London, Sept 9: French President Nicolas Sarkozy is planning to turn the suburbs of Paris to make it look more like Croydon.

The project could see a new generation of high rise buildings linked by an orbital railway in the city's suburbs in a bid to encourage the middle classes to move out of the centre of the French capital and to allow ordinary working people to move in.

British architects have now been invited to submit their plans for hundreds of new buildings.

Paris  - Three Jewis

Paris - France's unemployment rate remained stable at 7.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, the government's statistical office INSEE reported on Thursday.

A little more than 2 million men and women of working age remained unemployed on average in the quarter, which was about the same number as in the first quarter of the year.

The report generally surprised analysts, who had expected a small rise in joblessness in the period due to the slumping economy.

According to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), France's GDP is expected to grow by only 1 per cent this year, well below previous government forecasts.

Paris-  French police have placed radical gay militants under surveillance ahead of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to France on September 12-15, the daily Le Figaro reported on Wednesday.

Eager to avoid a repeat of the condom shower that greeted the Pope in Sydney, Australia, in July, certain gay activist groups such as Act Up are being closely watched in the run-up to the visit.

Paris  - French Justice Minister Rachida Dati on Wednesday said she was pregnant, confirming rumours that have been swirling around Paris for weeks.

"I am still in a risk area," the 42-year-old said in reference to her age. "If it stabilizes, I will be happy... If not I will be very upset, but I will cover it with lipstick and deal with it myself."