France

Some 2,800 taxi drivers are reportedly taking part in the protest, as taxi drivers form virtual blockades around airports and key train stations.

According to one document published by WikiLeaks, "the main sticking point" for President Nicolas Sarkozy back in 2010 was "the U.S. desire to continue spying on France."

Melissa Mayeux plays shortstop for two of France's national teams: the U-18 junior squad and the senior softball team. She's known as a smooth fielder who can also handle a bat.

He may have lost, but Napoleon still holds a fascination for thousands of re-enactors who came to Belgium this week to eat, sleep and wage mock war in the manner of the 1815 battle of Waterloo.

For years, lovers have placed padlocks on the bridge and tossed the key into the Seine river as a symbol of their undying commitment to one another. But Parisian officials have a less romantic view.

France has one of the world's highest dropout rates, and the reforms are meant to make the middle school curriculum more interesting. But critics say the changes amount to a "dumbing down."

NPR Paris correspondent Eleanor Beardsley doesn't expect a ton of sympathy when she complains about unending holidays in France. But when you have a kid who's always off school, it's tough. Really.

Lawmakers in the lower house of Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the measure. The legislation, which must still be approved by the country's Senate, has been criticized as highly intrusive.

The Marquis de Lafayette sailed from France to America in 1780 to help the new nation defeat the British. A $29 million replica of the Hermione tall ship is retracing that journey.

"If you're standing for the freedom of expression, you can't be at one moment for this freedom of expression, and two or three minutes later, against that," film critic Jean-Baptiste Thoret says.

"He no longer interests me," Luz said in an interview. Militants attacked the magazine Jan. 7, killing editorial staff and others, in apparent retaliation for its depiction of their prophet.

President Francois Hollande warns of consequences if the allegations about abuse in the Central African Republic are true. The U.N. worker who publicly revealed the abuse has been suspended.