Paris - A topaz worth an estimated 250,000 euros (360,000 dollars) has been stolen from an art exhibition in the French resort of St Tropez, France Info radio reported on Monday.

Paris - As evidence grew that the US finance crisis had reached Europe, French shares fell sharply in early trading on Monday, with banking shares leading the decline.

After one hour of trading on Monday, the Paris Bourse's benchmark CAC 40 was down 3.17 per cent, at 4,031.27, with slumping issues outpacing winners by 12 to 1.

The Franco-Belgian financial services group Dexia was the biggest loser, giving up nearly one-fourth of its value, as the Belgian government declared that it would come to its support as it had with the Fortis financial group.

Marseilles (France), Sept 29: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has said that he is looking forward to his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Tuesday.

Briefing reporters ahead of his arrival in Marseilles, where he will address the Ninth India-EU Summit, Dr. Singh said: "We have already initialed the framework agreement in civil nuclear matters. It will certainly come up for review and possible signature during my visit."

Paris - International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Sunday that his institute could serve as a kind of watchdog for the crisis-stricken world financial market.

In remarks published in the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche, Strauss-Kahn said the IMF could set the norms and keep watch on the markets.

Democracy demanded that each country must pass its own laws, he said, "but the general rules must apply universally because the financial system has been globalized."

Speaking of the IMF, Strauss-Kahn said: "We are in a position to define and to guarantee compromise and the common interest."

Paris  - Robert Menard, the co-founder and secretary general of press-freedom advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontieres, or Reporters Without Borders, announced he was stepping down Friday.

"I am giving up my office, but naturally I am remaining a member of the organization. I have dedicated 23 years to Reporters Sans Frontieres and will continue to make my contribution to the fight," the 55-year-old told the group's International Council in Paris.

Jean-Francois Julliard, who has worked at Menard's side for 10 years, has been named as his successor.

Paris  - The European Union on Friday expressed concern over Iran's plans to introduce the death penalty for the apostasy.

Converts to Christianity in the Islamic state were already being detained, the presidency of the 27-member bloc said in Paris.

The followers of minority religious groups such as Christians and Sufi or Sunni Muslims were increasingly being persecuted, with their property confiscated and places of worship desecrated.