Free Republic

France announces aid plan to help crisis-struck wine industry Mon Jan 31, 4:16 PM ET PARIS (AP) - The French government announced more than $91 million US in aid Monday for the country's struggling wine industry, hit by falling consumption at home and increased competition in export markets. The government will also allow the destruction of vines in overproducing regions and apply for EU permission to distill millions of surplus bottles into alcohol, Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau said. Bussereau said $15 million would be paid out to winemakers in extra grants and tax breaks, along with $71.7 million in loans...

French cinema chains are refusing to distribute or screen Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ because of fears that it may spark a new outbreak of anti-Semitism. France is the only European country where there is still no distribution deal for the film, which depicts the last days of Jesus Christ in graphic detail and is accused by critics of stoking anti-Jewish sentiment. The film was released in America and Australia last week but French distributors are wary of its impact on audiences and want to gauge its reception elsewhere in Europe, where it is due to...

<p>October 18, 2003 -- French President Jacques Chirac blocked the European Union from condemning Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's tirade that "Jews rule the world by proxy." Other European leaders drafted a resolution denouncing the remarks as "false" and "offensive" - but Chirac nixed the proposal yesterday, saying there was no place in an EU summit for such a declaration.</p>