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france 's embattled government struggled today with a powerful challenge to its economic austerity program as postal , electric_utility and airport workers joined tens of thousands of striking transport employees in protests that have immobilized much of the country . the worst labor unrest in a decade began a week ago with a walkout by train , subway and bus workers over proposed welfare cuts . the shutdown has forced millions of people to walk , bicycle , hitchhike and even roller skate to work . the crippling upheaval spread to air_traffic this morning at orly , one of two airports serving paris , when strikers from air_france began blocking runways , forcing incoming flights to be diverted . an increasing number of flights were canceled as the day progressed . with the widening protest squeezing the economy and fraying nerves , government ministers promised to engage trade_unions in talks next week but would not retreat on proposed reforms in france 's huge public_sector or promise increased spending for universities , where thousands of students and teachers have joined the strike . the currency , stock and bond markets registered the impact of the crisis by posting steep losses today . the strike has also affected tourism , an important sector in a country visited by 60 million tourists a year . museums and travel services have shut down , and small businesses dependent on tourism from restaurants and hotels to taxi services have suffered . the christmas retail season has been seriously disrupted with shoppers unable to reach stores . train stations are eerily empty , with lighted panels everywhere flashing " traffic interrupted . " taxis have done little to help stranded commuters , with many drivers unwilling to enter streets where they would be stuck for hours with the buses and private cars . factories have been laying off workers . today , peugeot citroen idled two thirds of the 11 , 800 workers at its mulhouse auto assembly plant for a day after running out of space to store finished cars that could not be loaded onto freight trains . some industries began experiencing power shortages as electric_utility workers joined the strike . mail , including bills and payments , was piling up because of the postal strike . newspaper deliveries have been held up in many parts of the country . the swelling number of motor_vehicles in the streets of paris has worsened air_pollution and increased altercations among commuters trying to get to work . " what really annoys me is that i go home at night with my face blackened and a horrible headache from all the fumes i inhale from all these cars , " said a 23 year old motorcycle messenger near the opera at the heart of paris who identified himself as cadieu . " with all this traffic , it takes much longer to reach my destination , and by the time i get there the people have left to make their way home . i am earning less . " a shopper named alain at a marks spencer department_store complained " they are really bugging us with their strikes . we live in the suburbs and it takes us a few hours to get to work every day . i only work four hours a day , but i have to catch up for the lost time by working on weekends . " the pro government newspaper le_figaro wondered in a front page editorial this morning , " is france having a nervous breakdown ? " the government stands on " a razor 's edge , " it said , comparing the mounting crisis to such national traumas as the french_revolution and the 1968 revolt , when rioting students joined by workers and leftist political movements created an upheaval that eventually forced president charles de gaulle to resign . a spokesman warned today that the government would start laying off workers , a move that could further inflame the situation . as it stands now , this is france 's worst labor unrest in a decade . and no easy resolution is in sight because of pressures on president jacques_chirac to adhere to the austerity program in order to qualify for a single european currency under the 1992 treaty on european union . michel_camdessus , managing director of the international_monetary_fund , said today that the government should stand firm against the trade_unions . " it would be dangerous if they watered down what has been announced , " mr . camdessus said . " the problem is that governments are too slow in addressing underlying problems and even slower in telling their people what must be done . " at issue is a 50 billion deficit in france 's generous social_security system , which the government proposed to remedy with a sweeping overhaul including a new tax of one half of 1 percent on incomes above the poverty level and an increase in how many years public employees must work to receive pensions with full benefits . prime_minister alain_juppe indicated in november the importance he attached to the reform despite worker opposition when he formed his second government in six months , asserting that " everything depends on the next three months . " and he added , in a statement that is now becoming ominously prophetic , that , " if two million people take to the streets , my government will not survive . " trade_unions are arguing that the overhaul hurts their members' standard of living and undermines a deeply imbedded notion of social equality . it is penalizing the working_class , they contend , by stripping it of its welfare benefits and cutting back on the country 's comprehensive health system , which the government says was being abused by patients . " france needs to work , " said alain lamassoure , a government spokesman . " our economy is still convalescent . numerous companies risk having to stop their activity and laying off their employees temporarily . " while clearly irritated by the disruptions caused by the strikes , a growing majority of the french appear to support the workers' movement . last week , a poll by the daily le parisien found 54 percent of those questioned backing the strike . in a new poll published by the paper today , that number had risen to 64 percent , although many also said they favored the restoration of " a minimum service in the capital . " for his part , president chirac appears determined to push through his overhaul of the welfare system , perhaps counting as president de gaulle did in 1968 on a public backlash when he charged that the crisis was being fomented by communists . this upheaval , however , is economic , not ideological . furthermore , the 1968 crisis eventually led to a rejection of president de gaulle , who was forced to step down after proposed reforms were resoundingly rejected in a referendum .	has a location of france
lead the american television rights to the 1992 winter_olympics in albertville , france , were awarded yesterday to cbs_sports , whose bid of 243 million exceeded the international_olympic_committee 's expectation by 43 million and nbc 's bid by as much as 68 million . the american television rights to the 1992 winter_olympics in albertville , france , were awarded yesterday to cbs_sports , whose bid of 243 million exceeded the international_olympic_committee 's expectation by 43 million and nbc 's bid by as much as 68 million . in a one bid auction involving only the two networks , nbc bid 175 million plus 50 percent of any advertising sales over 325 million . abc did not participate in the bidding . despite the vast difference in the two bids and abc 's loss of 65 million on rights fees of 309 million paid for the calgary games last winter , neal pilson , the president of cbs_sports , said he expected cbs to achieve a ' 'modest profitability'' on its investment , which will paid through installments over the next four years . ''if you subtract abc 's losses from what they paid , although that is not how we determined our bid , you get very close to our number , '' pilson said at an afternoon news conference . ''we project a market growth by 1992 and that the sales climate will be somewhat better . we feel comfortable with our bid . '' to say nothing for the representatives of the i.o.c . and the albertville organizing_committee . ''a good day , a very useful day , '' said michel_barnier , a co president of the organizing_committee . ''we had hoped for around 200 million . '' 10 percent to u.s.o.c . besides the organizers and the i.o.c. , the chief beneficiary was the united_states_olympic_committee , which , according to the i.o.c . 's television rights distribution formula , will receive 10 percent off the top , or 24 . 3 million . of the remaining 218 . 7 million , the organizing_committee will get 116 . 64 million for its general fund and 43 . 74 million for facilities , which are spread throughout the savoie region of central france the i.o.c . will receive 58 . 32 million . the award procedure was much simpler than it was in 1981 , when abc succeeded after five rounds of bidding . this time , a minimum figure of 200 million was placed in a sealed envelope , after which the two participating networks submitted their offers . the networks were told that the games would be awarded to the higher bidder , provided the offer at least equaled the secret number . ''we figured 200 million was a sensible minimum to expect , '' said richard pound , a vice_president of the i.o.c . and chairman of its television negotiation committee . ''we recognized that calgary was an aberrational bid at the time and that this time , there would not be as much live , prime time coverage . '' by comparison , abc paid 91 . 5 million for the 1984 winter_games in sarajevo , yugoslavia . cbs last televised the winter_olympics in 1960 . puzzlement over abc pound said that he thanked arthur watson , the president of nbc_sports , for his active participation , but that he was mystified over abc 's decision not to bid . ''it 's incomprehensible to me why they dropped out before the bidding , '' pound said . ''i do n't know on what basis they made their decision . '' in preliminary discussions with abc , he said , the network asked about negotiating a package deal that would include the albertville games and the barcelona summer games later the same year . the i.o.c responded by saying it was unable to negotiate on behalf of both organizing committees . by the end of the i.o . c 's discussions with abc , it was clear to pound that the network wanted ' 'some kind of edge'' in the bidding for the albertville games , such as a chance to match the higher offer . but in the end , the procedure was designed to give each network an equal chance . watson , whose network paid 300 million for the rights to the seoul olympics later this year , said that he was disappointed to lose the bid , but that his offer still put nbc at ''a considerable risk , '' based on his analysis of the market . ''you 're always disappointed when you lose , '' he said . ''we came in with what i thought was a reasonable figure , but that was as far as we wanted to reach . '' abc officials have declined to comment since their decision not to participate in the bidding .	has a location of france
any high flown palaver about the selfless idealism underlying the original olympics concept rings increasingly hollow while watching the current cbs_sports coverage of the " xvi winter olympic games . " this is a gigantic business undertaking on every level , from network executive suites to advertiser campaigns to possible future payoffs for the athletes . on this scale , the word hype is hopelessly puny and inadequate . the good news the pictures from albertville , france , are superb whether capturing the athletes in close up or giving viewers a you are there ride down a ski slope . the marvels of television camera work tend , quite unfairly , to be taken for granted . the images can be riveting . it 's the broadcaster additions that keep getting in the way . as hosts for the coverage , paula zahn and tim_mccarver are curiously superfluous , she burbling too much , he a bit testy . sitting in a nondescript space that looks like a leftover set from the dull old days of " the cbs morning news , " they pop up on screen every so often with pointless small talk and assurances that the mostly delayed coverage will provide , as it was put on tuesday , " another day of chills , thrills and spills . " obviously , the network team of commentators are on notice to smile into those cameras and drum up business . if the ratings fall below a certain level , cbs will be in hock to disgruntled advertisers . exaggeration is therefore inevitable . for last saturday 's opening ceremonies , we were solemnly told , " once again , the world pauses . " rushing to my apartment window , i was reassured to discovered little or no pausing on the busy streets of manhattan . the parade of nations ? " you wo n't want to miss it , " we were assured . and then there 's the old standby " the pressure is really on . " all right , already . i 'm watching , i 'm watching . television dotes on personalities , and cbs_sports has been doing its best to cut a few to order . americans would clearly be preferred but , on the whole , americans do not excel at winter_games in which russians and scandinavians keep seeming to hog the medals . but that does n't stop cbs . one unavoidable candidate for color features was christopher bowman , a born in hollywood actor ( " little house on the prairie " ) who openly courted attention by trying to be outrageously flip . he seems to have been inspired by the comic howie mandel , not as funny , perhaps , but equally irritating . a far more ambitious promotional campaign was lavished on the figure_skating team of calla urbanski , 31 , and rocky marval , 26 , she a waitress in a delaware tavern , he the owner of a new jersey trucking firm . perfect contenders for stardom , right down to rocky assuring an interviewer that he was not a sissy . " they 've got so many great qualities , " an announcer gushed about " this gutsy duo . " only one problem their skating was uninspired and they failed to get very close to winning a medal . " well , " the commentator wistfully observed , " regardless of how they finish in the standings , it 's been quite a week . " it certainly has , for the winded publicity minions . when last heard from , they were turning their attention to the entire hockey team , u.s.a . cbs is shrewdly reaching out to female viewers . coverage of tuesday 's figure_skating was focused carefully on the female half of the teams ( " the women of this sport must be fearless , " a commentator declared ) . in an essay on the spectators in the stands , charles kuralt paid attention almost exclusively to the determined mothers of competitors , ignoring the husbands who might have been sitting right next to them . the commentator scott hamilton recalled how , after his own mother 's death ( " my mother was really perfect " ) , he won a skating medal at sarajevo in 1984 . a clip showed him accepting the gold with tears streaming down his face . " so that , " concluded kuralt , " is what a skater 's mother can be . " the commercialism of the games has gone beyond shameless to preposterous . early on , morley safer observed that the event , following the breakup of the soviet_union , is " now serving no particular national purpose , though perhaps a corporate one . " well , nationalistic fervor is as pronounced as ever , as is evident on united_states television when the americans even come close to winning a medal . and there is no " perhaps " about the corporate purpose . forget the avalanche of formal commercials , plugging everything from candice bergen starring in " murphy brown " to candice bergen selling a telephone service . a maker of pain tablets offers clips from the games the day before . a maker of sneakers is already setting up a superstar competition between dan and dave at this summer 's games in barcelona . but beyond that , there are the athletes themselves who serve as moving billboards , brand names emblazoned on their shirts , helmets , equipment and even , for tight close ups , goggles . inspired ? or merely enervating . mcdonald 's offers one of the few truly thoughtful commercials , showing champion medalists of years past , their graceful aging putting the youth oriented hoopla of the present into some perspective , even if only for a passing moment . but television marches on . " tomorrow , " shouts the announcer , " the potential to win the gold in other sports ! " hooray , i think . ratings stay high the winter_olympics continue to power cbs to prime time victories , as the tuesday evening program , with pairs figure_skating and men 's combined slalom , recorded a 21 . 5 rating and a 32 share . the telecast trumped abc 's 15 . 4 23 and nbc 's 12 . 2 18 . even so , cbs 's rating trailed abc 's rating of 25 . 5 39 for the first tuesday evening during the 1988 winter_olympics , the first time in four nights that cbs lagged behind abc on a comparable night . but cbs 's 19 . 7 30 four night rating leads abc 's 18 . 4 28 from calgary . each national rating point equals 931 , 000 television households . the share is the percentage of homes with televisions in use that are tuned to a specific program . albertville tv critic's_notebook	has a location of france
