Upon suggesting that Yom Kippur ought to be made a national holiday in France last month, Eva Joly - candidate for Les Verts - was briskly condemned by the left, the right and the far-right.

A French Jewish woman won a court victory this week after a judge granted her custody of her daughter, whom she claims has been held captive by the girl's Saudi royal father.

But Candice Cohen-Ahnine, 34, is unable to celebrate because Prince Sattam al-Saoud refused to comply with the ruling, which also demands monthly child support of £8,300.

Aya, ten, remains in a Riyadh palace, where Ms

The head of the umbrella body for European Jews has been awarded one of France's most prestigious honours.

Dr Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, was given the Chevalier Dans L'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur – the highest level of the order – at a ceremony on Tuesday.

French authorities have opened an enquiry into the Nazi-themed stag party attended by Conservative MP Aidan Burley.

The 32-year old could face a jail term or fine after magistrates in the ski resort of Albertville received a complaint about conduct at the party.

Her grave, at the suburban end of a Paris bus line, is never long unattended. A wooden box on the marble base is stuffed with notes from visiting fans. A student drops by in her lunch hour to play Mozart. "Barbara loved Mozart," she explains.

The French president has blamed last month's outburst against Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu on France being "left out" of the deal to free a captured IDF soldier.

Gilad Shalit, who holds dual Israeli and French citizenship, was released form the clutches of Hamas in October after more than five years of captivity.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has denied rumours that he and his wife will be making a fresh start in Israel.

After the couple spent last weekend in Israel, French press reported that Mr Strauss-Kahn could be a possible replacement for Stanley Fischer, governor of the Bank of Israel Governor.

But Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, Richard Malka, strongly denied the speculation.

The French president has attempted to smooth the waters after his comments criticising Israel's Prime Minister were overheard by reporters.

Earlier this month Nicolas Sarkozy and President Barack Obama were left red-faced when it emerged that the former had complained that Benjamin Netanyahu was a liar.

The french Socialist Party is due to sack four Jewish MPs as part of a coalition deal with the Green Party ahead of next year's elections.

The Socialists and the Greens signed an agreement last month to back one candidate per constituency for the 2012 National Assembly poll.

President Sarkozy appears to have revealed his true feelings for Israel's Prime Minister - calling him a liar in private conversation picked up by microphones they thought were turned off.

The French leader was apparently overheard talking to President Obama about Benjamin Netanyahu at last week's G20 summit.

The British and French governments are reportedly planning to abstain if the Palestinian Authority's unilateral bid for UN membership reaches a vote.

The Palestinians won membership of the UN cultural agency UNESCO week, a move which France backed but Britain abstained on.

The French Foreign Minister has warned of a growing divide in Europe following the Palestinian Authority's unilateral bid for statehood.

Alain Juppe said that a lot of energy would be required to maintain unity among the 27 European Union member states.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has announced that he will not run as President of France despite assault charges having been dropped against him over an alleged sexual attack in a New York hotel in May.

In recent months developers have created iPhone apps for hunting Nazis, finding chametz before Passover and encouraging Palestinians to rise up in a third intifada.

Now, technology which asks users to guess whether people are "Jew or Not Jew" has provoked the ire of anti-racism campaigners.

John Galliano has been found guilty of antisemitic and racist behaviour.

The 50-year-old couturier was given a 4,000 Euro suspended fine and another 2,000 Euro fine for a second complaint.

John Galliano is to be sentenced tomorrow at a Paris court.

The former Dior designer, who was charged with making public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity earlier this year, will not be in court to hear the verdict.

The city had been occupied by Hitler's forces for four long years, but finally General Charles de Gaulle and the allied forces were able to march back into Paris.