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According to Forbes, France counts 16 billionaires who together were worth 72.2 billion euros in March 2008, up from 69.7 billion last year. Their net average value is 4.6 billion euros, twice as much as the net value of billionaires wordwide. Two of these 16 French super-rich feature in the world’s top-20 list of richest […]

French fishermen are not happy with high fuel prices and restrictive quotas, so they’re blocking ports and oil terminals across the country. They also do some other things to show their discontent.
Latest: Fishermen clash with Paris police | Image source

Renault is getting serious about making its cars outside France. Starting next month, the new Sandero will hit the European markets. The car is currently made in Romania, and from next year production will be shifted to Russia.
The good news is that the Sandero will be extremely cheap - starting at just 7,800 euros. […]

French company Vinci has signed the deal for building the world’s longest bridge. The 40 km (25 mi) bridge will link the oil-rich countries Qatar and Bahrain, and should be ready in 2011.
Since the locals have so much money that they don’t need to work, the bridge will be built by cheap labor from […]

Click for full-size ad
This photo is used in a French ad (by agency Australie) for Uniross rechargeable batteries. The (broken) English text says:
Every year, we all drop nearly 700 millions batteries in nature. Do something for the planet. Use rechargeable batteries.
Via Ads of the World

On WallStreet Fighter: 10 Most Vulgar Ticker Symbols
Number two in the list is CRAP, the ticker symbol for French regional bank CRCAM Alpes Provence. “A completely innocuous shortening of the company name into ticker symbol form, but with horrible consequences. The bank provides financial and insurance products for students, farmers, small businesses, and local communities. […]

The offending picture. Click for bigger.
The Paris based fashion house Louis Vuitton has filed charges against a 26 year old student artist, Nadia Plesner, for selling posters and t-shirts of a Darfur victim, holding a designer bag inspired by a Louis Vuitton design. All of the profits had been going to charity but Louis Vuitton […]

Click for King Size
(Spoiler: Manix is not a shoe make.)

Soon you can. Sébastien Chabal has been chosen to advertise “Pour Un Homme”, by Caron.
French rugby player Chabal, aka the Caveman, aka Attila the Hun, aka the Jaw Breaker, aka Hannibal Lecter, will soon tell the world that a perfume with the smell of lavender and vanilla is exactly what men need to emphasize their […]

The famous French Lacoste brand celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. From Wikipedia:
René Lacoste was a famous tennis player who achieved fame in two areas: tennis and fashion. While winning the 1927 U.S. Open championship, René Lacoste of France wore something that he himself had created: a white, short-sleeve shirt made exclusively of a light […]

The British Sun is angry:

THE French postal service yesterday launched the latest competitive threat to ROYAL MAIL. LA POSTE, owned by the French government, has bought a controlling stake, worth around £20million, in sorting firm BTB MAILFLIGHT. And it could lead to La Poste’s yellow vans, a familiar sight in France, hitting Britain’s streets.
Their […]

Click to see larger image (Worth1000.com)
The French hate it when foreigners take over their companies but they’re quite happy if it happens the other way round: Pernod buys Absolut vodka firm for $8.87 billion
France’s Pernod Ricard has won an auction to buy Sweden’s Vin & Spirit AB VSG.UL, the maker of Absolut vodka, in a […]

It’s called Bandwagon Business: Nude Mrs Sarkozy to go on sale at Christie’s New York
Christie’s auction house is next month to sell a nude portrait of French first lady Carla Bruni, taken more than a decade ago when the now wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy was working as a model.
The gelatin silver print, taken by […]

These are two ads (out of a series of five) for Hot Video, a soon-to-open French adult website. The only way to see what these ads are about is by watching the wallpaper full-size. Click here to start, and browse the rest.
Via Ads of the World