midway through the third period yesterday , after the devils killed a major penalty , the fans who filled continental arena rose to their feet to cheer . the home team , trying to extend its winning_streak to 14 games , trailed the pittsburgh penguins by a goal . an unscripted and genuine moment like this sometimes sustains momentum and increases emotion , changing the course of events . ''it should have , '' devils coach larry_robinson said . ''i do n't think it picked our guys up as much as it should have . i do n't know why . '' perhaps because the emotion was stifled as soon as it started , silenced by a recorded blast of ''y . m.c.a . '' so the fans settled back in their seats as a television timeout dragged on . the scoreboard then showed a cartoon noise meter , playing different sounds to make the fans cheer . by then , their spirit had waned , and they responded halfheartedly to the artificial stimulation . a potentially pivotal moment had been nullified . no , this was not the only reason the penguins prevailed by 4 2 , the last goal into an empty net . the streaking devils were due to lose and the slumping penguins were due to win . pittsburgh got heroic contributions from lesser lights like the rookie goalie johan hedberg , who made 25 saves center martin straka , who scored two goals and right wing aleksei morozov , who scored once and assisted on two goals . morozov was also bloodied by sean o'donnell 's illegal elbow , crashed into the boards by colin white 's legal check and flipped onto the ice in a cartwheel crash by brian_rafalski 's magnificent hip check . ''good , clean check , '' said morozov , who wore ice on his left knee as a result . ''nice . i liked it . '' that 's how good the pittsburgh mood was afterward . the penguins might meet the defending champion devils in the stanley_cup_playoffs , and they might give them some grief . as underdogs two years ago , pittsburgh eliminated the devils . although the penguins are an incomplete and ragged collection , they have plenty of talent . by winning yesterday , pittsburgh ensured that its national_hockey_league record of 17 consecutive victories set in 1993 before mario_lemieux 's first retirement will not be broken this season . ''yeah , it was something we talked about , '' lemieux said of the streak . ''it 's something our franchise is proud of , to have won 17 games in a row . we were able to do something about it today . '' although lemieux failed to add to his totals of 31 goals and 31 assists , he had some moments of motion and emotion . when his teammate bob boughner misread lemieux 's setup pass and retreated instead of moving forward , lemieux gestured in obvious irritation . when lemieux sailed in on goalie martin_brodeur and faked him out of position but failed to score because of brodeur 's skate save , he first stared at brodeur , then tapped him in congratulations . when the devils pressed for a tie in the final moments , lemieux lost his stick but cleared the puck from the danger zone by sliding across the blue line and kicking it down the ice . how often does he do that ? ''last time was 1989 , '' lemieux said . morozov has only two goals this season , both against the devils . he enjoyed plenty of ice time yesterday because aleksei_kovalev is under a three game suspension for shooting a puck at a referee , an allegation kovalev angrily denied yesterday . hedberg , who played his fourth n.h.l . game , had spent most of the season with the manitoba moose . he may be pittsburgh 's first string goalie in the playoffs . he wears a pale blue helmet decorated with a cartoon moose and pine_trees . wearing figurative goat horns was jaromir_jagr , the penguins' captain , who is contending for the league scoring title but too often seems uninterested . in 23 minutes 8 seconds yesterday , he had no shots and no points and accidentally set up a devils goal with a turnover . after showering , he breezed past reporters waiting for interviews . it was his biggest burst of speed all day . jagr wears the captain 's ''c , '' but it is said that his salary demands and pouty attitude have turned him into summer trade bait . a player like this would fit right in with the dysfunctional rangers . but rangers topics and the islanders , too are for another day . as for the devils , the end of the streak may be a blessing in disguise . neither the coach nor the players seemed too upset . this defeat could end the worried murmurs that they are ''peaking too soon'' and might let down for the playoffs . their bigger concerns , as robinson said , are the race with ottawa for first in the eastern conference and getting ready for the playoffs . time to refocus , fans . just watch and listen to the scoreboard . it alone will tell you what to think and do . on hockey	has a location of france
six toddlers and their teacher were freed unharmed this morning after being held by a masked gunman for two days at their nursery_school in this leafy suburb of paris . the fate of the gunman was not immediately known , although it was reported that he had been shot . the police were reported to be looking for explosives inside the school . it was not clear whether this morning 's action was the result of a planned police operation or whether there had been an incident that provoked the shooting . the gunman first entered the school a little after 9 a.m . on thursday . over the next two days , he released 15 of the 21 children who were in the class . according to unconfirmed_reports , the gunman insisted on using the remaining children as a shield during his getaway . those reports said the police suggested that adult hostages be used instead . while adults negotiated , the six children who had not been released were put to sleep friday night after eating dinner and taking what was described as a " mild sedative . " their teacher , who refused to leave her charges for any extended period , watched over them as they slept . the police said at 11 00 p.m . friday that the teacher , laurence dreyfus , 30 , had returned to her classroom after slipping out to sleep for two hours . in her absence a police captain took over her watch alongside the gunman . carefully prepared scheme the incident has shocked and mesmerized the french public , which has been informed of each twist and turn . the gunman , who claimed to have a bomb attached to his waist , threatened to " bleed the children " to death or blow them up if his demands were not met . the police said he had carefully prepared his scheme , issuing instructions on computer printouts from the classroom where the hostages were held . the nature of the crime , the huge ransom and the age of the children kept the story in the headlines and at the top of the television and radio news . experts interviewed on news programs warned of the long term impact of such a trauma on the children , who are 3 to 4 years old , and on their parents , who were not been permitted to see them for two days . ms . dreyfus , who is in her first teaching job , has become the subject of growing admiration in france as the details of her courage and self control have emerged . she was allowed to leave the classroom several times , but insisted on returning to it each time . 'gun to hunt a wolf' mothers of some of the children released since thursday said ms . dreyfus told them it was a game and that the hooded man was carrying a " big gun to hunt a wolf . " according to the police , she kept the toddlers calm and entertained all day thursday before putting them to sleep , and repeated that performance friday . the gunman , described as a man in his mid thirties who acted calmly and deliberately , reportedly told the police , " i shall not be taken alive . " interior_ministry officials who handled negotiations said the gunman was methodical in the planning and execution of his crime and " truly motivated . " shortly after the police arrived at the school , he asked for a ransom of 100 million french francs the equivalent of 18 . 5 million from the banque de france , the french federal_bank , in used bills in denominations of 20 , 100 , 200 and 500 francs . police officials said the gunman 's notes were signed with the initials h.b. , and that many of them were printed in advance . links to a bombing on may 8 , the same initials were found in a tract claiming responsibility for a bombing in neuilly that caused no injuries . the note , which threatened further bombings , demanded that president_francois_mitterrand and interior_minister charles pasqua resign , the authorities said . friday , however , a television_journalist , jean_pierre about , who met with the gunman at his demand , told reporters that the hostage taker wanted only money and had no political demands . the gunman allowed a pediatrician into the classroom , which is part of a primary_school complex that accommodates about 1 , 000 pupils . all children were evacuated immediately after the gunman entered the nursery , and the school has been closed . the complex lies on a quiet street in this affluent upper_middle_class suburb lined with broad villas and luxury apartment buildings . the police set up several roadblocks around the complex friday , and masked sharpshooters nestled on the roofs overlooking the building . an aide to mr . pasqua emphasized that the primary concern of the authorities would be to insure the safety of the children . parents of the children held in the school waited inside the compound during the siege but were not allowed to talk to hundreds of journalists camped out by the school complex . there were unconfirmed_reports that a white van entering the complex late friday afternoon was loaded with the cash demanded .	has a location of france
the quadrennial secret of the winter_olympics' opening ceremony always is who will light the flame ? but saturday 's ceremonies may be the most theatrical of all the olympics and so even the well connected french sporting newspaper , l'equipe , professed ignorance today of who that torchbearer will be . " we will announce it 15 minutes before the event , " a member of the organizing_committee insisted today . " i do n't even know . " still , a good guess would be nathalie bouvier , the country 's top downhill skier , who suffered serious knee injuries in an accident last year and is unable to ski . there would be nothing more dramatic than 30 , 000 fans , most of them her countrymen , seeing her once again in a sports setting . television viewers around the world will see , and hear , a noisy , clattering , jumpy affair on saturday . it was created by philippe decoufle , a choreographer who likes high things . so he will be working at altitude in more ways than one . not for him is the more staid tradition of first day goings on . people will hear , and see , this event for miles around . decoufle has brought in a flying angel , he has yo_yo dancers hanging from bungee cords , he has musicians tethered a hundred feet in the air , high over the stadium . even the flame that lights the olympic torch will fly through the air . down in the valley , baleful alpine horns will wail , then fireworks will crackle and pop . this is a celebration of the savoy as well as of sport . the ceremonies will open with carpenters , of all people , carrying planks of wood . they will build a podium right before your eyes the good old mountain work ethic . the podium will be festooned with hand carved savoyard sculpture . the torch will be brought to the top of the stadium by an athlete perhaps bouvier and a child . they will light a bowl that will turn into a ball of fire . immediately , attached to wires , the flaming ball will fly toward the torch and ignite the gas . eldredge still feels twinge one week after his first , unsuccessful attempts to execute a triple_jump after returning from a back injury , todd_eldredge is still not at his peak as he prepares for the men 's figure skating competition . " well , maybe 99 percent , " he said thursday , sounding somewhat forced in his optimism . the 20 year old three time united_states champion fell during last month 's nationals . he reinjured a congenitally deformed joint in his back . his long program next week will include eight triple_jumps . " because of the stress , his back acted up , " said his coach , richard_callaghan . " i think the way the skaters are going these days , they 're too busy . he 's in heavy training from the middle of december to the middle of july . then he took only a week and a half off . that 's going to change after the olympics . " breaking the ice dave peterson , the united_states olympic hockey coach and self proclaimed curmudgeon , met the assembled media friday , in meribel , for the first time at the winter_games . it was , as expected , a delicate moment . " you missed the story in 1988 , " peterson told reporters about his team 's seventh place experience at calgary . " you focused way too much on me . part of that was me . i said what i thought , and that was a mistake . am i irritable ? yup . am i cranky ? yup . i plead_guilty to that . " nevertheless , peterson said he had learned a bit from a special training course on dealing with the media . money talks skaters skate in the 1988 calgary olympics , eric flaim of quincy , mass . finished second , fourth , fourth and fourth in four speed_skating races . now , at age 24 , he is still competing because of a new jersey connection . " after calgary , i went to the soviet_union for the world_championships , " he said . " my coach could n't afford to go , but george_steinbrenner heard about it and paid his way . " a new york newspaper wrote about that , and this man in new jersey read the story and clipped it out . he got in touch with me , and now he and a group of new jersey businessmen formed a sponsorship entity for dan_jansen , nick thometz and me . " do n't jump to conclusions women 's figure_skating , one of the glamour events of the winter_games , has been described as a potential battle between artistic and athletic skaters . not so , says christy kjarsgaard ness , the coach of kristi_yamaguchi . the 20 year old yamaguchi is from fremont , calif . she is considered an artistic skater , instead of an athletic one . one of her chief rivals , midori_ito of japan , is a jumping jack . " a lot of times , " ness said , " that talk about athleticism and artistry is labels . kristi does seven triple_jumps . that 's athletic . she thinks as an athlete . she works out as an athlete . she was n't brought up just to do pretty things . " albertville	has a location of france
to the editor when i was in paris a few months ago , half the men ( and none of the women ) walking down the champs elysee were carrying on telephone conversations using the tiny ear plugs and microphones described in your article on june 8 . according to my friend , the french have borrowed yet another term from the english to describe this behavior jabber walky . hal varian berkeley , calif .	has a location of france
when the call came last april from jared palmer , richey reneberg was ready . palmer proposed that they play doubles together . " i did n't have to think twice about it , " reneberg said today . " i felt we 'd make a strong team . " it was a distinctive meshing of a top level service returner in reneberg with one of the world 's top volleyers , palmer . " i always knew that he and i had the potential to be a team that could represent the u.s . on a regular basis , " palmer said . and so it has come to pass . a week after winning the australian open doubles title , the pair gave the united_states a 2 1 edge over france in the first round of davis_cup by defeating guy_forget and oliver delaitre , 6 4 , 3 6 , 6 3 , 6 4 , today . the victory before 4 , 052 inside the bayfront center arena gives the united_states two chances on sunday to advance in this three of five match competition . in the first match , todd_martin , who lost badly to cedric pioline on friday , will play forget , himself a loser to jim_courier . courier will then take on pioline . " if there 's one day in the year i want to play my best tennis , it 's sunday , " forget said . the 30 year old left hander came in today with a 16 2 record in davis_cup doubles , but this clearly was a day he wo n't want to remember . french coach yannick noah estimated that forget is playing at 80 percent physically after two knee surgeries since 1993 . and because of delaitre 's request , forget agreed to play in the deuce court , where being a left hander hurt him on many slicing serves . " i could n't get my returns together , especially in the third and fourth sets , " forget said . palmer and reneberg won the first set in large part by breaking forget 's service at 2 2 . reneberg hit two winners to put the frenchmen in an 0 40 hole and , after palmer hit a wide forehand , reneberg clinched the game with a rocketing return of forget 's service . france got the break in the second set , on palmer 's service . today represented the sixth event in which palmer and reneberg have played together . they 've won two tournaments , finished second once and reached the quarterfinals on another occasion . and now they 're 1 1 in davis_cup competition . " i think they have the game to dominate for a long time if they stay together , " said tom_gullikson , the united_states team captain . palmer , a new york city native who now lives in nearby tampa , made perhaps the shot of the match in the third set 's third game , with the united_states on the verge of having its service broken . his shoe top volley clipped the back line , and the u.s . went on to win the game . noah called the shot a " miracle . " said gullikson " eighty percent reaction , 20 percent luck . " gullikson was asked if he feels some peace of mind knowing france needs to win both of sunday 's matches to pull out the tie . " i 'll have peace of mind when we get to three , " he said . becker , stich clinch victory ( by the associated press ) for the sake of the davis_cup , boris_becker and michael stich put aside their personal rivalry yesterday in karlsruhe , germany , and clinched a 3 0 victory for the germans over croatia in the first round . becker and stich were 6 4 , 7 6 ( 7 3 ) , 7 5 winners over croatia 's goran_ivanisevic and sasa hirszon . also advancing was russia , last year 's runner up . in antwerp , yevgeny_kafelnikov and andrei olhovskiy beat libor pimek and filip dewulf of belgium , 2 6 , 7 5 , 7 5 , 6 3 , and gave russia a 3 0 lead . sweden , the defending champion , stayed alive by winning in copenhagen . jan apell and jonas bjorkman defeated kenneth carlsen and morten christensen , 6 7 ( 6 8 ) , 6 3 , 6 4 , 6 2 . denmark still has a 2 1 lead . taking 2 1 leads with victories in doubles were italy , austria and the netherlands . tennis	has a location of france
