Israel reaches out to France before resumption of Iran nuclear talks

(GNN) - Top Israeli envoys were sent to confer with French officials on Sunday about preventing what Israel considers an unfavorable nuclear deal with Iran after tensions surfaced between France and the United States ‎over negotiation strategy.

Though France has demanded more stringent restrictions than other Western delegations during talks with Iran, one French diplomat played down Israel's sway in Paris, saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had overplayed his hand in a March 3 speech to the U.S. Congress.

France, the United States and four other world powers suspended negotiations with Iran in Switzerland on Friday and are to reconvene next week to try to break the deadlock over sensitive atomic research and lifting of sanctions before a March 31 deadline for a framework deal.

Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, however, told Israel Radio that he is flying to Paris at short notice and may also hold meetings with other European nations to re-state his country's concerns.

"This is an effort to prevent a (nuclear) deal that is bad and full of loopholes, or at least ... to succeed in closing or amending some of these loopholes," said Steinitz, who is being accompanied by Israeli National Security Adviser Joseph Cohen.

Officials in Israel, which is not a party to the negotiations but feels especially threatened by the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran, have long described France as the negotiating power with views closest to Israel's.

Steinitz credited France with including curbs on Iran's mid-level enrichment of uranium to 20 percent fissile purity in the preliminary nuclear deal agreed in November 2013. “The French helped us a great deal," he said.

FRAYED TIES

At one point during the latest negotiations French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius phoned his team to ensure that it made no more concessions, officials at the talks said last week. And on Saturday Fabius said France wants an agreement that would guarantee that Iran could not produce a nuclear weapon.

Iran, meanwhile, says that its nuclear program is for peaceful needs only.

Israel's ties to its main ally, the United States, have frayed over Netanyahu's lobbying against the prospective Iran deal. Many of U.S. President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats boycotted Netanyahu's March 3 speech in Congress, which had been arranged by Republicans.

One senior French diplomat said that Netanyahu's speech, in which he reiterated his demand for a total rollback of Iranian nuclear technologies, had diminished Israel's clout. Paris is also unhappy with long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

"Israel has marginalized itself. In November 2013 we were working with them and they played the game. They didn't take unrealistic positions," the diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"But here they have gone too far. We told them to play their part so they could influence a final accord, but they have taken unrealistic positions."

U.S. officials have privately bristled at France’s outspoken criticism of the negotiating process and its demands for more stringent restrictions on Iran. Officials have expressed concerns that France might block a deal at the United Nations.

France's envoy to Washington, Gerard Araud, has been particularly vocal, tweeting that the setting of a March 31 deadline for a framework deal was "a bad tactic" and "counterproductive".

The target date for a full agreement is June 30 and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has played down the importance of the end-of-March deadline, saying that the priority is to seal a comprehensive deal by July.

(Reuters)(Editing by David Goodman)

Bayer weighing options for consumer garden products

(GNN) - Germany's Bayer said it was considering strategic options for its home and garden consumer products business, maker of Baby Bio plant feed, as its crop protection arm focuses on professional customers.

People familiar with the matter told Reuters that Bayer was preparing to sell the business and was gauging the interest of prospective buyers, which could be private equity or industry players. The business generated 220 million euros ($236 million) in annual sales last year.

"A number of strategic alternatives are under consideration," a spokesman for the diversified drugs and pesticides maker said on Friday.

Bayer is in the middle of an overhaul, splitting off its plastics division and working on a new corporate set-up for the life-science businesses that will remain. Sources have said it is also looking into hiving off its blood glucose-meter business.

The consumer gardening business reported sales growth of more than 10 percent last year, according to Bayer's annual report. Its brands also include Provado and Natria gardening products.

The business is part of Bayer's Environmental Science unit with 678 million euros in 2014 sales, which also caters for professional users in forestry, gardening and landscaping.

The sources said Bayer felt encouraged by the 2011 sale of garden fertilizer business Compo by German potash miner K+S to buyout firm Triton for $205 million including debt.

At the time, Compo had about 400 million euros in annual sales from fertilizers and potting soil. Earlier this month, Triton sold part of the business, Compo Expert, to Chinese-backed XIO Group.

