It's never easy following through on an electoral pledge, and if any politician knows how difficult it is, then it must be the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy So far he has failed miserably on last year's major presidential campaign promise to increase the purchasing power of the average man and woman on the street here in France and kick-start the sluggish economy he inherited

Hardly the sexiest headline by any stretch of the imagination But there again when it comes to institutional reform and changes to the constitution, the subject matter is hardly guaranteed to instill much enthusiasm

There was an end of a television era here yesterday as Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, affectionately known in this country as PPDA, made his final broadcast as anchorman on TF1's prime time news slot Think of a news anchor in your own country, someone who has been around for donkeys years and at a certain time of the day when the small screen is flickering becomes almost part of the sitting room furniture

This is a political piece that by its very definition can only be filed under "Strange" on any website It concerns last year's defeated candidate in the French presidential elections, Ségolène Royal, and her claims that she is paying the price for comments she made recently about the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy

So it's official The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, will be attending the opening of the Olympic games in Beijing, After a "productive" 30-minute meeting with the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, Sarkozy's office officially released the news on Wednesday that it had already leaked to the French media last Friday

She first came to our attention after we had visited a local show at the village hall organised by a nearby refuge for abandoned dogs and cats At the ripe old age of eight Poppy, we were told, had been "rescued" from owners who had over time collected more than 30 dogs, many the result of interbreeding, and who understandably had found themselves no longer able to cope

He was bored, the poor man You could see it in his eyes and his body language

Since the dramatic rescue last week of 15 hostages held by Colombia's leftist rebel movement the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, much of this country's attention - if not the world's - has been focused on Ingrid Betancourt Finally though one of France's leading national daily newspapers, Le Figaro, has caught up with reports that have appeared elsewhere around the globe

Sometimes a politician can believe his or her own spin just a little too much that it leaves many onlookers gasping in disbelief and checking their ears to make sure they've heard correctly Such has been the case here in France since Saturday when the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, came up with what surely has to be the most unlikely interpretation of recent events in this country

Right upfront it has to be said that this is far from being a hard-hitting news piece And what's more it'll probably only have a limited appeal bearing in mind that among the roll call of names are those that will only be familiar to the French, or French ex-patriots, Francophiles, Francophones and France-watchers

You can tell summer has arrived here in France because the signs are all around us First up there are the obvious ones - such as the weather and the dress code

Last weekend here in France an 11-year-old boy, Joris, found himself effectively orphaned for the second time He was taken into care after his father, 34-year-old Aboubakar Coulibaly, was deported back to his native Côte d'Ivoire

The mysterious if somewhat exhausting case of the hit-and-run scooter and the role of the French president's son, Jean Sarkozy, could be nearing its conclusion A Paris prosecutor has recommended dropping charges against him, but a final decision won't be handed down until September

The French government has launched a media blitz in an attempt to convince people that it really is winning the battle to increase purchasing power In the coming weeks the French will be treated to over 1,600 TV commercials as well as Internet advertising and full page spreads in the national and regional daily newspapers

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, begins a three-day visit to Israel on Sunday in what the press back home is reporting as further proof of an improvement in relations between the two countries It'll be only the third time a French president has visited Israel, and Sarkozy is likely to have a far more conciliatory tone than his predecessors

It's just under a fortnight until France takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union and already the rest of Europe is getting a taste of what it can expect At a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, Sarkozy said the Union would not be able to go ahead with any further expansion without ratification of the Lisbon treaty

In the time honoured tradition of the good old sporting cliché it’s time to break open the thesaurus, cry over the spilled milk and join the rest of the country in mourning France’s humiliating exit from Euro 2008 On the morning after the night before, the French newspaper headlines are inevitably screaming for the head of the national team’s coach, Raymond Domenech

It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up - a chance for a jolly good clear out of all the junk that had been gathering dust in the attic forever with the added bonus thrown in of making a few cents into the bargain There’s a tradition here in France every summer for villages and towns up and down the country to throw open their doors so-to-speak and welcome the world to their brocante, or vide grenier

Belgium’s former world cycling champion, Tom Boonen, has been forced out of this year’s Tour de France The rider was barred after it was revealed that he had tested positive for cocaine use outside of competition in May

Weird but true, France is being threatened with a €17 million penalty if it doesn’t clean up its act and come up with a strategy to save the European hamster, one of the continent’s most threatened species Last week the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member European Union, gave France a two-month deadline or else it would have to cough up the whopping fine for failing to comply with the Habitats Directive (yes we’re in Eurobabbleland here) to prevent the rodent’s extinction