President Nicolas Sarkozy: Villepin

Francois Hollande Dept: The announcement on French television is likely to complicate life for both the Socialist candidate, Francois Hollande, and President Nicolas Sarkozy, who runs the conservative UMP party that Villepin served under, according to Winnipeg Free Press. BEIRUT -- Syrians closed their businesses and kept children home from school Monday as part of a general strike, a powerful show of civil disobedience to pressure President Bashar Assad to end his nine-month-old crackdown on a popular uprising and pARIS -- Dominique de Villepin, the former French prime minister who gained international renown for speaking out against the war in Iraq, has shaken up France's presidential campaign by announcing he'll run as an independent. Syrians on general strike (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.