(Reuters)(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Keith Weir)

EU's Tusk discussing Russia sanctions idea with Merkel, Hollande

(GNN) - European Council President Donald Tusk is discussing a proposal with Germany and France to link European Union sanctions on Russia to full implementation of a Ukraine ceasefire, a senior EU official said on Wednesday.

Tusk is working with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on a compromise proposal on the future of EU sanctions that he believes all 28 EU leaders would support at a summit on Thursday.

"The direction of that proposal will go into building very strong links between full implementation of Minsk and sanctions that are already in place being in place until full implementation of Minsk," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

An uneasy ceasefire is in place in eastern Ukraine after a new truce agreement was agreed in Minsk last month.

Agreement of all EU governments is needed to renew economic sanctions on Russia expiring in July, but governments are sharply divided.

More hawkish member states wanted an agreement to extend those sanctions now, while other governments wanted to wait until a June summit to give the Minsk accord a chance to work.

Linking sanctions to full implementation of Minsk would effectively mean extending them at least until the end of the year, because the Minsk accord contains a year-end deadline for Ukraine to recover full control over its border.

The EU official said all governments were ready to agree that Merkel and Hollande, having helped negotiate the Minsk agreement, "should have a specific role in the process of defining further steps which should support implementation of Minsk".

"That is why right now Tusk is working together with Merkel and Hollande on that proposal," the official said.

One EU diplomat said leaders would likely agree at the summit to signal now that they would keep sanctions on Russia until the Minsk terms were fully met, while leaving a formal decision on renewing sanctions until June.

"It makes no sense to reduce the pressure on Russia ... if their commitment to the full implementation of Minsk hasn't been tested," he said. "We think there are clear advantages to sending a signal on rollover (of sanctions) early on."

A German government official said that implementation of the Minsk agreement was the benchmark for Berlin.

Merkel made clear when she met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Berlin on Monday “that the implementation of the Minsk agreement and sanctions are closely bound politically,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

(Reuters)(Additional reporting by Stephen Brown in Berlin; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

Telecoms tycoon seeks to buy out Vivendi from Numericable-SFR

(GNN) - Billionaire Patrick Drahi is aiming to buy Vivendi's 20 percent stake in Numericable-SFR to strengthen his grip on France's No.2 telecoms group and prepare for a possible next round of industry consolidation.

Drahi's holding company Altice and its subsidiary Numericable-SFR said on Wednesday they had offered Vivendi 3.9 billion euros ($4.5 billion), or 40 euros a share, for the media firm's stake.

While that is well below Numericable-SFR's current share price of over 50 euros, it is above the level at which Vivendi sold SFR to Numericable in November, which analysts say equated to around 33.30 euros.

A deal could allow Vivendi to boost a return of cash to shareholders or add to its warchest for acquisitions, while for Drahi it could clear the way for a long-mooted bid for smaller French rival Bouygues Telecom.

"From a Numericable-Altice perspective, this offer could be interpreted as organizing its finances in readiness for a Bouygues Telecom offer," said Jefferies analyst Jerry Dellis.

Telecoms firms across Europe have been striking deals, taking advantage of low interest rates to build up scale and seek cost savings in a saturated market.

Under Drahi's proposal, Numericable-SFR would pay half the offered sum to Vivendi in cash by buying back its shares, pending approval from shareholders in an April 30 vote.

Altice would pay the rest by April 7, 2016, plus interest.

Vivendi said its management board would examine the offer and its supervisory board, which next meets on Feb. 27, would decide on any action.

Vivendi sold telecoms group SFR to cable company Numericable for 13.37 billion euros in November, and was supposed to remain a minority shareholder for at least a year. It holds two board seats, and Altice had options to buy Vivendi's shares between the 19th and 43rd month after closing.

If it does accept, it would add to the cash pile Vivendi has accumulated from sales in the past two years as it exited telecoms and kept only its music and pay-TV businesses.

Led by chairman and largest shareholder Vincent Bollore, Vivendi wants to expand its existing media activities, possibly also via acquisitions.

Jefferies' Dellis estimates Vivendi had 8 billion euros net cash at the end of 2014, and said the Altice move would renew speculation of a larger return of cash to shareholders in 2015 than the 3.5 billion euros already planned.

"We remain skeptical that Vivendi shareholders will receive as much as some hope given management's presumed incentive to retain maximum capacity to re-engineer the rump media business and put it on a firmer growth footing," wrote Dellis.