the narrow roads winding through the snowy mountains of the savoy region of france are a different topography from charles kuralt 's usual rural travels along the backroads of america for cbs . but kuralt 's gentle , let the news proceed without me approach has found a welcome home at the 1992 winter_olympics . he does n't have his " on the road " bus or izzy , his cameraman , or larry , his soundman . just a little ford , a producer , peter schweitzer , and rambling conversations about what to do next . but kuralt has grown comfortable with his tales and essays of the savoy . " these have all been little 'on the road' stories , " he said in a telephone chat friday . " the kind you can find easily in america you can find here . " as he talked , the united_states unified team hockey game had entered the second period and kuralt was nearly alone in the broadcast center in moutiers . " i 'm writing an essay for the closing ceremonies , a thank you note to the savoy , with pretty pictures and rural folks , " he said . kuralt 's alpine travels have led him away from the crowds filling the hockey arena or the downhill slopes . he did n't come to france to cover any events , which works out well because , he said , " i have n't seen one second of competition . " he profiled the mothers of figure skaters the " icemeister , " the man who devotedly tends to the tricky ice at the speed_skating venue a latvian bobsledder , and a wisconsin curler . " i 'm not much of a winter sports fan , " kuralt said . " i 'm a baseball fan . i grew up in north_carolina and never saw a pair of skates or skis . but i kind of got interested in curling . there 's more to it than you think . there 's a great deal or subtlety and strategy . it 's a lot more than shuffleboard . " kuralt has been the most regular presence from cbs_news . mike wallace starred in a few features . morley safer was around , but not much . dan rather appeared , but looked hopelessly stiff and out of place on pat o'brien 's late night , rock and roll party . " i was reluctant to do this because i thought it would be a zoo , " kuralt said . " in a sense it is if you 're trying to cover the men 's downhill . but it 's been possible to get away . " kuralt got away to seek out his slovenian roots among those who traveled to watch the team from slovenia which until the recent civil_war was a part of yugoslavia competing for the first time independently . in a lighthearted feature , kuralt climbed an alp to the chalet slovenia to ask if people knew his name . one after another knew the name , which is common in slovenia . kuralt was also the surname of a heroic slovenian skier . " imagine , " kuralt asked during the piece , " a national hero named kuralt . that must be a very nice nation . " the piece had its own roots in an ancestral search undertaken by kuralt 's brother , who invited all the kuralts in a tiny slovenian village 's telephone book to a party . " they all came , " kuralt said . " the kuralts who were n't in the phone book were upset that they were n't invited . " kuralt superbly tied his sense of journalism to his feel for the unusual in a feature about a group of marines who , in 1944 , parachuted into what is now the cross_country field at les saisies to aid the french_resistance . after a shootout with a convoy of german soldiers , three of the marines surrendered to save the village in which they were trapped from being burned down . " the young men skiing across the plain at les saisies do n't know what happened , " he said in the piece . " they were not born when seven young americans about their age landed in this field to bring arms and hope to france . " kuralt will leave the savoy feeling warmth toward the notoriously cool french . " they 've been so nice , " he said . " if your only experience in france is paris , you think the french are haughty and rude , but gee , i have n't run into any of that . that 's true in most rural areas , which is why i 've traveled to rural places for 25 years . people have more time for you . " after a few days of relaxation in geneva , kuralt will return to his sunday morning program next sunday . soon after , he 'll return to his bus with izzy and larry to explore again his beloved rural byways . and , he said , he 'll return for the 1994 winter_olympics , in lillehammer , norway , which cbs will also broadcast . " if they want me , i 'll go , " he said . " if i 'm still around . when you get to be 57 , two years seems a long time . " airwaves the women 's figure_skating finals at the winter_olympics recorded a 25 . 0 rating with a 40 share for cbs , raising the network 's 14 night average to 19 . 4 30 , 3 percent greater than the comparable period for abc during the 1988 calgary winter_olympics . although abc earned only a 14 . 5 25 for the comparable friday night in 1988 , it posted a 26 . 4 43 rating for the saturday night it aired the women 's figure_skating finals . each rating point equals 921 , 000 television households . a share is the percentage of televisions in use that are tuned to a particular program . tv sports	has a location of france
argentina 's idle soccer star , diego_maradona , said yesterday that he might continue his professional career in france if the italian club naples releases him from his contract . the 31 year old world_cup hero , banned from the sport for 15 months for failing a drug_test , told a local news_agency that after a stint in france he would like to finish with the buenos_aires first division team boca juniors , with which he originally made his name . ( reuter ) sports people soccer	has a location of france
a student strike against government moves toward a europewide system of degrees and higher tuition spread to 17 universities . the strikes started in rennes in brittany two weeks ago . standard european diplomas have three levels , while in france there are five . h l ne fouquet ( nyt )	has a location of france
prime_minister lionel_jospin said today that the french government was ready to step in and push air_france pilots and management to settle a strike that has grounded most of the airline 's flights just as hundreds of thousands of soccer fans begin to pour in for the world_cup soccer tournament . with air_france the official carrier of the games , which start here on wednesday , the strike over a management demand that its highly compensated pilots take a 26 , 000 pay cut in exchange for company stock has embarrassed the country . the strike began last monday , and negotiations broke off early this morning . ''it is not the world_cup that concerns me , '' mr . jospin said this morning . ''it 's the recovery under way of the company and its future . i believe everyone must be concerned about this , and for that reason if the government can be useful , naturally respecting the autonomy of the management , we will play a role in the hours to come . '' after skirting bankruptcy in 1994 , the airline merged its operations with those of air_inter , the state owned domestic airline . last year it went into the black for the first time since 1989 , earning 414 million . but mr . jospin 's socialist coalition_government canceled the previous leadership 's plan to privatize the state owned carrier , prompting the chief executive who had presided over the airline 's recovery , christian blanc , to resign in protest . the french government decided in february to sell 20 percent of the shares to employees and private investors later this year . officials in the prime_minister 's office said today that he had not yet decided what to do , but that he might appoint a mediator . the main pilots' union said some progress had been made toward an agreement that would meet the airline 's demand for a savings of 84 million over three to five years in the salaries of its 3 , 200 pilots . management says it needs the savings to compete with more efficient carriers . air_france says it now pays the highest pilot salaries in the world , an average of more than 10 , 000 a month , counting payroll taxes and benefits . with the government 's backing , the airline had proposed giving shares to the pilots when 20 percent of it is offered to public investors . the daily le_monde said the pilots were close to accepting an agreement , if it was voluntary and if they received a guarantee of what the stock they got would be worth . management , now under jean cyril spinetta , has said it will give up a two tier salary system if new pilots reimburse the company for their training expenses . under the two tier system , newly hired pilots start at an average of 53 , 000 a year , 5 , 000 less than the previous minimum starting salary . early this morning , negotiators for the union that represents all but 600 of the pilots stormed out of the talks at charles de gaulle airport outside paris without explanation . later , the union accused management of trying to reach a deal separately with a minority of the pilots , and warned that doing so would only deepen the impasse . ''if we do not find an agreement on monday , '' the union 's chief , jean charles corbet , said , ''then i would say that the world_cup will start without air_france planes . '' the airline has said it will take at least two days to get schedules back to normal after a settlement . in the last week , air_france has canceled most of its european flights , and many trans_atlantic passengers have found themselves booked on other carriers , from british_airways to pakistan international airlines , despite assurances that their planes would continue to fly as scheduled . ''the world_cup will go ahead as usual , '' mr . jospin said today . ''the french do not need to take a plane to go to the matches , nor do europeans , while there will be plenty of other airlines to bring everyone else here instead of air_france . ''	has a location of france
near sill le guillaume , a rural patch of western france , ginette sybille moves some 8 , 000 fowls , 150 swine and 120 head of cattle on and off her 395 acre farm each year . she conducts most of her business with slaughterhouses in the region , but each time an animal changes hands , mrs . sybille has to register the transaction online with the government . ''we are managing with our dial up internet connection , '' she said , ''but a faster one would make a big difference . '' sill le guillaume 's 6 , 500 residents call it ''grove country . '' but the area 's top official , michel quillet , is aiming for a new nickname ''rural technopolis . '' by may , it will become france 's first testing ground for rural deployment of high speed internet_service using the wireless networking standard called wi_fi . wi_fi short for wireless fidelity , and also known as 802 . 11b allows computer users equipped with special network cards to connect wirelessly over a radio frequency to a ground station providing high speed internet_service . its use is booming in airport lounges , hotels and cafes worldwide , but it is only starting to gain attention as an alternative to cable or phone lines for residential and commercial internet_service . until last november , france 's regulatory_agency for communications barred public use of wi_fi networks , whose frequencies had been reserved for military use . now , 38 of france 's 95 administrative jurisdictions , or departments , are authorized to experiment with wi_fi . ''we realized it could help rural communities , '' said jean_fran_ois hernandez , an agency spokesman . while only about 1.5 million internet users in france have high speed connections at home through cable or phone lines , wiring is in place to provide such service to about three quarters of france 's 59 million residents . the prospects for increasing availability are limited , however , because operators say investment in rural areas is too costly . increasingly , rural residents thus feel stranded , even threatened . ''we are already so far removed , '' said xavier de la hitte , a graphic_designer in the southwestern town of st . antonin noble val , ''that we are the people who need broadband most . without it , our businesses are doomed . '' when he moved from toulouse to the countryside in 1995 , mr . de la hitte considered his business competitive . but once other firms had high speed internet_access over phone lines and could send clients hefty graphic files with ease , he realized he was in trouble . france t l com , which operates the town 's phone network , had no plans to offer such service locally . so st . antonin and a neighboring commune , caylus , joined to propose a trial internet connection using a wi_fi network linked to a satellite receiver . altitude t l com , based in the northern city of rouen , is the operator for the sill le guillaume effort . a company engineer , bertrand lebarbier , said he saw the potential for 6 , 000 subscribers . altitude t l com is measuring demand to determine the number of antennas that will circle the commune . each must be linked by another radio based technology , known as fixed wireless , to altitude 's network in alen on , 20 miles away . mr . lebarbier said the network would cost 270 , 000 and take about a month to put in place . the le de r , an island of 15 , 000 residents off the atlantic_coast , is also getting ready for wi_fi , but with a different approach . olivier zablocki , a land development consultant , has received a license to build a network of 120 wi_fi locations on the island , connected to 10 satellite dishes providing the net connection . he has formed a cooperative whose 120 members will underwrite 80 percent of the venture , which he expects to become profitable within three years . mr . zablocki said that public_access to wireless_networks was overdue . ''citizens , the very people who build networks , do n't have the freedom to use them ? '' he asked . ''that policy did n't make any sense . ''	has a location of france
france replaced a regional school board president , alain morvan , for vigorously opposing a new muslim high_school in a lyon suburb and for publicly complaining about pressure from the government to stop obstructing its opening . the school began admitting students this month after an eight month struggle with mr . morvan , who said the school 's founders were ''fundamentalists . '' it is the third islamic school in france . john_tagliabue	has a location of france
two days after the government moved to outlaw a neo_nazi group called radical unity , a french judge ordered the group 's web_site closed down , noting that it displayed anti semitic material in violation of a law prohibiting promotion of hatred and racial violence . radical unity , a shadowy group with some 2 , 000 followers , gained notoriety last month after a member , maxime brunerie , tried to kill president jacques_chirac on bastille day . fabrice robert , a radical unity leader , said the ruling proved that france was a democratic dictatorship . alan riding ( nyt )	has a location of france
like many sons of horsemen , julien leparoux grew up around his father 's barn counting the days until he became a jockey . robert leparoux , however , wanted more for his boy . he wanted julien to become a financier , a lawyer , anything but a pint sized athlete who tempts fate nine times a day on the back of a fast moving 1 , 200 pound athlete . at 14 , julien pleaded with his father , an assistant trainer , to allow him to enter a jockey academy near his home in chantilly , france . robert refused . ''he told me the horses would wait , that after i went to regular school , i could do whatever i wanted , '' julien said . so julien went to school , studied hard and became a better than average student . schoolbooks , however , failed to dampen his passion for the horses . as soon as he graduated , he began as an exercise rider for trainers in france . it was a start , but robert knew his son needed a better leg up if he was to succeed in a dangerous career . his son had kept up his end of their agreement , so robert urged julien to contact an old acquaintance , a trainer named patrick biancone whose skill at developing fast horses was rivaled only by his reputation for turning out top riders like the perennial french star olivier peslier . it was 2003 , and biancone was based in america . he was willing to take julien on , but he wanted julien to understand that , in addition to undertaking a transcontinental move , he would have to endure a long education . ''i told him that he was going to begin by cleaning stalls , and if he did well , then i 'd let him gallop a few horses , but there were no guarantees , '' biancone said . ''i like turning out finished products . i believe great jockeys are like great racecar drivers . they understand everything about the machine they are on or in . they need a foundation . '' three years later , leparoux is an exemplar of the benefits of arrested development when it comes to grooming race riders . he is 23 , old by apprentice , or rookie jockey , standards , but he leads the nation in victories with 279 and is 11th in earnings . his mounts have won more than 6 . 7 million . hot ''bug boys , '' as apprentice jockeys are called , are as ubiquitous in racing as promising 2 year old colts . many trainers like to use apprentices because of the 5 to 10 pound break in weight they are allowed as novices in everyday races . apprentices rarely put up big numbers once they graduate to become journeymen jockeys and ride at equal weight , because trainers no longer have an incentive to put a less experienced rider on their horses . no one , however , expects leparoux to fall from the standings when he loses his apprentice status in late september . since a stealth debut at saratoga race course last summer , he is turning in an apprentice campaign that is perhaps rivaled only by steve cauthen 's . cauthen was named champion apprentice as a teenager in 1977 and swept the triple_crown aboard affirmed the next year . leparoux won the riding title at turfway park in northern kentucky in the winter spring meet with a meet record 167 victories . next , he went to keeneland race course in lexington , one of the nation 's toughest circuits , and tied for the top jockey title with rafael bejarano to become the first apprentice in the storied track 's history to do so . he came here from churchill_downs in louisville , where he rode to a meet leading 87 victories . in running off with 13 stakes races 6 of them graded , where weight concessions are not allowed for apprentices leparoux has demonstrated that , pound for pound , he is as skilled as any rider . jerry_bailey , the recently retired hall of fame jockey , first took notice of leparoux here last summer , when leparoux won three times from 20 mounts and piloted his horses around the oval as if he had already ridden 2 , 000 races . ''you could tell then he was very talented , and very , very patient , '' said bailey , now an analyst for espn abc_sports . ''what i 'm most impressed with now is how calm and thoughtful he is in these big stakes races . usually when riders get thrown into the fire , it takes them years to find that sort of calmness . '' while leparoux credits much of his success to biancone 's painstaking tutelage and to the fact that he rides first call for his powerful stable , biancone says his investment in leparoux was a privilege that he knew would eventually pay dividends . leparoux is a fixture at barn 86 here , coiling his 5 foot 5 , 108 pound frame onto several horses a morning for workouts . he makes far more in the afternoons now than he did as a 50 a week groom for biancone , but his work ethic remains the same . ''he is not one of the great riders yet , but he 's going to be , '' biancone said . ''he 's a gifted horseman . now all he has to learn is not to overanalyze things . michael_jordan did not think about why he could jump past someone he just did it . that 's all julien has to do . '' leparoux 's agent , steve bass , said that robert leparoux 's wish for his son to get an education might have kept him from the track for four years , but it had benefited him off it . in a deep and talented jockey colony at saratoga that includes eclipse award champions like john velazquez and kentucky_derby winners like edgar prado , jose santos , mike smith and kent desormeaux , leparoux is much in demand . as the opening week of the meeting comes to a close , leparoux is averaging six mounts a day and , with three victories , is tied for third in the standings . ''he 's a smart kid and courteous around owners , '' bass said . ''when he gets off a horse , he can tell a trainer exactly how it went and what he thinks it needs . he 's mature and has some polish . '' last april on the final day of the keeneland meeting , leparoux experienced , in a harrowing split second , what his father had feared most about his son 's ambition to become a jockey . in the stretch , his horse , a first time starter named sanibel storm , ducked into the inside rail and launched leparoux into an aerial somersault into the infield . remarkably , he sprang to his feet and began waving his whip as if he were angry or frustrated . leparoux said that was not the case at all . he was exuberant . ''i was celebrating the fact i was not injured , '' he said . he also said he was thinking of his father . robert leparoux died in 2003 as his son 's education in race riding was just beginning . his son has little doubt that the success he is enjoying now is because of him . his father taught him about horses as a boy . he then insisted julien go to a real school so he could be a better man . ''he wanted me to happy , '' he said , ''he wanted me to do what i wanted to do . he knew this was it . '' horse_racing	has a location of france
