Bastille Day In France: A Time For Festivities

October 6th, 2009 Eiffel Tower lit up with colors of Turkish flagPARIS — The Eiffel Tower has been lit up in red and white, the colors of the Turkish flag, as part of festivities in a French cultural season celebrating Turkey. The special lighting will last through Sunday.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - Vandals in France set fire to 317 automobiles on the eve of Tuesday's Bastille Day celebrations, France Info radio reported Tuesday. That represents an increase of about seven percent over last year, French police said.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - The Indian armed forces achieved a significant landmark in their history on Tuesday, when they led the massive Bastille Day military parade down Paris's majestic Champs Elysee to the backdrop of concert music, fireworks and garden parties in the presence of French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was the Chief Guest of Honour at the event this year.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - The sun broke through the clouds to shine brightly over the famed Parisian boulevard of Champs Elysses Tuesday as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first foreign leader to be chief guest at France's national day parade. India was the focus as France celebrated 220 years of being a republic - when the storming of the Bastille prison signalled the uprising of modern nation states around the world.

July 14th, 2009 Sarkozy calls for high-tech military spendingPARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the traditional Bastille Day military parade to Indian and German troops Tuesday, as France looks to expand its global military influence and strengthen strategic partnerships. French forces marched with precision down the Champs Elysees along with Indian troops in colorful uniforms and German soldiers in sober dress.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - Visiting Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday said that the participation of an Indian armed forces contingent in the Bastille Day parade on the occasion of France's National Day, reflected the friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries.

July 13th, 2009 On July 14, France is going to observe the national holiday of the Bastille Day, for which the nation is gearing up readily in preparation to celebrate the path breaking day in the history of the modern world. This day is not just acknowledged by the French people alone; its significance is spread amidst the whole world.

July 4th, 2009 Correction: France-Crash Investigation storyLE BOURGET, France — In a July 2 story about the probe into the crash of Air France flight 447, The Associated Press erroneously quoted Charles-Henri Tardivat, a lawyer for the victims' families, as saying the phase of grief had passed. Tardivat said families "started concentrating on their families, their grief, and how to be able to put a close on at least that part of their life" once they realized how little was available from the investigation.

June 7th, 2009 Obama pledges support on Air France probeCAEN, France — President Barack Obama says the United States has authorized all of the government's resources to investigate an Air France plane that disappeared off the coast of South America. Obama told French President Nicholas Sarkozy on Saturday that Americans offer their thoughts and their prayers to the French, particularly those who lost family members in the suspected crash.

June 1st, 2009 Timeline of disappearance of Air France jetTimeline of events surrounding the disappearance of Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, according to Air France, Brazilian Air Force. All times in Brazilian local time: — 7:03 p.m.

June 1st, 2009 Brazil: Air France jet missing over AtlanticSAO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil's Air Force says an Air France jet bound from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean and a search is under way near the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha. An Air Force spokesman says the search and rescue mission was mounted Monday morning after the jet failed to make regular radio contact.

April 30th, 2009 LONDON - 'Desperate Housewives' star Eva Longoria has decided to move to her husband Tony Parker's homeland France. The actress, currently lives in Los Angeles with the San Antonio Spurs basketball star, who was born in Belgium and raised in France and she is hoping to spend time in her husband's home country after her hit show 'Desperate Housewives' comes to an end and he retires from the sport, reports contactmusic.com.

March 11th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - The historic Sri Krishna temple at Dakor in Gujarat has been turned into a fortress for the Holi festivities with the government deploying an unprecedented number of security personnel to guard around half a million devotees thronging the temple from all over the state. The unprecedented rush of devotees for three days at the Ranchhodraiji (Lord Krishna) temple, about 90 km from here, poses not just a threat of terrorist attacks but also stampedes, said an official.

March 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - President Pratibha Patil Monday greeted the nation on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi and Holi. Milad-un-Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, would be celebrated Tuesday, while Holi, the festival of colours, would be celebrated Wednesday.

January 12th, 2009 PARIS - Air France-KLM will pay 323 million euros ($431 million) to acquire a 25 percent stake in Italian airline Alitalia, the two companies have said. Alitalia, the 62-year-old state-run company, had gone bankrupt in August 2008 and the new Alitalia will be launched Tuesday with Air France as a shareholder along with other Italian investors.