In November, Altice CEO Dexter Goei said his company viewed itself as the "natural buyer" of Bouygues Telecom and was open to talks.

In recent days media reports have said Altice was preparing an offer for Bouygues, though Bouygues said no talks were underway.

Separately, Numericable-SFR published pro-forma results for 2014 with revenue coming in at 11.4 billion euros.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 3.1 billion euros, while pro-forma capital expenditure was 1.8 billion euros.

(Reuters) (Additional reporting by James Regan; Editing by Andrew Callus and Mark Potter)

Britain, France, U.S. ask U.N. to blacklist Libya's Ansar al-Sharia

GNN - Britain, the United States and France have proposed that Islamist extremist group Ansar al-Sharia in Libya be blacklisted under the United Nations al Qaeda sanctions regime, diplomats said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
If all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council's al Qaeda sanctions committee agree, the group will be added to the list on Nov. 19 and subjected to an arms embargo and a global travel ban and asset freeze, the diplomats said.

Australian U.N. Ambassador Gary Quinlan, president of the Security Council this month, told reporters that council members would be looking in general at the possibility of broadening U.N. sanctions to target those undermining stability in Libya.

"One of the issues ... is sanctions," Quinlan said after a council discussion on Libya and other issues. He added that the idea was to possibly extend the scope of already existing measures "to take into account people who might want to spoil the political transition."

Ansar al-Sharia is blamed by Washington for a 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in the city of Benghazi that killed the American ambassador.

Western powers worry that Libya is heading toward civil war as authorities are too weak to control former rebels who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but now defy state authority to grab power and a share of oil revenues.

Libya is divided between rival tribes and political factions with two governments vying for legitimacy since an armed group from the western city of Misrata seized Tripoli in August, forcing the internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to move east.

The U.N. Security Council has had an arms embargo and other sanctions measures in place since 2011, when Gaddafi was using his security forces to crack down on pro-democracy demonstrators. Gaddafi was toppled and killed during a U.N.-backed NATO intervention in the same year.

(GNN,AIP,Reuters,ga)(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Alan Crosby and Lisa Shumaker)

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French troops edge closer to Libya border to cut off Islamists

#GNN PARIS: France is setting up a base in northern Niger as part of an operation aimed at stopping al Qaeda-linked militants from crisscrossing the Sahel-Sahara region between southern Libya and Mauritania, officials said.

Paris, which has led efforts to push back Islamists in the region since intervening in its former colony Mali last year, redeployed troops across West Africa earlier this year to form a counter-terrorism force.

Under the new plan, about 3,000 French troops are now operating out of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad -- countries straddling the vast arid Sahel band -- with the aim of stamping out Islamist fighters across the region. Another 1,000 soldiers are providing logistical support in Gabon and Senegal.

"A base is being set up in northern Niger with the throbbing headache of Libya in mind," a French diplomat said.

Neither France nor Niger has said where the base will be but military sources in Niger said it was likely to be around Madama, a remote desert outpost in the northeast, where Niger already has some troops based.

French officials have repeated for several months they are concerned by events in Libya, warning that the political void in the north is creating favourable conditions for Islamist groups to regroup in the barren south of the country.

Diplomatic sources estimate about 300 fighters linked to al Qaeda's North African arm AQIM, including a splinter group formed by veteran Islamist commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, are operating in southern Libya, a key point on smuggling and trafficking routes across the region.

French and American drones are already operating out of Niger's capital Niamey.

Echoing the French push to get assets closer to Libya, U.S. officials said last month that the United States was preparing to possibly redeploy its drones to Agadez, some 750 km (460 miles) to the northeast.

Three years after they launched air strikes to help topple Muammar Gaddafi, Western powers including France have ruled out military intervention in Libya, fearing that it could further destabilise the situation given that countries across the region are backing different political and armed groups in Libya.

However, with France particularly exposed in the Sahel-Sahara region and its forces now engaged in a support role against Islamic State militants in Iraq, Paris is stepping up efforts to squeeze militants in the area.

FRONTLINE
The murder of a French citizen last week in neighbouring Algeria by former AQIM militants who pledged allegiance to Islamic State also appears to have toughened Paris' resolve.