ignoring opposition from muslim leaders within france and beyond , president jacques_chirac on wednesday called for a new law banning the wearing of head_scarves for muslim girls , large crosses for christians and skullcaps for jewish boys in public schools . in a speech at lys e palace broadcast live on television , mr . chirac recalled centuries of history that , he said , defined france as a guarantor of individual liberty , and said the secular identity of the french_state was at stake . if france succumbs to the demands of its religious communities , mr . chirac said , ''it would sacrifice its heritage it would compromise its future it would lose its soul . '' calling secularism a ''pillar of our constitution , '' he said that he would urge parliament to pass the law in time for the start of the next school year , in september 2004 . ''in all conscience , i believe that the wearing of dress or symbols that conspicuously show religious affiliation should be banned in schools , '' mr . chirac told an audience of 400 guests , including members of the cabinet and parliament , representatives of the major political_parties and religious , human_rights and union leaders . he added ''the islamic veil whatever name we give it the yarmulke and a cross that is of plainly excessive dimensions these have no place inside public schools . state schools will remain secular . for that a law is necessary . '' mr . chirac was responding to an official report presented to him last week on the place of religion in french society and how best to preserve the french republican ideal separating church and state . among other proposals from the expert commission mr . chirac appointed in july was a recommendation that public schools add religious holidays , like yom_kippur for jews and id al kebir for muslims , a proposal that mr . chirac rejected in his speech on wednesday . more holidays would burden working parents , he said , but he added that students should be able to take time off for their religious holidays , so important exams should not be given on such days . but mr . chirac embraced the commission 's recommendation to pass a law banning ''conspicuous'' religious symbols but allowing ' 'discreet'' ones . as the argumentative french news_media have been pointing out , there is no indication of who will make that determination , or how . mr . chirac also called for a law to prevent patients from refusing treatment by a doctor or health_care professional of the opposite sex for the development of the teaching of basic religious facts in schools for a ''code of secularism'' for civil_servants to use as a guide in the workplace and for the creation of a watchdog agency to monitor violations . although mr . chirac spoke about the general need to prevent religion from encroaching into the public sphere , it is the increasing demands of france 's growing muslim population and the wearing of the islamic veil that has infused the issue with new urgency . many schools quietly allow girls to keep their heads covered . but there is a conviction , both within the government and among a large swath of society , that the veil is as much a defiant political challenge as it is a religious display . at the same time , leaders of the country 's christian and jewish communities have joined muslim leaders in criticizing a ban . the struggle to integrate france 's estimated five million muslims into french society is also a hot_button political issue , one that has been exploited by the far right national front , which has criticized the chirac government for not being tough enough on crime and illegal_immigration . regional elections are scheduled for march , and with the country suffering high unemployment and a poor economy , mr . chirac 's government has been losing popularity . in his speech , mr . chirac acknowledged the alienation of france 's muslim youth . ''i share the feeling of incomprehension , of disarray and sometimes even of revolt by those young french people immigrants by origin whose job applications go into the garbage because of the sound of their names , '' he said , ''and who are too often faced with discrimination when they want to find housing or even get into a place of recreation . ''all the children of france , whatever their background , whatever their origin , whatever their belief , are daughters and sons of the republic . '' mr . chirac 's announcement follows the recent unveiling of draft legislation by the german states of bavaria and baden w rttemberg to ban muslim teachers from wearing head_scarves in public schools .	has a location of france
howard carter , a former louisiana_state forward who has been playing basketball in france , was charged with buying and using drugs after the police arrested him and seized a dose of heroin , the authorities in le havre said yesterday . carter , 33 , freed on friday , was arrested with five suspected drug dealers in the stairwell of a building shortly before his team , pau orthez , was to play saint thomas le havre on tuesday . his case is to be heard in court april 25 , and carter was suspended by the team until his court appearance . if found guilty , he faces five years in prison . ( ap ) sports people basketball	has a location of france
a videocassette is making the rounds in this small , thoroughbred rich community an hour 's drive north from paris . it is a cassette containing footage of the breeders' cup juvenile in churchill_downs last nov . 2 , a race in which a lamorlaye resident named arazi exploded past 13 other horses to win by 4 3 4 lengths and become an instant kentucky_derby favorite . " we 've all seen it five or six times , " said yves de chevigny , director of the training sites in lamorlaye and nearby chantilly . " arazi was the porsche . the others were the motor scooters . " robert durepaire , arazi 's assistant trainer , prefers another analogy " it was like an american film . the horse starts in last place to build the suspense . then he blows everybody away for the happy ending . i just hope this film is n't finished . " durepaire need not worry the suspense is building again . arazi , the kentucky born chestnut colt with the extra gear , has resumed full workouts in lamorlaye under the watch of his silver haired french trainer , francois boutin . horse and trainer spend the early morning on an enormous , rolling expanse of terrain called " les aigles , " a short walk from boutin 's estate and 200 horse stable . arazi spends the remainder of the day in an inconspicuous barn at the end of a narrow street lined with middle_class residences . trying to be a european first no european trained horse has won the kentucky_derby ( the british trained bold arrangement finished second in 1986 ) , but an arazi victory would be more than a coup for old world racing . it would set a precedent for economical preparation . american trained 3 year olds normally race three , four or five times before trying the mile and a quarter derby . arazi will only race once in the 1 , 600 meter prix omnium in saint_cloud , france , on april 7 . that race , like most in this country , will be on grass . boutin selected it , in part , because saint_cloud is the only major french track where horses run clockwise , as they do in the united_states , instead of counterclockwise . according to churchill_downs records , which date only to 1955 , no horse has raced in the kentucky_derby with only one start as a 3 year old . fifteen have raced with two starts in that span , including one winner , sunny 's halo in 1983 . " i think that for arazi , one race is enough , " said boutin . " maybe i 'm fooling myself , and if things do n't work out , people can say it 's my fault . but arazi is a horse who ran a lot as a 2 year old . he does n't need a lot of racework to show what he can do . he prepares very quickly . he 's not a horse to put on weight . this should be no problem for him . " was this really necessary ? boutin , 55 , is a farmer 's son from the normandy region who has been one of france 's top trainers for the last decade . he expressed confidence in the health of his colt , who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in kentucky to remove bone chips in his left and right forelegs just four days after his breeders' cup victory . " he 's fine . i see no difference , " boutin said . " but i must admit that personally , i was against the operation . it was n't necessary . he was n't suffering in the least . " the decision to operate was made by arazi 's co owners allen e . paulson , an american aerospace executive , and sheik mohammed ibn rashid al maktoum of dhubai , who purchased a half share of the colt last october . " after we bought our share , we had arazi x rayed all over , and they picked up some small lesions on his knees , " said anthony stroud , a briton who manages sheik mohammed 's breeding farm in newmarket . " the veterinarians recommended arthroscopic removal , and we believe in listening to veterinarians . " safe in his stall arazi resumed light workouts in france in mid december and resumed full workouts on feb . 15 . the two thick bandages he wears in his stall are the only physical evidence of the operation . " just a precaution , " durepaire said . " we do n't want him banging into anything . " the majority of arazi 's work is done on the sand tracks that rim les aigles , which is the centerpiece of a thoroughbred community that includes 100 trainers and over 3 , 000 horses . on tuesdays and saturdays , arazi takes to the grass , where he runs in a group of other horses in an attempt to simulate competition . this approach is rare in the united_states , where horses often train alone on the same dirt tracks where they race . although arazi will not race on dirt before the derby , boutin plans to run him twice on the dirt track in lamorlaye , which is the only dirt track in france and based partly on the design of santa anita in california . arazi trained there before the breeders' cup . a smooth transition " i think arazi already has proved that he can make the transition from grass to dirt , " said the american trainer charlie whittingham . " he blew by them others like they were tied . " while americans are busy comparing him to secretariat and swaps , the french are busy comparing him to their sea bird , who in 1965 won the epsom derby , the most prestigious race in europe . " we see a horse like this once every 30 years , " said de chevigny . the french are quick to point out that his sire , blushing groom , and mother , danseur fabuleux , each trained for a time in france . " arazi is really very french in his style , " boutin said . " in my mind , he 's most marked by weld risk , a french horse who was the grandfather of blushing groom . i knew weld risk well . he could handle distance , and i think arazi can , too . " arazi came to lamorlaye in december 1990 , after boutin picked him out of a group of paulson 's yearlings who had been selected for their " european " potential . " mr . paulson 's manager showed me 12 horses , and i was permitted to choose five , " boutin said . " i liked arazi from the start . " the colt placed second in his first race as a 2 year old and then won his next six starts all on grass heading into the breeders' cup . his first victory came in a low level 1 , 200 meter race his last three came in grade i events , including the 1 , 600 meter grand criterium , france 's most prestigious race for 2 year olds . " he 's got a big engine , simple as that , " said john hammond , an englishman who is one of the top trainers in france . " and like all great horses , he has a marvelous turn of foot . " arazi also appears to be blessed with a fine temperament . first time visitors to his stall are greeted with a rub of the nose and a lick . " he 's very curious about everything around him and extremely easy going , " said raymond lamonarca , arazi 's groom and exercise rider . " he can fall asleep in a flash . nothing seems to bother him . you put some horses on an airplane , and they panic . you put arazi on an airplane , and it 's just like another day in his stall . " arazi has grown about a half inch and gained some weight in his haunches since his 2 year old campaign but remains a colt of average size and unremarkable appearance . " he 's not a whole lot to look at , " said jockey steve cauthen , who won the triple_crown aboard affirmed in 1978 and will ride arazi for the first time in saint_cloud . " but once he starts moving , he 's exceptional . he reminds me a lot of affirmed in comportment and demeanor and intelligence . my only hope is that i get to ride him more than once . " two jockeys , two continents because of a pre purchase agreement between sheik mohammed and paulson , cauthen , who is based in england and under contract with the sheik , will ride arazi only in europe . when arazi races in the united_states , he will wear paulson 's colors and be ridden by paulson 's jockey of choice , patrick valenzuela . " it would , of course , be better to have just one jockey , " boutin said . " but what can we do ? " the more provocative question is what arazi will do if he wins the kentucky_derby . paulson would like arazi to race for the triple_crown , but there is a strong possibility that the colt would skip the final two legs and return to europe to train for the epsom derby on june 3 in england . no horse has ever won the kentucky_derby and epsom derby . " we will discuss it with mr . paulson prior to the kentucky_derby and probably wo n't arrive at any decisions until after , " stroud said . " obviously , we would favor a european campaign . " whatever arazi does this summer , he will spend the bulk of his future in europe . as part of the purchase agreement , he will stand at stud for sheik mohammed in newmarket . " we feel he will greatly enhance the breed in europe , " stroud said . " that was our main reason for going ahead and buying part of this horse . " for the moment , however , arazi 's spirit belongs to neither paulson nor the sheik . it belongs to lamorlaye and the region of chantilly , where thorougbreds have been training and racing since the early 19th_century . " this is really marvelous , " de chevigny said . " we are beginning to believe that our community is home to the best horse in the world . " horse racing correction march 21 , 1992 , saturday a sports article yesterday about the french race horse arazi referred incorrectly to the track where he will make his competitive debut as a 3 year old . the track , saint_cloud , is the only major one in france where horses run counterclockwise , as they do in the united_states .	has a location of france
bernard tapie was charged yesterday in valenciennes , france , with complicity in a corruption case involving olympique marseilles . he was ordered to step down as team president by april 20 . judge bernard beffy also charged tapie with witness tampering in the bribery scandal , which caused european soccer authorities to ban the team from defending its european_cup title . beffy placed tapie under judicial surveillance , forbid him to contact people involved in the case and ordered him to pay a 43 , 000 bond . ( ap ) sports people soccer	has a location of france
