Paris - The French Socialists just spent two days voting for a new leader, and the big winner was - President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The conservative Sarkozy is certain to be strenghened by the bad blood and infighting that marked the Socialist campaign and the bitter dispute accompanying the results announced early Saturday.

The official vote count of Friday's second round of the election showed Lille Mayor Martine Aubry edging out former presidential candidate Segolene Royal by 42 votes out of 137,000 cast, a victory margin of only 0.04 per cent.

Paris - Aides to former French presidential candidate Segolene Royal said Saturday that she would not accept the results of Friday's election that showed her losing the race to head the French Socialist Party by a handful of votes.

French radio reported that former party spokesman Julien Dray said Royal was disputing the result because of apparent irregularities in some regions.

Paris, Nov 22 : Scientists have used the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Mars Express to produce the first crude map of aurorae on Mars, which are a powerful tool with which scientists can investigate the composition and structure of the Red Planet’s atmosphere.

The aurorae on Mars were discovered in 2004 using the SPICAM ultraviolet and infrared atmospheric spectrometer on board Mars Express.

These displays of ultraviolet light appear to be located close to the residual magnetic fields generated by crustal rocks on Mars.

They highlight a number of mysteries about the way Mars interacts with electrically charged particles originating from the Sun.

Paris  - The run-off vote to chose a new leader for France's Socialist Party was too close to call early Saturday as the losing Socialist candidate in the 2007 French presidential election, Segolene Royal, sought another shot at the country's top job.

If she beats her opponent, Lille Mayor and former labour minister Martine Aubry, she would take a big step toward securing her party's nomination to again take on President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election.

Paris  - There is red wine and white wine, and now French wine may be green as well.

The Bordeaux wine industry said it intends to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 15 per cent over five years and by 75 per cent by 2050, the online trade publication just-drinks. com reported on Friday.

"These are very realistic objectives and we know what we need to do," Muriel Barthe of the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) said.

The targets were announced earlier this week after an evaluation revealed that Bordeaux winemakers produce 200,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

Beirut  - France is ready to send people to Lebanon to observe or to assist with the upcoming legislative elections planned for May 2009, said visiting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Friday.

"France is ready, if Lebanon wishes, to provide technical support during the elections," Fillon said, speaking in Beirut to a group of French and Lebanese businessmen.

The French official stressed that the assistance could consist of helping organize the polls or providing observers as part of a European Union initiative.