France's UMP party won an overwhelming majority in the first round of parliamentary elections held Sunday, just over a month after its leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, was elected president

Newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would be looking for firm figures on climate change from the United States when he makes his debut on the international stage at this week's G-8 summit.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned that France will veto negotiations at the World Trade Organization if French farming interests are threatened.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit European Union headquarters on Wednesday to have a discussion about revised plans for the EU constitution which was rejected by French voters two years ago.

France's new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said his government is prepared to inject new cash into EADS, the parent of struggling European plane-maker Airbus, if new shares are issued.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled the lineup of his slim, but broad-based Cabinet Friday, giving key posts to a centrist and a left-winger, as well as to representatives of his own conservative camp.

President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday named reform-minded conservative Francois Fillon as France's new prime minister, and he will form the new government - possibly as early as Friday.

Nicolas Sarkozy, elected president ten days ago, is being inaugurated at the Elysee Palace in Paris for a five-year term. Before the inauguration, Sarkozy, 52, met with his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who served as the French president for 12 years, in a private room in the palace and received the country's nuclear codes from him.

Some West Africans, uneasy over Sarkozy's campaign statements on immigration and the status of immigrants, say they worry about their countrymen living in France as well as about the impact on Africa of Sarkozy's presidency. France's president-elect, Nicolas Sarkozy, will be inaugurated on Wednesday.

The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France has dealt a further blow to Turkey's hopes of becoming the European Union's first predominantly Muslim member. Mr. Sarkozy has repeatedly said Turkey does not belong in Europe. Amberin Zaman spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul about the impact of Mr. Sarkozy's presidency and files this background report.

French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy was hosting meetings Monday with union leaders, a rare pre-inaugural gesture aimed at defusing possible tensions over his bold economic reform plans.

Both Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy led the ceremony honoring victims of slavery in their first meeting since Sarkozy's victory in Presidential race. The two were also to host the son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in the presidential palace Thursday afternoon.