sometimes tennis has little to do with hitting a ball over a net . sure , the french take the game seriously , and the two week spring ritual known as the french_open or roland_garros in france attracts the world 's best players . but as important as the defeat of the williams sisters on wednesday is the action off the court . even the real mr . garros was not much of a tennis_player . a record breaking aviator who preferred rugby , he spent three years in a german prison camp and then escaped , only to be killed in battle in 1918 . but he was such a popular hero that france named its international tennis_tournament and stadium after him . so perhaps it is not surprising that the roland_garros complex on the edge of the bois de boulogne is a somewhat artificial world . the 20 acre , 19 court site is at once an upscale theme_park and an open air corporate boardroom . here , deals are done , products are promoted , hooky is played , frenchness is celebrated . in the past few days , sting and jean paul belmondo have turned up . last weekend , interior_minister dominique de villepin played a game of doubles on a side court . ''it 's the first open air event of the season , a reminder that it 's time to leave the office and capture the feeling of well being , '' said fabien grobon , the tournament 's director of corporate sponsors . ''the women are beautiful , the atmosphere is pleasant , the food is good . '' undeniably , the mystique of tennis and france is inseparable from roland_garros . unlike flushing_meadows , the semi industrial mega stadium in queens where the united_states open is played , roland_garros is set amid hydrangeas , bamboo , red and purple bougainvillea and maple , chestnut and palm trees . it is the only grand_slam_tournament played on clay ( three inches of limestone coated with crushed red brick ) , allowing linesmen to inspect ball marks with cartesian precision . roses have been specially bred for roland_garros . ( the steffi_graf is large and pink the flushing_meadows is small and coral colored . ) the center court is lined with perfectly trimmed red geraniums . hostesses with the french tennis federation , which runs the tournament , wear tight fitting white suits and pointy pumps designed by dior . the food concessions smell of belgian waffles and nutella , not crisco . important games are broadcast not only on french television but also to more than 190 other countries . in fact , only about 20 percent of the tournament 's revenue is drawn from ticket sales the rest comes from television rights and corporate sponsoring . that helps makes roland_garros one of the country 's biggest marketing events , generating nearly 240 million in revenues last year for the french economy . next to the center court , l' cole des hautes tudes commerciales , france 's elite business school , has a private area of tables and chairs partly hidden by trees and sun umbrellas where alumni can meet friends and business contacts . sponsors like adidas and i.b.m . use private boxes at courtside and corporate spaces at private restaurants to reward their best clients with free champagne and meals . bnp_paribas , the french bank and the main corporate sponsor , invites 5 , 600 guests to the tournament every year . its most successful media moment in recent years came in 2001 when former president bill clinton sat in the tennis federation 's v.i.p . box just above the bnp_paribas banner . ''the impact is enormous for us , '' said antoine sire , director of communications for the bank . the annual investment of nearly 10 million is , he added , ' 'very good value for the money . '' roland_garros also brings together dozens of french and foreign corporations that rent booths and hawk their wares to potential customers . one of those , al_jazeera sport , a new satellite television_channel of the al_jazeera arabic_language news service , is broadcasting roland_garros matches to the arab_world . in central paris , meanwhile , tennis themes abound . louis_vuitton is featuring a 2 , 700 leather tennis racquet carrier with a shoulder strap . chanel has 550 high heeled sandals with net heels and monogrammed tennis ball pompoms on the toe . peugeot , one of the main sponsors , manufacturers a special roland_garros car every year . but on another level , roland_garros is a great leveler of french society , thrusting together the political , business and social elite with ordinary lovers of what used to be an exclusively upper_class sport . ''you have people who come with their sandwiches full of mayonnaise , who open their umbrella when there is just a drop of rain and forget to close their cellphones , '' said anne_marie waser , a sports sociologist and author of a book on the democratization of tennis in france . ''and you have the connoisseurs , those who created the roland_garros ambiance , who keep quiet and eat their strawberries with whipped cream . the two groups have to coexist . that 's democratization . '' there is an ambitious plan to build a satellite stadium on a nearby plot of land if paris succeeds in becoming the site for the summer_olympics in 2012 . but the project is bitterly opposed by some neighbors and politicians who feel that the roland_garros already has too much of an impact on paris . ''the roland_garros people are very good in business and want to make money and that 's perfectly fine , '' said fran_ois douady , president of a group called the preservation of the bois de boulogne . ''but we cannot let them grab more pieces of the green parts of paris . '' paris journal	has a location of france
life looks very good from the top of the french_alps , where prince albert of monaco can be seen cavorting when aristocrats are in season , and where downhill racers begin their breakneck journeys through fat snowflakes during the winter_olympics . at the highest courchevel settlement , host to international_olympic_committee officials , chalets sell for 45 , 000 francs per square meter ( about 760 per square_foot ) , among the most expensive rates in all of france . here at meribel , site of the olympic ice_hockey tournament and the women 's alpine events , french and american tourists spend the equivalent of 100 on taxi rides to shuttle buses . but down in the valley , where the figure and speed_skating events are being held in drizzly albertville , year round residents are trying to cope with a sagging economy and with an olympics they often cannot attend because of prohibitive ticket prices . " people from the valleys do n't even go skiing anymore because it 's more and more expensive , " said renaud perroux , an 18 year old security guard at the pechiney electrometallurgie ( p . e.m. ) plant outside d'aiguebelle . " maybe the olympics will be good for tourism . but in the valley , we are more worried about the industry . if it closes , there will be a lot of unemployment . " high up looking down at the venues of the albertville olympics , where three valleys and five mountains provide incongruous backdrops , status is measured by altitude . one thousand meters straight up can cost a chalet renter several thousand francs extra per month . the inn crowd at ethereal meribel , val_d'isere and courchevel is very different than the more modest visitors at brides_les_bains , halfway down the mountain , who pay reasonable rental prices for their soothing thermal baths . " everybody wants to go higher to the top , " said xavier clouet , a real_estate agent in la tania , who lives lower , down in the valley , in bozel . " i would like to live there , too , but . . . " clouet rubbed his thumb and forefinger together , the universal sign for money , and access . a typical family house sells for about 800 , 000 francs in the valley , 25 percent more at intermediate elevations , another 50 percent more higher up . so clouet stays below . " i am in the tourist business , " he said . " for me , the mountain is my factory . " for most , however , the mountains of the savoy region are winter playgrounds . each resort has its own personality and draws its own clientele . courchevel , built around five levels of increasingly expensive chalets as it rises to 1 , 850 meters , plays host to the richest international set . variety in the heights meribel , originally built by the british , draws french , british and american tourists . les menuires is for french professionals , mostly doctors and lawyers . val thorens is so high , at 2 , 300 meters , that it attracts only the fittest and richest of the young set . the olympics have not brought more business to these resorts , but they have enhanced the region 's image with their glamorous world class skiers , sledders and telegenic events . down in the valley , however , there is a concern that the working people are being overlooked , priced out of the olympics . automation has cut into the job market along the lower tarentaise valley , where strings of rudimentary factories were built 100 years ago to take advantage of the isere river . there is no fun money here . at the p.e.m . factory , nine employees have become olympic volunteers , working for no pay at venues , to see the events . tickets for preliminary round hockey matches , ranging from 24 to 60 , are simply too costly . " for us , the olympics mean nothing , " said joseph de la bastie , director of p.e.m . " we export our products . but we can hope that in the long run , these sports will mean jobs for the region . " sense of pride there is , at least , a sense of pride among the workers in the valley , who understand that the olympics could not be happening without their efforts . christian lecaillon is manager of the electricite de france hydroelectric plant at la bathie , and he is proud to guide visitors through a subterranean tunnel to a cavernous turbine room in the middle of a mountain . here , there is enough power generated to run the olympic timing scoreboards , press centers and ice rinks . lecaillon will not go to a single olympic event because he must work longer hours during the olympics . " we have put in second lines , made skiing , made special preparations , " lecaillon said . " for us , the snow does not not mean skiing . it means more run off , which is good , and more danger of breakdowns , which is bad . " " in the valley , " lecaillon said , " it is business the same as other days , only maybe busier . " albertville	has a location of france
the national center for space research opened its files on u.f.o . 's , putting them on a web_site that was quickly jammed by heavy traffic . the archive , at www . cnes geipan . fr geipan , spans 50 years . john_tagliabue	has a location of france
patrick biancone , the french born trainer who handles zavata for michael tabor , originally wanted to name the bay colt houdini , as a sort of play on the sire 's name , phone trick . ''but the name was already taken , '' biancone said today . so he named zavata for france 's most famous circus clown . either name would have provided a worthy fit today . in the 100th running of the grade_ii saratoga special stakes , zavata pulled a disappearing act on his four rivals , cruising to a seven and a quarter length victory to reinforce his credentials as the top 2 year old in training . ''he is just so much better than the other ones , '' biancone said in the winner 's circle as he watched a replay of the race . ''he is a galloping machine . '' even though he raced four wide , zavata covered the six and a half furlongs under jerry_bailey in 1 17 . 65 in 93 degree heat on a hazy , humid day . zavata tracked the early leaders before drawing away in the stretch . lone star sky finished second in the 150 , 000 race , three and three quarter lengths ahead of spite the devil , whose progress was impeded on the turn when he was pinched by the eventual fourth place finisher , awesome of course , who had set the early pace . it would not have mattered . zavata , who returned 2 . 90 on a 2 bet to win as the 2 5 favorite , was much the best . ''i really did n't want to get hung that wide on the turn , but he did , '' bailey said . ''but he had the 5 hole and i thought it was best to just leave him in the clear . the track is pretty slow . it was slow this morning . it was slow all day . my horse handled the track o.k . he just lost a lot of ground . it will make a good horse look ordinary , if he is five or six wide , which he was . and he still drew off and won with authority . '' today 's victory was zavata 's third in four career starts . after finishing a fast closing second to the filly holiday runner in the three chimneys juvenile on the kentucky_derby card on may 4 , zavata trounced maiden special weights at belmont by five and a half lengths on may 27 , then rolled to a six and a quarter length victory in the grade iii tremont at belmont on june 29 . biancone 's other star 2 year old colt , whywhywhy , has won the grade iii flash at belmont and the grade_ii sanford here , giving biancone the top two 2 year olds in the east thus far . it is still early , however . and the last derby winner to capture the saratoga special was swale in 1984 . zavata 's bloodlines phone trick and the cox 's ridge mare pert lady would seem to suggest his strength will be as a sprinter . ''for sure , he is bred for speed , '' biancone said . ''but the mother is by cox 's ridge , and there is a little stamina there . a good horse like zavata makes his own statistics . and he is just so much superior at this stage for the competition . '' the key phrase being ''at this stage . '' biancone said he was pointing zavata for the grade i hopeful at seven furlongs here on aug . 31 . next up for whywhywhy , he said , is the grade i futurity at a mile at belmont on sept . 15 . the two could meet in the grade i champagne at belmont on oct . 5 or , more likely , the breeders' cup juvenile at arlington park on oct . 26 . the breeders' cup juvenile will be run at a mile and an eighth this year , a sixteenth of a mile longer than in the past . ''for me , i think it 's better like that , '' biancone said . ''not for the rest . but for me , the longer will be the better . '' whether the same can be said for zavata , nobody yet knows . ''i know it is a long time to the kentucky_derby , '' biancone said , ''but hopefully , he can stay sound and he will stay like that as long as possible . '' finish lines freedom 's daughter , the 2 year old filly who won the grade_ii schuylerville stakes at saratoga in her second career start , died monday of what was diagnosed as colitis x , a large bowel disease of the large intestine . ''it took her by storm , '' her trainer , todd pletcher , told the blood horse magazine . horse_racing	has a location of france
the national_assembly voted by an overwhelming majority on tuesday to ban muslim head_scarves and other religious symbols from public schools , a move that underscores the broad public support for the french secular ideal but is certain to deepen resentment among france 's large muslim population . the 494 to 36 vote , with 31 abstentions , came hours after the minister of national education , luc ferry , said in a radio interview that the law would stretch much further than religious symbols and require all students to attend physical_education classes and accept what is taught on the holocaust and human reproduction . three weeks ago , mr . ferry , a philosopher and best selling author , said bandannas and excessive hairiness would be banned from public schools if they were considered religious signs . the draft law bans ''ostensibly'' religious signs , which have been defined by president jacques_chirac and a government advisory commission as islamic head_scarves , christian crosses that are too large in size and jewish skullcaps . sikh turbans are also likely to be included . but the legislation also includes a lengthy preamble that demands that public schools guarantee total equality , including ''coeducation of all teachings , particularly in sports and physical_education . '' schools , it said , are ''the best tool for planting the roots of the republican idea . '' on tuesday , mr . ferry made clear that religious beliefs could not be used as an excuse to avoid gym or biology classes , and that questioning the veracity of the holocaust would not be tolerated . mr . ferry also said the law ''will keep classrooms from being divided up into militant religious communities , '' noting that there had been a ' 'spectacular rise in racism and anti_semitism in the past three years . '' in recent years , teachers have complained that some muslim students have been so disruptive in rejecting the veracity of the nazi slaughter of the jews that it is impossible to teach the subject . teachers have also said some muslim girls have boycotted classes on human reproduction because they are too graphic , and have demanded sexually segregated gym classes . there are also reports that male and female muslim students have demanded prayer breaks within the standardized baccalaureate exams at the end of high_school and a ban on pork in school cafeterias . in the europe 1 interview , mr . ferry did not single out muslims for censure , but he did not have to . most orthodox_jewish schoolchildren who would object to mixed sex gym and biology classes , for example , go to private jewish schools that are already sex segregated , keep kosher kitchens and teach the torah . the first and only private muslim high_school in all of france opened last fall in lille . despite france 's insistence that secularism must govern french schools , there are exceptions . france spends billions of dollars a year to finance private religious schools , most of them catholic , for example . private religious schools that receive state financing are required to follow the national_curriculum strictly , but policing by the state is not universal . for example , at the merkaz hatorah school for orthodox_jews in the paris suburb of gagny , which receives state financing and was vandalized in an arson attack last november , evolution is taught as a theory , not as fact . ''we do n't teach that man comes from monkeys , '' said jacques benisty , the school 's deputy director , in an interview shortly after the attack . the catholic catechism is taught and the crucifix is hung in public schools in alsace lorraine , which is exempt from france 's 1905 law strictly separating church and state because the area was still in german hands when it was adopted . meanwhile , during a brief debate in parliament , before the adoption of the law , alain bocquet , a communist_party deputy who voted against the law , said that it would ' 'stigmatize'' citizens of immigrant origin and ' 'set things on fire rather than calm them down . '' the draft legislation now goes to the senate , which is also expected to pass it by a wide margin when it votes on march 2 .	has a location of france
