The decision by Russia and China to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution targeting Syria marked a "sad day for the Syrian people" and for the council itself, France said Wednesday.

"The Security Council should not remain silent in the face of the Syrian tragedy," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in a statement, after the veto blocked the European call for "targeted measures" against Damascus.

Russia hit out on Tuesday at a U.N. resolution proposed by European nations that condemns Syria's deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests, describing it as "unacceptable."

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal had dropped the word "sanctions" from their draft text in a bid to win over members of the U.N. Security Council, but it was not enough to avoid opposition from veto-wielding Russia.

Gunmen who snatched a disabled 66-year-old Frenchwoman from her beachfront home in a prized Kenyan resort have taken her to neighboring war-torn Somalia, officials said Sunday.

With Kenyan forces obliged to stop their pursuit at the border and officials suspecting Somalia's al-Qaida-inspired Shebab, chances dimmed of a quick release for the woman, named as Marie Dedieu.

Sources close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri denied that he would hold meetings with Lebanese officials in France.

In remarks to An Nahar daily Sunday, the sources said that Hariri is currently in Riyadh.

France's upper house elected its first socialist speaker by a clear majority Saturday, a week after the left-wing opposition gained control of the Senate in a new blow to President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Jean-Pierre Bel, 59, leader of the Socialist Party group in the Senate since 2004, was elected by 179 votes to 134 for outgoing rightist speaker Gerard Larcher and 29 for centrist Valerie Letard.

France midfielder Franck Ribery has said his dream is to win the Champions League and labelled his Bayern Munich team one of the best in Europe after their victory over Manchester City.

The 28-year-old worked tirelessly in both attack and defense on Tuesday in Bayern's 2-0 win at Munich's Allianz Arena and the victory leaves his side two points clear at the top of Group A.

A controversial European Union bid to impose a tax on financial transactions is intended to make the finance sector pay something back after massive public sector bailouts in recent years.

Draft European Commission legislation endeavors to prevent companies from relocating outside the single market, as critics claim, or consumers from picking up the tab further down the line, as campaigners fear.

France's U.N. envoy warned late Tuesday that Iran faces the risk of a military strike if it pursues its nuclear drive because certain countries would not accept it having an atomic weapon.

In surprisingly frank comments at a New York panel discussion, Ambassador Gerard Araud followed up on President Nicolas Sarkozy's statement that there could be a "preventive strike" against the Islamic republic.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi revealed on Tuesday that he had requested from France that the excuses for Hizbullah to maintain its possession of arms be eliminated.

He said during the Dar al-Fatwa spiritual summit: “We requested French assistance in eliminating its excuses to keep its weapons and help in strengthening the Lebanese army because only then can we say that the party no longer needs its arms.”

The French Foreign Ministry stressed on Monday the importance of the presence of the Christian communities in the East, refuting some Lebanese media reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy supported the immigration of Christians in the East to Europe in light of the developments in the region.

It said in a statement: “France is committed to the Christian presence in Lebanon, Syria, and the Middle East.”