Paris- A French man and his two sons have been found 10 years after he had abducted the children from their mother, French media reported on Tuesday.

Xavier Fortin, 52, made off with sons Shahi'yena and Okwari, then aged 8 and 6, on December 29, 1998, during a regularly scheduled visit, as prescribed by a court. Their mother had been given custody of the children.

Fortin headed into the woods, finding a home with the two boys in a barn located in a rural village in southwestern France.

Paris - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Monday launched the government's 26 billion-euro (33 billion-dollar) plan to pull the country out of the economic crisis, French media reported.

In the southern city of Lyon, Fillon outlined the proposal, which comprises 1,000 public projects, primarily involving infrastructure construction and renovation.

The plan, said Fillon, was part of an "urgent and concrete national mobilization to confront the ongoing crisis."

Some 11 billion euros are intended to provide cash to struggling enterprises, Fillon said.

Paris - There is a growing feeling in France that President Nicolas Sarkozy has created a kind of "elective monarchy," in the words of one of his critics, in which the prince wields his power to benefit primarily himself, his family and his friends.

The latest incident to raise this image was the forced transfer of two highly respected law officers after an anti-government demonstration disturbed an appearance by Sarkozy in the northern city of Saint-Lo.

Paris  - French energy supplier EDF is to build France's second next-generation EPR nuclear reactor at Penly, on the English Channel, the online edition of the daily Le Figaro reported on Friday.

The announcement was made late Thursday by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who also said that another French utility, GDF Suez, would have a minority stake in the project and would likely be chosen to build a third EPR reactor, at a site not yet determined.

Paris - At least one person has die

Paris  - French teachers, postal employees, journalists and other workers from the public and private sectors on Thursday joined railway employees in a one-day general strike that has disrupted transportation and shut schools across the country.

Major trade unions called the strike to demand more job security, additional state aid to small and middle-sized companies threatened by the economic crisis and a halt to parts of President Nicolas Sarkozy's economic reforms.