another long breakaway formed early in the tour de france today and once again rolf sorensen failed to make the train . at age 36 , it gets harder and harder to get good position near the front of the pack , to anticipate every move by rivals and to unleash that burst of speed needed to join them as they bolt away . ''i do my best , i 'm still ambitious , but i 'm a realist and i know when it 's time to go for it and when it 's time to back off the battle a little bit , '' the danish rider for the csc tiscali team of denmark said . although the words applied to his attempts to win a stage , sorensen was talking about his overall career and his plan to retire at the end of next year . ''i 'm very happy with my career , '' he said . ''everything i did in 16 years of pro cycling is a gift . '' ''everything'' includes victories in most of the major one day classics , stage victories in the tour and the giro d'italia , and a short spell in the yellow jersey a decade ago before he crashed and had to withdraw . sorensen dreams now not of the emblem of overall leadership , but of a smaller triumph . ''i 'm not the kind of guy who just wants to make it to paris , '' where the race ends sunday , he said . ''i want to accomplish something before i finish the race . '' not today . for the 17th stage , he was not part of a 17 man group of low ranking riders that was allowed to go its way on a scorching day , 194 kilometers ( 120 . 5 miles ) from brive la gaillarde north to montlu on in the heart of the country . the breakaway was subject to repeated internal attacks until only three riders remained ahead near the finish . they had enough of a lead left to be able to slow down , look one another over , peer back to see where the pursuing pack was and then begin their sprint . serge baguet , a belgian with lotto adecco , was a clear winner with jakob piil , a danish teammate of sorensen 's , second in the same time , 4 hours 13 minutes 36 seconds , a rapid 45 . 8 kilometers an hour ( 28 . 5 miles an hour ) over rolling and twisting terrain . massimiliano lelli , an italian with cofidis and another member of the breakaway , was third , five seconds behind , with the main pack of most of the remaining 145 riders another eight seconds back . lance_armstrong , the american leader of the united_states_postal_service team and the two time defending champion , was part of that main pack . he continued to lead jan ullrich , a german with telekom , by a comfortable 5 05 , with andrei kivilev , a kazakh with cofidis , third , 5 13 behind . armstrong was less interested in this stage than in the one friday , a 61 kilometer ( 37 . 9 mile ) individual time trial over a route that he said is more hilly than advertised . ''i feel better than i have ever at this point , '' armstrong said in an interview this morning as he sat in the team bus and awaited the start . ''i 'm ready for tomorrow . i want to do a strong ride tomorrow . '' armstrong added ''it 's important for the yellow jersey to ride a strong final time trial . '' why ? ''to respect the jersey , to show the yellow jersey is strong and worthy . '' had not he shown that by dominating the tour in the alps and pyrenees as he headed for his third consecutive victory ? armstrong laughed . ''i 'll try to do it again . '' in 142nd place , sorensen has no such ambitions , but he is enjoying himself as much as armstrong . ''this is my eighth tour de france , not so many , '' sorensen said , noting that his last was in 1997 . ''i 'm here because it 's the biggest race in the world and i wanted to say a good farewell before i end my career . ''i just wanted to be in the tour once again . i 'm going to ride again next year but probably not the tour . ''i love it , even though i 've been suffering on the mountains . when i crossed the finish line in the last stage in the pyrenees , i said , 'how can something that i love so much , that is so beautiful , hurt me this much ? ' '' cycling	has a location of france
france needs a new law to keep religion and racism out of state schools , education minister luc ferry told europe 1 radio . ''we have to reaffirm very strongly the principles of republican secularism , '' mr . ferry said , against the rise of racism and anti_semitism . ''that requires a new law . '' the ideal , he added , would be to have ''no sign of religion in school . '' the wearing of veils or head_scarves by muslim girls and other open displays of religiosity , including crucifixes , are banned in french schools , although some teachers turn a blind eye . at a muslim conference on saturday , interior_minister nicolas_sarkozy was booed when he said muslim women must remove head_scarves for identity card photographs . elaine sciolino ( nyt )	has a location of france
in the 15 winter_olympics since they began in 1924 , the united_states has won more medals in speed_skating than in any other sport . in all likelihood , the team heading to france for the albertville games in february will keep the margin in place . among the 12 men and 8 women who qualifed for the team in trials that concluded tonight is a nucleus of 12 skaters who competed in the 1988 games in calgary , including two medal_winners bonnie_blair and eric flaim as well as one skater , mary docter , who made an olympic team for the fourth time . it also includes michelle kline , a 23 year old first time olympian who finished the trials as a starter in four events and the alternate in a fifth . if blair , a starter at 500 , 1 , 000 and 1 , 500 , decides to remove herself from the 1 , 500 a possibility , she said tonight , depending upon her international races leading to the games kline would start all five events . more remarkable is that kline is skating at all . six months ago , she was badly hurt in an automobile accident , prompting her surgeon to say she would not have survived had she not been in such strong physical condition . 'it 's a miracle' " it 's a miracle , i think , " she said tonight . " he said if it had been one of my parents , they would n't be here today . " she was one of four skaters in a jeep driven by nathaniel mills when it spun out of control and crashed into a light pole along an interstate between chicago and milwaukee . she suffered a lacerated spleen and kidney , a punctured lung , three broken ribs and torn ligaments in her neck and shoulders . of the three other skaters , only moira d'andrea was hurt , suffering a concussion . neither mills nor mark greenwald were injured . all three of them also qualified for the team this weekend , d'andrea in the 1 , 000 , mills in the 1 , 500 and greenwald in the 5 , 000 . kline spent 12 days in the hospital and went home with a foot long scar below her sternum . over the next six weeks , she left bed only to try regaining her strength by walking . " at first , it took me 15 to 20 minutes just to walk to the bathroom that was terrible , " she said . " two weeks after the accident , it took me 30 minutes to make it up and down the driveway . " at the time , skating in the olympics seemed an impossible goal , but she clung to the thought if she were ever well enough to skate again , she could resume her career . it finally happened sept . 1 . " i was n't sure about the trials or competing this year or if my body would allow me to skate , " she said . " but once i got back on the ice , i knew i would be back . " mills became the second member of his family to qualify for the olympics his sister phoebe was the only united_states gymnast to win a medal in the 1988 seoul games . mills denied he was driving too fast when the accident occurred , an assertion d'andrea agreed with . but , for some reason , he was unaffected by the accident or the coincidence that all four people in the car ended up making the team . " it was not like it was a load off my chest or anything , " he said , adding that he did not feel the accident necessarily affected kline 's chances to make the olympic team . " i think the rest helped her , " he said . the strength of the team appears to be athletes in the shorter distances , specifically blair and dan_jansen . but the united_states coach , peter mueller , predicted that as many as seven skaters could win medals blair possibly winning three , in the 500 , 1 , 000 and 1 , 500 , and jansen two , in the 500 and 1 , 000 . the others he cited were docter , nick thometz , david besteman , flaim and brian wanek . all but thometz specialize in middle and long distances . " that 's the way it looks to me now , " said mueller , a gold medalist at the 1976 olympics . " i ca n't say other people do n't have a chance , but these are the best hopes for a medal . " short_track teams set lake placid , n.y. , dec . 22 ( ap ) cathy turner and amy peterson earned spots on the united_states olympic team with a 1 2 finish today here at the short_track_speed_skating trials . turner , of hilton , n.y. , near rochester , was the overall winner in the women 's division , finishing with 303 points . peterson , of maplewood , minn . , finished second with 238 points . both will skate in the 500 meter event in february at the winter_olympics in albertville , france , where short_track_speed_skating will make its debut as a medal sport . the united_states men 's team was completed saturday with andy gabel of franklin , wis . , and charles king of studio city , calif . , earning positions . speed_skating	has a location of france
a wave of injuries to some of international soccer 's top stars has now crashed upon world champion france . zinedine zidane , the brilliant midfielder considered by many the world 's best player , sustained a thigh injury sunday_night in an exhibition against south_korea and will miss france 's opening world_cup match . the team said zidane had partially torn a muscle in his left thigh in a 3 2 tuneup victory and would miss friday 's match against senegal . his status for the second match , against uruguay on june 6 , is day to day . an absent , or even less than healthy , zidane could be a devastating blow to the french team , which has a threatening draw as it seeks to repeat as world champion . after closing out the first round against denmark on june 11 , the french could face matches with england in the second round , brazil in the quarterfinals and argentina in the semifinals . already , the star striker thierry henry is bothered by a knee injury , and the defense , which has no starter younger than 30 , has suddenly become vulnerable . while zidane was home for the birth of his third son , france suffered a rare home defeat , losing to belgium nine days ago . it was lucky to scratch out a victory in the final minute against south_korea on sunday . though sometimes seeming to disappear from matches for long stretches , zidane has developed an enchanted presence on the french squad . he scored a pair of goals as france defeated brazil , 3 0 , to win the 1998 world_cup . and his algerian heritage has come to symbolize the diversity of a nation that also fields soccer players from ghana , armenia and senegal . he had seemed to be entering the world_cup on top of his game , having scored a magnificent volley on may 15 to help give his club team , real_madrid , a victory over bayer_leverkusen in the final of the european_champions league . now , all of france will be consumed by every update on the condition of his injured leg . soccer	has a location of france
about 100 to 120 muslim girls in the eastern alsace region are defying the law banning head_scarves in schools , the education minister , fran_ois fillon , said . but , he said , ''i think we will be able to convince almost all of these young girls to change their minds . '' students face expulsion if they refuse to abide the law . in bobigny , near paris , about 30 sikh boys have refused to remove their turbans in school . h l ne fouquet ( nyt )	has a location of france
eleven years in the planning , 1 . 6 billion in the spending , the xvi winter_olympics opened today under crystal clear skies , with a lavish cermony that was typically french and a political controversy that was typically american . for nearly two hours , an audience of 30 , 000 spectators in the world 's largest temporary stadium , as well as millions watching on television around the world , were dazzled by screaming jet_fighter planes , strobe lights , fireworks and an entertainment pastiche that seemed to run the gamut of modern french culture . besides the usual elements that make up these festivities , like the parade of athletes and the official proclamation that the games have opened , there were also modern dancers simulating the winter sports , roller bladers , a flying angel , clowns amid a surrealistic circus , bungee jumpers hanging from a central column , people on stilts with giant golf balls above their heads , women dressed in giant snow globes , men adorned with expansive gold stars and , at all times , music either jazzy , rhythmic , operatic , baroque or simply haunting , as in a score from a costa gavras film . ambitious in every way in its entirety , the production seemed as stylistic as any celebrating the start of an olympics , but in this case , absolutely fitting , given the unique nature of these games . for 16 days , starting with a 3 2 victory today by canada over france in a hockey match and moving into high gear with the men 's downhill on sunday morning , they will involve more than 600 square miles of albertville and the alpine regions beyond . no olympics of the past have dared be so ambitious in breadth or scope . even the organizing_committee 's choice of the final torch bearer was unusual . running the perimeter of the stadium , then up the stairs to light the flame that burns for the duration of the games a sacred honor at any olympics was michel platini , the greatest soccer star of france , now a director of the national team . soccer is played in the summer_olympics , sure , but platini 's only olympic experience was as a member of france 's fifth place team in the 1976 games . " he is a great personage of our country , " one french journalist said of the 36 year old platini . " but as a choice today ? tres bizarre . tres bizarre . " as was the controversy over whether bill koch would dip the american flag when he led the american delegation past francois_mitterrand , the president of france , thereby endorsing the spirit of globalism but violating federal law . he did not , thus deflating a potential controversy . for the most part , the spectators enjoyed it all , even if it was not entirely evident by their subdued responses . only on rare occasion did they cheer loudly , and each time for their own for jean_claude_killy , the three time gold medalist in skiing at the 1968 grenoble olympics who greeted the audience with a welcoming speech as co president of the organizing_committee for mitterrand , who officially declared the games open and later stood at the right time , his arms aloft , when an audience wave reached his section and for the french team , led into the stadium by its flag bearer , fabrice guy , a nordic combined skier . for the traditionalists , the parade of athletes was the highlight of the show , despite the ersatz french and english poetry used to introduce each team as it entered . who could forget such verse as " winning with grace and competing so prettily , here comes the team from italy . " or " it 's almost a mania , cheering the team from lithuania . " but enough . these winter_games have attracted a record number of countries , 64 , and athletes , 2 , 196 , some of them from the unlikeliest of sources of winter sport , like swaziland , mexico and senegal . their march illustrated the new world order in sports . together for the first time since 1968 were germans of all geographic backgrounds , no longer divided as east_germany and west_germany . athletes from estonia , latvia and lithuania once the baltic_republics of the soviet_union followed their own flags for the first time in 50 years . and with no more soviet_union , athletes from five former soviet republics russia , belarus , ukraine , kazakstan and uzbekistan marched into the stadium as members of the united team , as they will be known for these games . without remants of the past , like their familiar red and white uniforms bearing the cyrillic letters of c.c.c.p. , they followed the olympic flag into the stadium , each athlete carrying a smaller flag of his or her own republic . other changes were reflected in the trifurcation of what was once yugoslavia 's team . just as recent civil_war has redrawn political boundaries , its team marched without athletes from croatia and slovenia , who had national flags of their own . americans act grown up the united_states team , too , was different from those hundreds of athletes who entered the olympic_stadium more than three years ago at the summer_olympics in seoul , south_korea . there , the americans distinguished themselves by their rowdy behavior . while nearly all other athletes comported themselves with decorum , the americans waved to the crowd , threw out souvenirs , yahooed and mugged for cameras . within a day , a senior i.o.c . official sent a letter of complaint to the american delegation . " of course , we were very embarrassed by the protocal lapses in seoul , " chuck foster , the head of the united_states delegation , said before today 's ceremonies . " we 're working on procedures so this does n't happen again . " this time , the americans looked and played the part of honorable statesmen , dressed in sober navy and burgundy and acting respectfully . that included koch , an iconoclastic 36 year old cross_country_skier and four time olympian who was selected as the united states flag bearer . he had hinted earlier in the day he might " dip " the american flag as he passed before mitterrand and the other dignitaries of the host country . according to federal statute , the american flag " shall not be dipped to any person or any thing . " it is olympic protocol that all flag bearers do so , out of respect to representatives of the host country although the custom is generally ignored . today , only the flag bearers from bermuda ( wearing yellow shorts and black high socks , no less ) , canada , croatia and monaco dipped . sixty others did not , including koch . as the ceremonies drew to a close , the americans were perched high in the stands , along with all the other athletes . below them a man dressed like a bird was interacting with hundreds of individuals carrying colorful flags before a lone skier , who zigged and zagged his way through people dressed like fir trees . finally , the skier , whose skis were actually mounted on hidden roller blades , passed below a banner bearing the french word " depart " and disappeared out of the stadium . that meant the games were about to begin . albertville	has a location of france
