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EU probes tax deals granted by Luxembourg to French utility Engie

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The European Commission said the utility giant, formerly called GDF Suez, may have received significant tax breaks that gave it and unfair advantage over other companies and in breach of EU state aid rules.

Teenager arrested over Paris 'terrorist attack' hoax

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A 16-year-old boy was detained on suspicion of taking part in a false alert of a hostage-taking in a church in Le Marais district of Paris on Saturday, which led to a major anti-terrorist police operation.

France pays tribute to terrorist attack victims

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The ceremony, at the Invalides military complex in Paris, was attended by hundreds of relatives of the victims of a series of terrorist attacks in France since January 2015, and also by President François Hollande and political leaders.

Poll finds nearly 30 percent of French Muslims reject secular laws

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The Ifop study found 29 percent of those polled said sharia legal and moral code was more important than secular France's laws, while 60 percent wanted to see headscarf ban on girl students lifted. 

French far-right leader is 'eager' for presidential election to start

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Front National leader Marine Le Pen, speaking at her party's annual rally in southern France, said she was eager to start debates with opponents, some still undeclared, in the run-up to the April and May 2017 elections.

Former French president Jacques Chirac hospitalised

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Chirac, 83, who suffered a minor stroke in 2005, was flown to Paris overnight Saturday from a sojourn in Morocco and admitted to the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital to be treated for a lung infection.

Security tightened as France opens historic sites to public

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The European Heritage Days operation, when numerous sites normally restricted or closed to the public open their doors, including the Elysée Palace, is this year under tight security because of the heightened terrorist threat.

France first country to ban plastic plates, cups and cutlery

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The legislation, which will come into effect in 2020 and will see plastic replaced with biologically-sourced materials, has prompted threat of legal action by European packaging manufacturers.

Corsica 'beach brawl' defendants sentenced

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Five men were handed jail terms, suspended for four of them, over the racially-charged August incident which pitched three brothers of Moroccan origin against members of a local village angered by their attempt to block off a beach.

Building in Dijon collapses after 'gas explosion'

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At least 14 people were injured, two seriously, when an apartment block was reduced to rubble in an explosion after an apparent gas leak in the centre of Dijon in east-central France on Friday.