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French 'Doctor to the Stars' Gets 10 Years for Sex Crimes

A French osteopath whose list of famous clients included Pablo Picasso and Rudolf Nureyev was on Friday sentenced to 10 years in jail for raping and sexually assaulting female patients.

Nineteen women had come forward to accuse Pierre Pallardy, 72, of unwanted sexual advances. A court in Paris found him guilty of five instances of rape and seven cases of sexual assault.

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Jail Terms Urged for Somali Pirates on Trial in France

Prosecutors called Friday for jail terms of 10 to 12 years for three Somali pirates on trial for the 2009 hijacking of a French yacht that led to the death of its skipper.

The three pirates have asked for leniency, saying they were forced into piracy by lives of abject poverty.

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French Far-Right Drops Candidate Who Compared Minister to 'Monkey'

France's far-right National Front on Friday dropped a candidate for municipal elections due in March after she compared the country's black justice minister to a monkey.

The anti-immigration eurosceptic party led by Marine Le Pen is desperately seeking a makeover to broaden its voter appeal and dispel its xenophobic image.

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Protests across France against Student Deportations

Thousands of students protested in France and shut schools across the country on Friday in continued demonstrations against the deportation of foreign pupils.

In Paris, organizers said 12,000 students marched in protest, some clashing with riot police. Police said 4,000 students took part.

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Report: Paris Mulling Meeting for Rival Lebanese Officials

The French authorities are mulling to organize a meeting for Lebanese officials to resolve Lebanon's political crisis and “salvage its constitutional institutions,” An Nahar newspaper reported on Friday.

Paris could invite the Lebanese rival parties to a meeting similar to the one that former Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner organized in Saint-Cloud in 2007, An Nahar said.

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France to keep 2,000 troops in Mali until end of year

France will maintain around 2,000 troops in Mali to help secure the December legislative polls before further scaling down its military presence, the defense minister said Thursday.

"We're going keep a little more than 2,000 men until the end of the year," Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

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France Says Has Taken in Nearly 3,000 Syrians Since 2011

France has taken in nearly 3,000 Syrian refugees since the start of the conflict, the foreign ministry said Thursday in response to rights groups' allegations Paris is dragging its heels.

French President Francois Hollande has been at the forefront of efforts for firm action against President Bashar Assad's regime, but Paris has drawn flak for not doing enough to accept refugees from the war-torn country.

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Thousands of French Students Protest against Deportations

Thousands of high school students in Paris and other parts of France rose up Thursday in anger at the deportation of foreign pupils, after the high-profile eviction of a 15-year-old Roma girl.

Leonarda Dibrani was detained during a school trip earlier this month and deported to Kosovo with her parents and siblings, in a case that has raised questions over France's immigration policies, shattered the unity of the ruling Socialist party and landed France's popular Interior Minister Manuel Valls in hot water.

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Jumblat Says Paris Trip for Medical Reasons, Not Political

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat stressed on Thursday that his visit to the French capital, Paris, is to carry out the necessary medical checkups.

He pointed out in comments to LBCI that he arrived in Paris on Sunday aboard Jumblat's National Struggle Front MP Nehme Tohmeh's private plane.

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U.N.: France to Take in 500 Syrian Refugees

France on Wednesday committed to taking in 500 Syrian refugees at the United Nations' request, the U.N. refugee agency said.

The announcement followed talks in Paris between French President Francois Hollande and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, the agency's local representative Philippe Leclerc told Agence France Presse.

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