"The approach to (fighting terrorism) is global," Army spokesman Gilles Jaron said on Thursday. "We are on the frontline in the Sahel-Sahara region and supporting in Iraq."

The French operation, dubbed Barkhane after the name of a kind of sand dune formed by desert winds, has set up its headquarters in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, but also placed an outpost in northern Chad about 200 km from the Libyan border.

Jaron said the new Niger base was still being finalised, but would have capacity for as many as 200 soldiers with aerial support. "The aim is to bring together areas that interest us. The transit points which terrorists are likely to use," he said.

There have been some successes in recent weeks. Two diplomatic sources said Abou Aassim El-Mouhajir, a spokesman for Belmokhtar's "Those Who Sign in Blood" brigade, was captured by French troops in August.

French media said he had been taken in Niger. Niger intelligence sources said French troops had passed through Madama around the time of the operation.

Jaron said four suspected militants were also captured on Sept. 24 near Gao in northern Mali, where France has handed the bulk of security control to U.N. MINUSMA peacekeeping forces.

At the same time there has been an increase in attacks on foreign troops in Mali, including the death of 10 Chadian soldiers in September.

The U.N.'s peacekeeping chief, Herve Ladsous, said last week that with many French troops leaving the north of Mali, U.N. forces were being targeted and finding it difficult to respond due to a lack of helicopters and special forces.

"It's a problem that is being resolved. We want the MINUSMA to be up to scratch so we can focus on our number one job: getting rid of AQIM," said a French defence ministry source.

(GNN)(Reuters)(AIP)(GA)(Additional reporting by David Lewis in Dakar and Abdoulaye Massalaki in Niamey; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

#GNN finance news - French PM calls for European investment plan to boost growth

#GNN - #France's prime minister called on Friday for steps to be taken at EU level to boost economic growth through investment, a day after data showed that both France and the euro zone stagnated in the second quarter.

"The situation is difficult, growth is slowing, not only in France but in the whole euro zone," Manuel Valls told French media on the sidelines of a World War II commemoration ceremony.

He pledged to press ahead with France's plans to cut public spending by 50 billion euros over the next three years, saying the government would not change course, adding: "We also need investment initiatives at European level."

France slashed its growth forecasts for both 2014 and 2015 on Thursday and acknowledged it would miss its public deficit target this year, saying poor growth and low inflation in Europe were partly to blame.

The government, which has long called for the European Union to focus more on growth than austerity, also hinted that it would probably not manage to come into line with the EU's deficit ceiling of 3 percent of GDP next year.

Both the German government and European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann have over the past weeks rebuffed France's calls for Berlin to step up investments to boost growth.

Incoming European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has promised to push for a 300-billion-euro public-private investment program over the next three years, combining EU money with private sector funds, to build energy, transport and broadband networks.

(GNN)(Reuters)(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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Thousands march in French city of Marseille in support of Israel

#GNN - #Thousands took to the streets of Marseille in the south of France on Sunday to show their support for Israel, the first such demonstration in the country since the start of the recent fighting in Gaza, organizers said.

Some 2,000 pro-Israeli demonstrators, carrying French and Israeli flags, were separated by riot police from a few dozen pro-Palestinian protesters chanting anti-Israeli slogans in Marseille's Old Port in the center of the Mediterranean city.

"We are here to show our solidarity with Israel, which has been attacked and has a right to defend itself," William Labi, head of the body governing Jewish congregations in Marseille, told Reuters. The protest was also organized by the community's umbrella group CRIF.

Pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police in central Paris on Saturday when thousands of protesters defied a ban by French authorities to rally against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip. Police made about 70 arrests.

In Marseille, some 2,000 people had marched peacefully on Saturday in an authorized pro-Palestinian demonstration.

France has both the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in Europe and flare-ups in the Middle East have in the past added to tensions between the two communities.

Israel began its offensive earlier this month, citing a surge in rocket attacks launched from Hamas militants in the Gaza strip.

Some 1,031 Palestinians, mainly civilians and including many children, have been killed in the 20-day conflict. Israel says 43 of its soldiers have died, along with three civilians killed by rocket and mortar fire out of the Mediterranean enclave.

