Paris - One week after a general strike and nationwide demonstrations to protest his government's economic policies, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will appear on national television late Thursday to defend his economic stimulus plans.

The success of the January 29 strike and demonstrations, in which up to two and a half million people took to the streets, has added urgency to his television appearance, which will be in the form of an interview.

Paris - A book published on Wednesday accuses French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner of using his position as head of a public health organization to carry out high-paying consulting activities in Africa for private companies.

The book, The World According to K, by journalist Pierre Pean, alleges that from 2002 to 2007 Kouchner represented two private health consulting firms in Africa while at the same time heading the association Esther, the aim of which was to increase international hospital cooperation.

Paris - Investment fund manager Sebastien Bazin has replaced Charles Villeneuve as president of French league club Paris St Germain.

The club's majority shareholder Bazin was elected to the post late Tuesday after weeks of turbulence at the club following board member Jerome de Metz's letter at Christmas to Bazin that he doubted whether the shareholders would be prepared to spend 10 to 20 million euros (12.9-25.8 million dollars) a year on the club.

De Metz subsequently resigned, warning that the club could make a loss of up to 11,4 million euros by the middle of 2009, which would leave the club 7 million in the red.

Last month, the board resigned after Villeneuve demanded new powers and pointed out poor management.

Paris - JK Rowlings, the creator of the wildly popular Harry Potter series of books, was named Tuesday a Knight of the Legion of Honour by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the Elysee Palace announced.

The Harry Potter books, which have been condemned by conservative clergy, have made the 43-year-old Rowling one of the richest women in Britain, with a fortune estimated at 560 million pounds (804 million dollars).

Paris  - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday in Paris that he hoped the upcoming Israeli elections did not mean the Middle East peace process would have to start again from square one.

"We will work together with anyone the Israeli people elect, as long as we don't have to start at the beginning again," Abbas said one week before Israeli general elections are to be held.

Paris - Former French international Liliam Thuram said, in an interview published Tuesday, that President Nicolas Sarkozy recently offered him a cabinet post, even though the two had bitterly quarreled about minority politics.

"I met Nicolas Sarkozy and (his advisor) Claude Gueant, and they offered me the position of minister for (ethnic) diversity," Thuram told the daily Le Monde. "We had a long discussion. But I had no choice but to turn them down, for obvious reasons."

According to Thuram, the meeting took place at the end of last year.