Sarkozy to Close ‘Big Deals’ in Algeria
BBC: French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to finalise a series of big business deals on a visit to Algeria.

The contracts include billion-dollar investments in the Algerian oil and gas business by the French energy companies Total and Gaz de France.

France is already the biggest investor in Algeria outside the energy sector.

But it is a controversial visit, given Mr Sarkozy's refusal to apologise for the deaths of thousands of Algerians during French colonial rule.

Deep anger

Mr Sarkozy will be travelling with a large delegation of businessmen to Algiers, where they are expected to seal $4bn-worth of deals vital to both economies. Tensions dog Sarkozy in Algeria >>>

Mark Alexander

Sarkozy’s War with French Strikers
BBC: It would be an exaggeration to describe the French capital this week as a ghost town, but if you were a Parisian restaurant owner or a Parisian shop keeper you might be forgiven for doing so.

In my quarter, the popular pizza restaurant had to close because the chef and waiters could not get to work.

The boulangerie, usually stripped of its millefeuilles (custard pastry) and tartes aux fraises (strawberry tart) long before I get home from work, is still bulging with patisserie.

The baker tells me he is down 30-40% on sales because the usual customers did not dare risk being stranded in the city, and - instead - stayed home.

And in my local eight-till-late shop, the Moroccan shopkeeper grumbled it just was not worth stocking up on fresh produce - everyone was so tired after hours walking to and from work, they either did not bother to eat in the evenings or they just raided the freezer. It felt, he said, like there was a war on. Sarkozy's 'war' with French strikers (more) By Emma Jane Kirby

Mark Alexander