(GNN,Reuters,AIP)((Reporting by Francois Revilla in Marseille; writing by Michel Rose in Paris, editing by David Evans)

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United´s Evra joins Juventus

#GNN - #LONDON: #Manchester United´s France #international Patrice Evra has joined Juventus on a two year contract, the two clubs announced on Monday.

The move brings to a close the 33-year-old left back´s eight-and-a-half year stint at Old Trafford. "After a great deal of thought I have decided the time is right for me to leave Manchester United," the player told United´s website. "It is the biggest decision of my career as this club is, and will always remain, in my heart."

A Juventus statement read: "Juventus football club can today announce that Patrice Evra has

signed a two-year contract with the club after a fee of £1.2million, to be paid in two separate instalments, was agreed with Manchester United. A further payment of £300,000 will be made to Manchester United in the event of Juventus qualifying for the 2015/16 Champions League."

Evra was part of the France side that made it to the World Cup quarter-finals. Four years ago he was the captain who led a team protest. (GNN)(AIP)(AFP)

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Iran nuclear deal improbable by July 20, extension likely: diplomat

(GNN) - A deal on Iran's disputed nuclear programme is improbable by a July 20 deadline and talks between Tehran and six world powers are likely to be extended for some months, a Western diplomat said on Tuesday.

There was no immediate official comment from the parties involved in the negotiations - Iran, the United States, France, Russia, China, Britain and Germany. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is coordinating talks with Iran on behalf of the six powers. "Given that ‎it is highly improbable to finalise an agreement by Sunday, it would be highly probable that we will continue the talks in the coming months," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Tuesday, Tehran also suggested that an extension of talks beyond the self-imposed July 20 deadline was likely.

Iran and the six nations are trying to bridge differences in negotiating positions over a deal intended to end a decade-long stand-off over Tehran's nuclear activity. The West fears the programme may be aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability but Iran says it wants only peaceful nuclear energy.

Under an interim nuclear deal reached last November that granted Iran limited sanctions relief in exchange for curbing some atomic work, the talks could in theory be extended by up to six months. But diplomats and experts have suggested that any extension is likely to be much shorter.

The Western diplomat, referring to disagreement primarily over the permissible future size of Iran's uranium enrichment programme, said: "We cannot say things are going in the wrong direction, things are going generally in the right way, ‎but on the main subject, the most difficult one, we are still very far apart."

"The idea that we can resolve all that before the weekend is improbable. The coming weeks don't make much sense (to resume talks) given it's August. There will be a little break."

(GNN)(Reuters)(AIP)(Reporting by John Irish; writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Mark Heinrich)

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With Polagram, Print Photos From Your Phone In Just A Few Taps

French startup Polagram just released a couple of new features and raised a round of funding. You can use the iPhone or Android app to print your photos directly from your phone and receive your prints a few days after ordering them. The app tries to get out of the way as much as possible, it’s just the missing link between your camera roll and your printed photos.

The company raised $700,000 (€500,000) from multiple French and American business angels who work or used to work for Voyage Privé, Price Minister, Orange, Fnac and more. The startup is also part of TheFamily.

“We had this idea of printing photos from your mobile,” co-founder and CEO Jeremy Charoy told me in a phone interview. “I took photos of my grandmother’s birthday in 2009 or 2010. At the time, you could use Hipstamatic, but it didn’t work well. The problem was still there in 2012, so we decided to launch Polagram.”

At first, the company only had one product, 10x10cm-square prints. But everything was still manual — the company was doing things that don’t scale. The team had to ride a Vélib bike with a USB key to their favorite printer, and put the photos in the envelopes themselves.

The company then added a new 10x13cm format for full size iPhone photos and a Polaroid-style format with white borders. It also signed a deal with a photo laboratory to automate the printing process. This way, the company could focus on the user experience and business development.

That’s why Polagram just launched two new products — a 26-page hardcover book and a collage poster. “Our goal is that you can make a book in less than three minutes on your phone,” Charoy said.

I played a bit with the app, and it’s true that the ordering process is fast. You select your product, select photos from your camera roll, Facebook or Instagram accounts, enter your address and payment information and you’re done. A photo costs $0.45, a poster $28, a book $35.

While you can order from nearly anywhere in the world, the company is working on deals with local photo laboratories to improve shipping. For example, it recently signed a deal with a German laboratory and is currently looking for an Asian partner.

