France Travel News 10/21/2010

Japan is challenging France in terms of three-star restaurants. Factor in the 11 such awards in Tokyo last year and the current total for Japan is 23, compared with 26 in France. The next Tokyo guide is scheduled for November 24, and the addition of the cities of Yokohama and Kamakura suggests further gains.

In a statement, the telecoms giant and owner of the Orange brand said it will cut the price to connect a call by 25%. The price per minute in peak hours will be cut by more than 55% and the price for off-peak calls by more than 65% for mainland France.

A French woman pronounced "very certainly clinically dead" confounded doctors by waking up 14 hours later and declaring "I had a wonderful sleep".

Isle of Man cyclist Mark Cavendish is set to appear in a documentary about the Tour de France. Shot in 2009, 'Chasing Legends' follows the Manx sprinter and his HTC-Columbia team from the Monaco Prologue all the way to Paris. P.S. He's a babe.

The government has already given out 200,000 free newspaper subscriptions to people between 18 and 24, and is planning to give out another 200,000 over the next year. The participants get one copy a week of their chosen title for a year. The government and publishers are splitting the cost of the program, called My Free Newspaper, which is pegged at about $18.6 million.

France’s top adviser on Channel tunnel safety has lost her job after only four months. Her departure comes after the French government criticised rule changes that would allow German-built trains to use the tunnel.

France's richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, has filed a suit accusing her daughter of "abuse", in the latest of a series of family disputes. Lawyers for the L'Oreal heiress said Francoise Meyers-Bettencourt's attempt to have her mother declared mentally unsound amounted to "moral violence".

Lady Gaga has cancelled her Paris concerts as nationwide protests continue in France in a standoff over a bill to raise the retirement age. Her website says the singer postponed two Paris concerts "as there is no certainty the trucks can make it" to the show.

Tour de France officials this week in Paris unveiled a course that will see riders race six stages in the high mountains in 2011 – three in the Pyrenees followed quickly by three in the Alps.

After a day of scattered clashes around the country, strikers blocked traffic in several parts of France on Thursday as protesters continued weeks of efforts to thwart pension reforms proposed by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

France’s pension strikes are significant news on the world stage of late. According to sources, the French senate is preparing to vote on Wednesday on a bill that would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. A massive protest strike has ensued, which has disrupted industry and transportation, crippling production and making it extremely difficult for travelers to get to France. Transportation of basic resources such as water and oil are among those hampered by the strikes.

AIR FRANCE KLM has been voted as The Best European airline Travel Award at the 21st TTG Travel Awards 2010 held in Bangkok on 08th October 2010.

For 70 years the Parisian apartment had been left uninhabited, under lock and key, the rent faithfully paid but no hint of what was inside.