Paris - The French government has climbed down after widespread protests over a new police database, French media reported on Friday.

Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie is to present a new version of the Edvige database later Friday, on the demand of Prime Minister Francois Fillon, who bowed to complaints from human rights groups, opposition politicians and members of his own UMP party.

Edvige - which stands for Documentary Exploitation - was created by government decree on June 27 to replace a 1991 database used by France's domestic security agency RG to track public figures, such as politicians and labour leaders, who could resort to violence and threaten the security of the state.

New Delhi, Sep 18 : More than two lakh Indians in France will be eligible to avail social security benefits under an agreement India and France sign during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh''s visit to Paris later this month.

The Union Cabinet today approved the terms for signing a Social Security Agreement between the two countries.

"The social security agreement will provide various benefits to Indian nationals working in France," Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after a cabinet meeting here.

Paris - Buoyed by the intervention of major central

Paris - Buoyed by the intervention of major central banks in foreign exchange markets, French shares on Thursday were resisting the downward pull created by Wednesday's Wall Street sell-off.

One hour after opening, the Paris Bourse's benchmark CAC 40 was up 0.19 per cent, at 4,007.60. Shortly after trading began, the CAC 40 sank to its lowest level in three years before recovering.

The resistance was led by Franco-Belgian bank Dexia, which gained 5 per cent to 8.64 euros. French bank BNP Paribas was up 2.16 per cent, at 57.40 euros.

Paris - After opening sharply higher in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's bail-out of insurance giant AIG, French shares were pulled into the red on Wednesday by a weak Wall Street, ending the session at a low for the year.

The Paris Bourse's benchmark CAC 40 closed off by 2.14 per cent, at 4.000.11, with losers outnumbering winners by 13 to 1.

The losers were led by troubled Franco-American telecoms equipment supplier Alcatel-Lucent, which slumped by 8.51 per cent, to 3.15 euros, and steel producer Arcelor-Mittal, which lost 7.96 per cent, to 39.67 euros.

Buoyed by the AIG rescue, insurance giant Axa was one of the session's bright lights, gaining 0.30 per cent, to 19.82 euros.

London - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, singer, former top model and First Lady of France, enhanced her celebrity status in Britain even further with a performance on BBC television in which she revealed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy takes kindly to being woken at night by her music.

"I play it at home and I disturb him with it in the middle of the night," the 40-year-old told fellow-musician and TV host Jools Holland on BBC 2 Tuesday evening.

Bruni-Sarkozy performed Tu Es Ma Came from her recent hit album, translating the title into English as meaning "You're my junk, you're my type, you're my cup of tea."