Now, there are eight people working on Polagram, with most of the team based in Nancy, France. Polagram’s competitors include full-fledged photo companies, such as Shutterfly or PhotoBox. But these companies aren’t focused on providing the best mobile experience.

It’s still too early to say whether there is enough room in the market for Polagram. Yet, now that most people use their phones as their primary cameras, printing photos should be as easy as switching apps.

France to start disarming Central African Republic fighters on Monday

France said it will start disarming fighters in the Central African Republic by force if necessary on Monday, as relative calm returned to the capital Bangui following three days of heavy fighting between Christians and Muslims.

Residents reported sporadic gunfire from some Bangui neighbourhoods on Sunday after the violence in which the Red Cross said at least 394 people had died.

Despite a government order for gunmen to return to their barracks, a Reuters reporter saw soldiers in camouflage fatigues driving around in pickup trucks near the presidential palace and in clear view of French troops, deployed to the country under United Nations authorisation.

Central African Republic has slid into chaos as interim president Michel Djotodia struggled to control his loose band of Seleka fighters, who have attacked members of the Christian majority and prompted them to organise militias.

Djotodia seized power in March with the help of Seleka, a mainly Muslim rebel group that has been fighting the militias.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said fighters had to hand over their weapons. "It's from tomorrow that the disarmament will start. First we'll ask nicely and if they don't react, we'll do it by force," he said in an interview on French television station LCI on Sunday.

France is deploying 1,600 troops to its former colony after the U.N. Security Council authorised it on Thursday to use force to help African peacekeepers struggling to restore order. The African Union force is also due to be increased to 6,000 from 3,500.

On Sunday the morgue at Bangui's Hopital Communautaire was full, with bodies piled up there and in the hospital's corridors, another Reuters correspondent saw.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the death toll would have been much higher without the deployment. "Calm has returned in Bangui, even if acts of violence are still being committed," he told the France 3 TV channel. "Had we not intervened, the 394 deaths would have been 5,000 or 10,000."

One campaigner said Seleka remained active in Bangui. "Even as the mourning begins, Seleka has not been confined. They are still operating in the city," said Joseph Bindoumi, president of the Central African League for the Defence of Human Rights.

The country, rich in gold, diamonds and uranium, has seen little but conflict and political instability since independence from France in 1960. The Red Cross said it was working to recover more bodies on Sunday.

Pastor Antoine Mbao Bogo, who is Red Cross president in the country, told Reuters that his group planned to prepare two grave sites - one for Christians and one for Muslims.

FUNERALS DIFFICULT

Residents of both faiths have huddled in churches for protection from the armed groups.

Thousands attended a Sunday morning service at St. Paul's church in Bangui. Makeshift beds inside the church were removed temporarily to allow space for prayer benches, but still people spilled into the courtyard.

"We need today to promote inter-religious dialogue to transform the dynamic of violence and war into a dynamic of peace and solidarity," Dieudonne Nzapalainga, Archbishop of Bangui, said at the service.

The church is struggling to provide funerals for its congregation, said Bishop Nestor Aziagba, who assisted at Sunday's service. "Men can't leave their homes and women are taking the risk of taking the bodies and digging their own holes to bury them," he told Reuters.

President Djotodia announced three days of national mourning on state radio on Saturday.

French helicopters flew low over Bangui while soldiers patrolled both the capital and Bossangoa, about 300 km (180 miles) to the north.

Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch emergency director, said that the first French helicopter had arrived in Bossangoa. "Every French move reassures the population," he said on his Twitter feed.

Following the outbreak of violence, France wants elections brought forward to next year, putting an end to the interim period originally scheduled to run into 2015.

Djotodia, who blames the recent attacks on gunmen loyal to his ousted predecessor Francois Bozize, acknowledged on Sunday that he had received the request and said it was under consideration.

The United Nations has estimated that as many as 6,000 child soldiers have been drawn into the latest violence and aid workers say that many of the victims have been children.

Souleymane Diabate, of children's rights organisation UNICEF, said that many children were being brought to hospitals with wounds from bullets and crude weapons. "We are living through a major crisis and children haven't been spared," he said.(GNN)(Reuters)

(Additional reporting by Muriel Boselli and Marion Douet in Paris; Writing by Emma Farge; Editing by David Stamp)