Paris - The registration of new private cars in France fell by more than 14 per cent year-on-year in November, confirming the onset of a crisis in the sector, the online edition of the daily Le Figaro reported on Monday.

According to the Committee of French Car Makers (CCFA), 145,918 new vehicles were privately registered last month, a drop of 14.4 per cent over November 2007.

In addition, French domestic car sales fell by 9.7 per cent last month, while foreign car sales in France plunged by more that 18 per cent.

Brussels/Paris - A spokesman for the European Commission on Monday denied that Brussels was blocking the French bank bailout, after French media reported that the 10.5-billion-euro (13.24- billion-dollar) plan was in trouble.

"There is no blocking. The commission is working with the French authorities," European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told reporters in Brussels, adding that a decision on the plan could come as early as this week.

Paris - France's First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is to be named later Monday a special ambassador in the global fight against AIDS.

Bruni-Sarkozy, whose brother died from the disease, will become a special ambassador for the the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an international fund-raising organization.

"Of course, I'm particularly sensitive to this issue because of my brother," the 40-year-old former top model told Elle magazine. "But I am generally very sensitive to the cause of fighting AIDS. It's a pandemic. We forget; we are used to it."

Paris- Investigators trying to clarify Thursday's crash of an Airbus A320 plane in the Mediterranean Sea have located the plane's black box, officials said Saturday, but its early recovery was doubtful as heavy sea conditions continued.

A spokeswoman for marine authorities in Toulon told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that it was uncertain whether the planned recovery of the black box by robots could be accomplished over the weekend.

The plane, just three years old, went down as it was making its landing approach at the coastal city of Perpignan after a two-hour test flight.

Paris  - The European Union's sport ministers called Friday on the European Commission to study whether a proposed "6+5 rule" in football is compatible with European law.

Joseph Blatter, president of football ruling body FIFA, has been pressing for the rule which would force clubs to name a minimum of six home-grown players in their starting line-ups.

The ministers in Nice asked the Commission to look at "the compatability of a minimum requirement to field players eligible for the national team with European law," French sports minister Bernard Laporte said.

FIFA has been told the proposed rule would be illegal under EU law which allows free movement of workers within member states.

Paris - A French couple that had been dining in the restaurant of the Oberoi Trident hotel when terrorists struck the Indian city of Mumbai have gone missing, France Info radio reported Friday.

The report came after Indian commandos seized control of the hotel from the attackers.

Air France announced Friday that 15 crew members that had been "stuck" in the Oberoi Trident were able to walk out and would be repatriated soon.