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A man suffering burns to his hands and face handed himself into police today over the brutal double killing of French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez. The 33-year-old was arrested on suspicion of murder after walking into a police station in South London not far from the murder scene at about 2am. He was seen by a police doctor and transferred to hospital for treatment to his injuries. Scotland Yard confirmed he was being treated for burns but refused to discuss the nature of them. Mr Bonomo and Mr Ferez's badly burnt bodies were found inside Mr Bonomo's rented...

PARIS - Students and unions staged new protests Tuesday across France, hoping to ride the momentum that led President Jacques Chirac to scrap a youth labor law and force the government to pull other contested reforms. Chirac's retreat and school vacations that began this week were expected to deplete turnout from massive recent protests and university sit-ins that prompted him to abandon the "youth jobs contract" on Monday. Hundreds of students marched in northeastern Paris — far fewer than the 84,000 who turned out in the capital for protests that drew 1 million demonstrators nationwide on April 4.

PARIS - Tens of thousands of protesters poured onto France's streets and striking workers hobbled transport services Tuesday, increasing pressure on embattled Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to withdraw a contested new jobs contract for youths. Cracks opened in his conservative government as public pressure mounted, with Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy suggesting that the contract be suspended to allow talks with unions, in a clear break with Villepin. Paris and other cities deployed thousands of police to prevent a possible resurgence of violence that marred previous demonstrations against the contract, which would make it easier for companies to fire young...

PARIS - French student groups, bolstered by a firm show of support from trade unions, led a new protest march Tuesday to ratchet up pressure on the premier to scrap a contested labor law. Dominique de Villepin, meeting with ruling party lawmakers, expressed willingness to soften two provisions of the contested "first job contract" — but refused to consider canceling it altogether. As he spoke, the fourth student-led protest in eight days began in the capital, with thousands marching across the Left Bank and shouting "It's the street that rules!" in defiance of Villepin. The protests — at times violent...

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Jacques Chirac on Monday backed his prime minister in a confrontation over a youth job law, urging unions and students to enter constructive talks on the measure rather than threaten strikes. Buoyed by protests at the weekend that organizers said brought 1.5 million people on to the streets nationwide, union leaders set a Monday evening deadline for the government to withdraw or suspend the so-called First Job Contract (CPE) law. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has shown no signs of backing down over the law, which allows employers to fire people under 26 for any...

PARIS - Tear gas. Students clashing with police around the famed Sorbonne university in Paris. Barricades in the capital's streets. Is March 2006 proving to be May 1968 all over again? So far, no. While comparisons between the student protests of then and now are tempting, they are also misleading. The young protesters of '68 wanted to turn French society upside down. "Break the old molds" was one of their many slogans. Their children want not revolution but status quo: the same access to pensions, jobs, prosperity and generous welfare systems their parents enjoyed. In short, a comfortable European lifestyle...