April 22 set as French presidential election dateMay 11, 2011 - 19:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The French government announced its 2012 presidential election dates on Wednesday, May 11 with the first round election set to take place on 22 April and the second run-off on 6 May. A two-round parliamentary election for the lower house National Assembly will follow on 10 and 17 June, government spokesman Francois Baroin told reporters in Paris. Centre-right President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to stand for re-election for a second five-year term and is likely to face strong challenges from the Socialist Party on the left and the National Front on the far right. Polls show that Sarkozy could be beaten by any of the likely main candidates for the Socialist Party’s nomination and could even be knocked out in the first round if the National Front’s Marine Le Pen swipes second place. While the Socialists have yet to pick their candidate, opinion polls suggest International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn would be their strongest choice, RFI reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |