Paris - The French government's statistics office Insee said on Friday that France's economy would contract in 2009 at least twice as much as the government had predicted.

French GDP will decline by 1.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year, Insee said, followed by a slight improvement to a drop of 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, because of the assumed effect of the stimulus plans initiated by the French and other governments.

Paris - Up to 3 million people took to the streets of cities throughout France on Thursday to protest the economic policies of President Nicolas Sarkozy, CFDT trade union head Francois Chereque said.

The largest-ever public outcry against Sarkozy since he came to office was accompanied by a general strike in which workers from both the private and public sectors walked off their jobs for the day.

Union officials said that more than 350,000 people demonstrated in Paris, while 300,000 protested in the southern port city of Marseille.

Paris  - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The discussion was to centre on the EU summit, which opens later Thursday in Brussels, and the meeting of the G20 nations scheduled to be held on April 2 in London.

According to a source in the British government, Brown and Sarkozy were to concentrate on several issues related to the global financial and economic crisis.

Paris - Triple Olympic champion and men's 100-metre and 200m world record holder Usain Bolt will compete in the Golden League meeting at the Stade de France in Paris on July 17, organizers confirmed Thursday.

It remains unclear whether the 22-year-old Jamaican will compete in the 100m or 200m. Bolt will make his European season debut in Manchester on May 17 in a 150m race in the city centre.

Paris - US President Barack Obama has indirectly praised fo