as he sat in a hotel ballroom filled with american_league all stars yesterday , jeff zimmerman was in a unique position . not cal ripken , not derek_jeter or bernie_williams , not roberto_alomar or rafael palmeiro or john wetteland or ivan rodriguez or pedro martinez could make the claim jeff zimmerman could . he is the first graduate of the northern league , an independent minor_league , and the french national_league yes , the league plays in france to be named to a major_league all star team . oh , did we mention that he 's canadian , too ? ''i was actually the first canadian player , '' zimmerman said yesterday , ''to win a french championship . that had been my claim to fame up until today . '' zimmerman 's claim to fame in reality is the 0 . 86 earned_run_average and . 106 opponents' batting_average he has produced for the texas_rangers as the most effective setup reliever in the major_leagues this year . those numbers do n't look real , but they represent his rookie performance and the reason zimmerman , who two years ago was pitching in an independent league , will have a seat in the american_league bullpen at fenway_park tonight . ''this is not even a dream come true for me because it 's just something i never dreamed of , '' zimmerman , a 26 year old right hander , told a host of reporters . ''maybe i dreamed of playing hockey in the n.h.l . i grew up in a real small town back in rural alberta . this is just an amazing thrill for me . it 's tough enough for me to imagine myself playing major_league_baseball , let alone having the success i 've had so far this year and to find myself in the all star game as a middle relief pitcher . it just blows me away . it 's fantastic . '' his presence in boston represented a great leap from the days when he resorted to sending his resume to all major_league clubs and could not hire an agent to represent him . ''my brother had the hendricks agency in houston , '' zimmerman said , referring to his brother , jordan , a reliever with the seattle_mariners . ''i talked to them , hoping they 'd represent me , but they did n't want to give me the time of day . '' zimmerman comes from the farming community of carseland , a town of 500 with an elementary_school but no traffic lights . ''if you blink , you might miss it , '' he said . the area offered so few baseball opportunities that when he and jordan were teen_agers , their parents arranged games with american_legion teams as far as an eight hour drive away in the united_states . jeff zimmerman became more mainstream when he attended texas christian university , but his efforts in two seasons there did not attract even one major_league club . he went undrafted and contented himself playing for the canadian national team in international tournaments . it was that experience that led him to france . ''i had a pitching coach from team canada who coached in france , '' he said . ''it was a good opportunity to go and work with him , develop some pitches and experience another culture and another country . '' the 1994 season in france was crucial to zimmerman 's development . that was where he mastered the slider that leaves a.l . hitters muttering and shaking their heads . ''the competition was about on the level with junior colleges in the united_states , '' he said . ''i was able to experiment a little bit . i could throw the slider and not worry about getting hurt on it . if i got into situations where i fell behind , i could just throw three fastballs by the guy . '' his season on the shores of the mediterranean left zimmerman with a terrific slider , but it eventually became a source of jokes among his texas teammates . ''i get teased about that a lot , especially by veteran guys like mike morgan , '' zimmerman said . ''he 's always ribbing me , telling me he 's going to go over there in the off season and try to pick up a slider . he said if i could find one , he could find one . '' the slider , zimmerman said , is not comparable to ones thrown by pitchers like david_cone , john smoltz and kevin brown . but , he said , ''i have a herky jerky , funky delivery , and that might hide my slider a little better . it might be a little more deceptive . '' wetteland , the rangers' closer , said zimmerman 's motion made his slider ' 'difficult to pick up and identify as a slider . '' zimmerman played professionally for the first time in 1997 as a starter with the winnipeg gold eyes of the northern league , going 9 2 with a_league leading 2 . 82 e.r.a . it was after that season that he sent out resumes telling clubs who he was and how he had developed slowly but was improving each year . the rangers , seeking players to fill out a new class a minor_league team , were the only club to respond , but they signed him and made him a reliever , and zimmerman advanced rapidly . last year at class a charlotte and class_aa tulsa , he was a combined 5 2 with nine saves , a 1 . 28 e.r.a . and 81 strikeouts in 77 1 3 innings . wetteland said zimmerman got his attention in spring_training this year when he struck out five batters in a two inning appearance against the yankees . the rest of the league has since witnessed what scott brosius , rickey ledee , chad curtis , joe girardi and derek_jeter experienced that day . in 35 games and 52 1 3 innings , zimmerman has struck out 46 , walked 11 , allowed 18 hits ( only one home_run , by paul o'neill ) and gained eight victories against no defeats . it earned him a rare all star spot for a reliever who is n't a closer . recounting his flight to boston with his all star and ranger teammates , rafael palmeiro , wetteland and rodriguez , zimmerman said ''it was the first time i 've ever flown first class . we 're taking up the entire first class cabin . i said i ca n't believe i 'm playing on the same team as these guys , let alone going to the same all star game as these guys to represent the texas_rangers . it was just amazing . '' then he added , ''i 'm glad i have three other teammates to come to the all star game with me because i might be intimidated coming here myself , trying to talk with cal ripken or derek_jeter or stuff like that . '' it has been zimmerman , though , who has been doing the intimidating this season . on baseball	has a location of france
turning a cold shoulder to tennis history , the french davis_cup captain , guy_forget , has taken a big risk that might turn out to be a master stroke . at yesterday 's draw in paris for this year 's davis_cup final against russia , forget finally revealed publicly what his players already knew paul henri mathieu will be france 's second singles player despite never having played in the davis_cup in his life . in the last 30 years , only five players have made their singles debuts in the final of tennis 's most emotionally demanding and routinely dramatic event . four of the five have lost , including pete_sampras , who lost to henri leconte and forget in 1991 when the french stunned the heavily favored americans . only john_mcenroe made a successful singles debut , defeating john lloyd of britain in 1978 , but mcenroe already had played davis_cup doubles and reached the semifinals at wimbledon and the united_states open . mathieu , who made his breakthrough this autumn by winning consecutive indoor tournaments in moscow and lyon , is a true rookie , and his first assignment will be one of the most daunting possible , because he faces marat_safin , the world 's no . 3 player , in today 's opening singles match on the indoor clay of the palais omnisports de bercy . what could make it less daunting for mathieu is that he beat safin in moscow just last month . in friday 's second match , france 's no . 1 sebastien grosjean will face russia 's yevgeny_kafelnikov , a two time grand_slam_singles champion whose ranking has dropped this year . on saturday , kafelnikov and safin are scheduled to play doubles against another first time french davis_cup combination , fabrice santoro and nicolas escude . clay is not escude 's best surface , but forget likes to put contrasting players together and santoro 's craftiness and escude 's explosiveness were good enough to win the doubles title at the masters series event in paris earlier this month . christopher clarey plus tennis	has a location of france
justine_henin awoke on this drizzly , miserable day with symptoms fit for the label of a nyquil bottle . instead of pulling the bed covers over her head today , henin grabbed the nasal spray , a tissue box and her racket . if the fifth seeded henin could only stand up for her first round match at the french open , if she could just pull her wicked backhand from its sheath a few times for show , maybe the wide_eyed aniko kapros would fold under the pressure of her first stadium court appearance . but no one knew that kapros , the 179th ranked player in the world , had the genetic makeup for the big top . as she explained , her parents once made stops in places like las_vegas to perform a circus act that went something like this ''they have this board in the middle of the stage and my dad jumps and my mom flips and my dad catches her , '' she said . nothing to it . on cue , kapros , just 18 , remained poised on her stage , keeping henin on the court long enough to pull off a_4 6 , 6 1 , 6 0 upset on a day when 34 matches were postponed because of rain . huddled under the concession_stand awnings for much of the chilly afternoon , the fans would have to wait another day to see serena_williams , andre_agassi and andy_roddick . eighth_seeded roger_federer wished that his match had been among the postponed . unlike henin , he was healthy , but he still found an excuse after his straight sets collapse against morocco 's hicham arazi . ''i 'm still tired from hamburg , '' said federer , who won the masters series event there on may 19 . ''even though it has been a week , i still have n't gotten over it yet . i guess it was enough to beat me today . '' federer 's dreary display in a 6 3 , 6 2 , 6 4 defeat matched the weather , but few players managed to play well on clay courts that grew softer by the hour , hitting balls that became fuzz less under the damp conditions . fourth_seeded kim_clijsters needed three sets to advance to the second round , as did monica_seles , the sixth_seeded woman . and the russian yevgeny_kafelnikov , the fifth seeded player on the men 's side , had to extend himself five sets over two days to beat germany 's tomas behrend . ''at this moment , i 'll take any win , '' said kafelnikov , whose match was suspended after the second set on monday . ''what we had in two days , it was very difficult mentally . '' henin 's problem was n't mental , but physical . with every point between the raindrops today , henin staggered a little more , exhibiting the languid movement of a jellyfish . at times , henin could not even keep up with kapros 's painfully slow serve , which clocked speeds normally reserved for school zones . ''pretty bad , '' said kapros , a candid teenager who was born in hungary and grew up in the bahamas . ''i served really bad today . it was surprising to win points on my serve . i mean , it was n't a hard serve . maybe it even surprised her . you have to get used to it . if you get a soft serve , you have to hit it in . '' henin failed to tag kapros 's league tennis junk . by lengthening the rallies and placing her ground strokes on the lines , kapros pushed henin over the edge . if kapros had thought about whom she was playing , she would have realized that henin entered the french open after having been in two clay_court finals this spring , splitting the results against williams . other than williams , no player had been as impressive as henin over the last month . ''this morning when i woke up , i said , 'it 's going to be hard today , ' '' henin said . ''i was too tired to compete . and i wanted so much to do it , but i was n't able to do this . '' she tried , despite a doctor who told her it would be a mistake . but this is the survivor in henin . last year , as she advanced into the semifinals of the french open , everyone discovered how difficult her childhood had been in belgium , especially after her mother died when she was only 12 . this year , henin was known less as the waifish unknown with the traumatic past and more as a talented regular in the top five . ''if i am 100 percent today and i lose , o.k. , i have to ask myself a lot of questions , '' said henin , who made 64 unforced_errors and won only 12 points in the third set . ''that 's not the situation now . '' today , kapros needed 1 hour 52 minutes to outlast the fading henin and win the match of her life . match points monica_seles took a stand last month in support of the fed_cup captain , billie_jean_king , who dismissed jennifer_capriati from the team when she violated team practice rules . on tuesday , seles was told to be quiet by the united_states_tennis_association in an apparent attempt to make the controversy go away . ''yeah , they asked me not to talk about it , so i have to respect the u.s . t.a . 's wishes on that matter , '' seles said . tennis	has a location of france
when the cannon sounds on sunday , 2 , 007 french runners will become a five borough foreign legion in the new york city marathon . " running is not in our national character , " said muriel verrier , an actress in children 's theater in paris who will run in her seventh new york marathon . " but more people are now running to overcome stress , not just in paris , but in the country . we need movement , just like the americans . " the movement , very clearly , is from france to the streets of new york city . french runners represent a remarkable 7.7 percent of the field of 25 , 945 participants registered for the 26 . 2 mile race . there are more entrants from france than from any other foreign country . there are more french citizens here for the race than italians ( 1 , 980 ) , germans ( 1 , 118 ) , dutch ( 804 ) or canadians ( 796 ) . special event the numbers have soared over the last decade . last year , there were 1 , 788 french entrants . five years ago , there were 1 , 476 . ten years ago , there were 681 out of 15 , 906 total runners . " new york is special , " said noel robert , a 49 year old margarine inspector from paris readying for his first new york marathon . " this race is a goal by itself for the french . my dream is to run three hours here . " the french entrants represent almost every profession and every level of runner . except a true marathon champion . " the best runners still have to work at something else in france , " said verrier , 43 , who is also one of the organizers of the french road runners friendship association . " this is a problem . " good , but no cigar there are several seeded french runners , none of them expected to wear the laurel wreath . dominique chauvelier took fifth place in the 1989 world_cup in milan with a time of 2 hours 11 minutes 24 seconds . among the women , maria lelut rebelo and sylvie bornet have both run under 2 30 . " good , but not first place , " verrier said . about 1 , 500 of the french contingent , including 1 , 150 runners and their husbands or wives , arrived here on package tours through the french road runners . costs vary , from a bargain four night stay at 6 , 500 francs ( about 1 , 300 ) to a 13 , 000 franc ( 2 , 600 ) stay that includes five nights and a return trip on the concorde . loyal display most of the visitors are staying at the edison and roosevelt hotels in midtown_manhattan , where they can easily spill out into central_park for daily jogs and photo taking . tomorrow at 6 30 a.m. , the french runners will gather in front of the edison hotel to take their final training run . it will cover about 10 miles , perhaps two loops around the park . the runners promise to carry their flag and make themselves generally known . " it is the only time we can run together , because there are four different starts , " robert said . " it is not an easy race . " new york city marathon	has a location of france
