celine before dining at L'Avenue restaurant in Paris Tuesday, contactmusic. com reports.

The couple, who began dating in April last year, have purchased a mansion worth $11 million together in Bel Air, California. (IANS)

Paris, Sep 20 - Hollywood star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have hired former guards of Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) to protect their home in France from organised crime gangs.

The couple - who raise six kids - have enlisted ex-servicemen and installed a 150- million-pound state-of-the-art security system after they came to know that gangs from Russia and Italy were targeting rich foreigners in their Provence area, southern France.

Paris, Sept 5 : Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was reportedly questioned by police over allegations of sexually abusing a French writer, when he arrived in Paris.

A police escort rushed Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair through customs and into a waiting limousine after they landed at Charles de Gaulle airport yesterday, Express. co. uk reports.

Paris, Aug 20 : Marine scientists would soon meet at the Paris-based Unesco to discuss measuring the impact of noise on marine life, the UN agency said.

The main agenda of the meeting - to be held Aug 30-Sep 1 - would be to discuss the programme of the International Quiet Ocean Experiment, Xinhua reported.

"This decade-long project aims to fill the considerable knowledge gaps in this area, so that management of ocean noise can be more informed and effective," Unesco said in a statement.

There is no impending threat to the oil supply in the world despite social and political disturbance in parts of the Middle-East and some African countries.  United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Mohamed Al-Hamli said that recent rise in oil price is mainly because of geopolitics and natural disaster and there is hardly any change in the fundamentals.

While speaking in an oil conference in Paris, Mohamed Al-Hamli said, “We have spare capacity. We can always supply to the market. The market should pay more attention to real supply rather than imagined shortages.”

French officials have informed that five paintings by Picasso, Matisse and other great artists were stolen from The Modern Art museum in Paris. The estimated cost of those paintings is $123 million. As per the official reports, the paintings were most probably stolen yesterday morning or at Wednesday night.

Officials have said that the activity was very well planned. The museum near to the Eiffel Tower has been sealed by the investigators after this issue.

Bollywood perfectionist Aamir Khan has decided to get closer to his blog buffs in Paris when the actor is there on May 2.

On his blog, the actor wrote, “I am going to be in Paris on May 2 and would very much like to meet up with those of you who are interested. Will restrict the group to five.”

"Each one of you can bring one more person with you. If you happen to be below 18 years of age, you will have to accompanied by an adult."

The actor also requested his buffs to post their contact details on his blog page.

According to the official reports, three auto giants, Renault, Nissan Motor and Daimler, signed a cost-sharing agreement in Paris on Wednesday, they said was required to increase competitiveness.

Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche at a signing ceremony in Paris, said, "Right away, we are strengthening our competitiveness in the small and compact car segment and are reducing our CO2 footprint."

The New York Times has reported that the three auto companies agreed to share technology related to smaller cars and power trains.