Paris  - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has threatened to walk out of this week's summit of G20 nations in London if it does not look to be achieving concrete results, the daily Le Figaro reported on Tuesday.

"If there is no progress in London, there will be an empty chair. I will get up and leave," Sarkozy said in an aside during a recent meeting of his cabinet.

The newly appointed deputy head of Sarkozy's office, Xavier Musca, on Monday underlined France's insistence that irreversible decisions be taken at the summit.

Nairobi/Niamey - French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Niger Friday to back a deal by French firm Areva to exploit uranium deposits in the north of the West African country.

Anne Lauvergeon, chief executive officer of Areva, is travelling with Sarkozy on the whistle-stop tour that saw him also visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo.

Lauvergeon on Thursday signed an agreement with the Congolese Minister of Mines, Martin Kabwelulu, on the prospecting and mining of DR Congo's sizeable uranium reserves.

Nairobi/Kinshasa - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday called for a new momentum for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a speech to lawmakers in the central African nation.

Sarkozy, who travelled with a delegation of ministers and business representatives, said that there was a need to unite various rebel factions and regional governments in order to avoid further chaos.

Rebel groups have in recent years continued to cause trouble in the east of DR Congo, with last year seeing a flare-up in fighting that displaced over 250,000 people.

London, Mar 25 : French President Nicolas Sarkozy has continued the tradition of adding the `oomph' factor in his government. He has lined up glamorous TV news presenter Christine Kelly to replace Rachida Dati as the new face of ethnic diversity in the country.

Sarkozy has handpicked Kelly, 39, to become a leading figure in his government in his next reshuffle.

The move follows his decision to sack Dati, the 43-year-old justice minister and single mother who had been a role model for ethnic minorities.

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday said that there should be no more severance payments or bonuses to executives of French firms who have performed badly.

"There must be no more 'golden handshakes'. There must be no more bonuses or rewarding of free shares or stock options in a company that receives state aid, that undertakes massive job cuts or resorts to putting large numbers of its employees on short-time work," Sarkozy said in an address in the northern city of Saint Quentin.