all the cheering , clapping and stomping in the world , as well as the benevolence of a french judge , could not help isabelle and paul duchesnay achieve the_dream of a lifetime tonight , winning a gold_medal before a home country in the albertville winter_olympics . what the audience and armelle van eybergen could not provide them with was a free_dance program that compared well enough in style and intricacy to that skated by marina klimova and sergei ponomarenko , muscovites of the unified team . the russians won the gold on a night of high drama , leaving the silver for the duchesnays and the bronze for another couple from moscow , maia usova and aleksandr zhulin . the same three couples had shared the podium at the last three world_championships , with klimova and her husband winning in 1989 and 1990 and the duchesnays moving up a spot each year to gain the title in 1991 . for that reason , there was wide , growing and reasonable expectation that they would continue their ascent in the olympics . and was not all of france sitting there , in the olympic ice hall or at home , just waiting to cry at " la marseillaise " ? wildly different performances in truth , the title was not so much decided by their four minute , wildly different programs tonight as what preceded them . after the two compulsory dances , worth 20 percent of the overall score , and the original_dance , worth 30 , klimova and ponomarenko were in first place , the duchesnays far enough behind in second that they could only have won the gold with a combination of their winning the free_dance and klimova ponomarenko finishing no higher than third , which was virtually impossible . they had not finished so low as third in any major competition since the 1984 world_championships . " tonight we knew very well that , barring a miracle , we had lost the competition last night , " paul duchesnay said , referring to the original_dance . " there was very little hope after that . " even so , their showdown with klimova and ponomarenko as the final two couples after 17 others created one of those rare , electrified moments that makes the olympics so special . klimova and ponomarkeno were first , and they skated a passionate , sultry program to chopin and bach in almost continuous embrace . at worst , they were shadows of each other , as lovers loving , brooding , then loving again ending their dance , lying in each other 's arms on the ice . this was all relatively easy to portray they have been married since 1984 . all nine judges awarded them comparable scores for presentation , 5.8 or 5.9 of a perfect 6.0 . for technical merit , only eight were in the same ball park , with 5 . 7 's , 5 . 8 's and a 5.9 from the unified team judge . the exception was van eybergen , who awarded a 5 . 5 , which appeared as a flagrant attempt to prop up the duchesnays . combined , her scores ranked klimova and ponomarenko third behind the duchesnays and usova and zhulin . while the judges' marks did not necessarily guarantee that klimova and ponomarenko would win the round , they were high enough to beat usova and zhulin for no worse than second place , and that clinched the gold . it did not , however , dampen the enthusiasm for the duchesnays , although it quickly became apparent they were suffering from another disadvantage . as brother and sister , they could not rely on romance , a staple item for most couples . performing to the opening music from " west side story , " they portrayed maria and her brother , bernardo , in a staccato , acrobatic routine almost devoid of emotion . further , as choreographed by christopher dean , who became isabelle 's husband last spring , it included many of the moves he had used before in other programs for the duchesnays . the judges were not unimpressed , but only three , besides van eybergen , graded it best . less daring moves by the end , paul duchesnay looked back further than the previous rounds of the competition to spot a reason for their failure to earn the gold . their program had been tamer than usual , not the daring kind dean gave them in past years , programs that flirted with violations of the rules in the name of entertainment and artistic license . " we could have taken a riskier program , " paul duchesnay said . " but we liked 'west side story , ' but we did a lot of sacrificing for the rules . we could have done much more interesting moves . christopher felt chained by the rule book , and basically , they told us to do it this way . naturally , you do n't get the freedom you would like . it was tough for us . " he also mentioned the physical problems he and isabelle endured throughout the year . she broke a toe , causing them to miss 10 weeks of training , and he injured a thigh muscle , causing them to withdraw from the european championships . in between , their half brother , gaston , died of cancer . the weight of so many difficulties only added to the pressures of appearing in the olympics as the home country favorites , a circumstance klimova and ponomarenko acknowledged and tried to igore . they had their own problems to deal with , training in russia during a year of remarkable political change , overcoming their failure at the world_championships last year , coping with expectations that they would succeed after winning the silver_medal at the 1988 calgary games behind the last gold medalists from the soviet_union , natalya bestemianova and andrei bukin . " it was very hard for us last year when we lost our title , " ponomarenko said . " from the beginning of this season , we never stopped practicing , never stopped thinking about the olympics . " and when they finally mounted the podium , he turned to her to whisper something . " i say , 'i love you , marina , ' " he said , smiling broadly . " i say it three times . that 's it . " albertville	has a location of france
after spending 2 . 2 million to bring the celebrated 19th_century pipe organ in notre dame cathedral into the computer age and announcing success with great fanfare in december 1992 , the french ministry of culture has a problem the modern technology is not working . " it 's painful and embarrassing , and it 's not good for our image , " said jean_pierre leguay , who as an organist for the cathedral holds one of the most prestigious positions in french music . the organ now uses computer digital technology rather than mechanical connections to relay commands from the keyboards and pedals to the pipes . " the technology worked off and on for a while after the dedication , but never completely reliably , and in may of last year it broke down in the middle of a concert and we stopped using it at all for a while , " he said . last august the french computer firm synaptel , which did the electronics work , managed to get the system back up to the point where mr . leguay and his colleagues could get the organ to limp through sunday services . but to resume the concerts and recitals , mr . leguay said , a new contract will be needed to perfect the installation . there are reports it could cost millions of francs . this would probably be baffling to the great 19th_century french organ builder aristide cavaille coll , who installed most of the 7 , 800 pipe instrument in 1868 without any electronics at all . all the pipes , the chests that hold pressurized air , and the valves that he built the heart and soul of the notre_dame organ work impeccably , waiting up in the west gallery of the church for the technology to catch up with them . some see notre_dame 's troubles as symbolic of the broader difficulties of moving france from its glorious past into the 21st_century . the huge church of st . sulpice on the left bank has taken a different approach with an instrument almost as big as the one at notre_dame . cavaille coll built this one in 1862 . a three year restoration completed in 1991 at a cost of 605 , 000 did not change a thing about the way it operates . " this organ works as well now as it did when cavaille coll built it , " said st . sulpice 's principal organist , daniel roth , seated behind the original amphitheater shaped console as the reverberations from the last chord of an improvisation washed around him . the organ remains a marvel of 19th_century mechanical_engineering , and it works dependably sunday after sunday , for mass and for concerts . the only electricity it uses produces pressurized air for the pipes . originally it did not even need that 10 men or boys pumped bellows behind the organ when the organist played . the unused bellows are still there . the immense and rich sound of the instrument at st . sulpice inspired such players as charles marie widor and marcel dupre to compose music of symphonic dimensions . " our intention was to restore the organ , not to change it , " said jean renaud , an organ builder from nantes whose company did the restoration . " we were always conscious that we were working on an instrument that had been played by some of the greatest musicians in france . " at notre_dame , jean loup boisseau and his fellow builders bertrand cattiaux , philippe emeriau , and michel giroud found an instrument that had been altered considerably long before they started renovating it in 1990 . " electricity had already done its damage by the early 1960 's , " mr . boisseau said . " we wanted to advance , not to go backward , and we created a prototype with the largest and greatest instrument in france . normally , you would build a small model first . " since the renovation , the pipes need computer technology instead of the electric action installed in the 1960 's to relay commands from the five keyboards , pedals and 140 stop knobs of the electronic age console , which also has two video display screens and a vocal synthesizer for mr . leguay , who is blind . " what is important is that all the organ 's basic functions work properly , " mr . boisseau said . " you pull a stop and press a key , and it plays , and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we will get the bugs out . " the new system uses computers and microprocessors to interpret the data from sensors that register which keys have been pressed , and how far and how fast , and accordingly release valves under the pipes that let in pressurized air to produce sound . when it works , it allows the player to call up instantly any one of an unlimited number of combinations of the organ 's 140 registers . the system is designed to play back whole compositions for the performer , down to the smallest nuance , and even to produce scores from improvizations . at st . sulpice , the keys are linked directly , with wooden and metal " trackers " assisted by pneumatic levers , to the valves under the chests that hold the pipes . the top level of pipes reaches nearly to the 112 foot high stone vaulting , more than 60 feet above the console . mr . renaud said the 32 foot long pipes of the thundering bombarde stop the most powerful were as big around as a tree trunk and so heavy it took three strong men to lift them . " we had to lift them up because a pigeon got in and tried to nest in one of them , fell down inside , and could n't get out , " he said . many of the pipes came from earlier organs by the 18th_century builder francois henri clicquot , who finished an organ for st . sulpice in 1781 and another for notre_dame in 1783 . inside notre_dame 's 18th_century oak organ case , with the medieval west rose window dappling the ranks of silvery pipes with a purple and red glow , mr . boisseau tried to be philosophical . " things could be much worse , " he said . " organ builders joke that three renovations equal a fire . "	has a location of france
athletes on the german olympic bobsled and luge teams have been told to reveal any past ties they might have had to the former east_german secret_police , a national sports official said here today . a champion bobsledder has already admitted he was an informer for the agency , known as stasi . athletes or coaches whose cooperation with stasi led to arrests or the loss of other persons' jobs will be thrown off the team , said klaus kotter , president of the german bobsled and luge federation . the european four man bobsled champion , harald_czudaj , has acknowledged he was a stasi informer , but kotter said he urged german olympic_committee officials not to ban czudaj . " one must be prepared to forgive , " he said . " you have to imagine what the system was like . " kotter said he asked each athlete and coach on the teams to sign a confidential statement on any past links with the agency . the letters will remain sealed unless there are public charges of collaboration , he said . german team members were given a choice of three form letters to submit on their stasi past , kotter said . one letter denied collaboration with the stasi the second admitted work as an informer , expressed_regret and promised to face the people spied on the third admitted the most serious offense , causing harm to others . czudaj signed the second version , kotter said . czudaj and other members of the four man crews are due to arrive here later this week . the rest of the letters are in a hotel safe at the olympic bobsled and luge venue , la_plagne . according to germany 's bild newspaper , czudaj was blackmailed into collaborating with the stasi after the police caught him driving drunk , an offense that normally would have ended his career . the dresdner neueste nachrichten newspaper said friday that czudaj , 28 , started as a stasi informer in mid 1988 . part of his work involved reporting on the three other sled members , the paper said . german bobsled and luge officials launched the self purging program about two weeks ago , fearing incidents like the czudaj case . kotter said he did not know whether other german teams were looking into the pasts of athletes from east_germany . after east_germany united with west_germany in 1990 , their two sports organizations merged . koss resumes training albertville , france , feb . 9 with the nine speed_skating events scheduled over the next 11 days , the medal possibilities in three of them remained uncertain today as johann olav koss of norway , the gold_medal favorite in the men 's 5 , 000 meter and 10 , 000 meter races , continued to recover from an inflamed pancreas . koss , the world record holder in both events , was released from a hospital in germany and resumed training . he was taken to a hospital in traunstein , germany , on saturday for tests and observation after suffering severe stomach pains . but the team doctor for norway said today that even if koss 's condition improved enough for him to participate in the 5 , 000 , he would be unable to compete at his accustomed level . albertville notebook	has a location of france
lead callit of sweden , who had been in danger of being scratched from the race because of muscle spasms , came from fifth place at the top of the stretch to register a one length triumph over potin d'amour of france in tonight 's 29th annual 200 , 000 international trot at roosevelt raceway . callit of sweden , who had been in danger of being scratched from the race because of muscle spasms , came from fifth place at the top of the stretch to register a one length triumph over potin d'amour of france in tonight 's 29th annual 200 , 000 international trot at roosevelt raceway . tabor lobell of the united_states was third , 1 3 4 lengths behind the winner . callit , driven and trained by karl johansson , was 3 1 4 lengths behind the leader , esotico prad of italy , at the start of the stretch run . callit became the first winner from sweden since pluvier iii captured the mile and a quarter race in 1965 . twenty one horses from sweden had failed since before callit scored tonight in 2 33 4 5 . the 6 year old son of tibur calotta earned 100 , 000 to boost his career earnings to 831 , 642 . callit is 11 1 2 in 16 starts this year . wednesday , callit suffered cramps but was given muscle relaxers , and the horse responded to the treatment . ''if he did n't , '' explained johansson , ''i would have scratched him . this morning 's workout was good , so everything was o.k . and i was confident . '' whip it wood of the u.s. , driven by john patterson , jr . , went off as the second choice at 3 1 , broke at the start and wound up last in the field of nine horses from seven countries .	has a location of france
the knicks looked overseas instead of in their own backyard , chose foreign over the familiar and selected potential rather than the popular choice . ron artest of st . john 's was available when the knicks used their no . 15 pick in the national_basketball_association draft last night , but they took a gamble and selected a_7 foot 2 inch , 260 pound frenchman , frederic weis . weis , a soft but skilled center from limoges , france , is a fresh faced 22 year old and an intriguing project who will have time to develop under patrick_ewing . inching toward his 37th birthday , ewing will give in to time one day . for now , he is still one of the best centers in the game when healthy . and on sunday , he proclaimed himself the missing link to the title that an undermanned knicks team fell short of grabbing in the finals last week . on the day when age or injury finally nudges ewing into retirement , weis may be the chosen one to take over his hallowed place in knicks lore . ''there was a chance to get a talented big man at the center position , and it was too much to pass up , '' said ed tapscott , the knicks' vice_president for player personnel . ''we 're delighted to have a center to work with patrick , to learn from him and then ultimately , down the road , step into his very , very large shoes . '' right now , weis is something of an enigma . he did not work out for n.b.a . teams because of his commitment to playing overseas . the knicks caught a peek at him by spending a lot of time watching games in europe . ''we ate well in france , '' tapscott said . ''the pants still fit , fortunately . '' what they saw , they liked . but the issue of weis 's health also caused concern for some teams . he had surgery on april 1 to repair a disk in his back . but tapscott said his understanding is that weis has made a full recovery . as evidence , weis is currently playing in the european championships . by next season , the knicks hope he is in their uniform . ''if we are at the top of the draft , we are ready to come , '' weis 's agent , didier rose , told sports illustrated . ''if not , then perhaps we want more time . '' perhaps being selected no . 15 is just good enough . tapscott said he did not anticipate any problems in signing weis , who is a pick for the future . the knicks were unable to address their most immediate need point_guard when the last of the quality players at that position , duke 's william avery , was snatched up by minnesota with the 14th pick . with the depth the knicks have at other areas , including small_forward , which is artest 's position , they were willing to pass him up , even though he is a local player with an apartment view of the empire_state_building . coach jeff_van_gundy was highly complimentary of artest , noting his heart and will to win as major draws to take him , but said ''big is always good . if it 's close , we 'll go with size . '' weis has plenty of height , but his spindly frame is an issue to be taken up in the weight room . in europe , where the style of play is more focused on finesse than being physical , weis was considered a star . this past season , weis averaged 13 . 4 points , 7.3 rebounds and shot 64 . 5 percent from the field . just when he 'll crack the knicks' rotation is uncertain . ''if he is able to play and that 's something we 'll find out , and like i said , i see him more as a future pick we 'll see whether he has the potential to get some minutes this year and help out , '' tapscott said . ''all of that is up to jeff and the coaching staff . i know one thing , he is a hard worker . '' the knicks also had a pick in the second round and chose j . r . koch with the 46th selection over all . koch , a 6 10 , 225 pound forward , led the university of iowa in blocked shots and was second in scoring last season , his senior year . he averaged 10 . 4 points and had 32 blocks while grabbing 4.2 rebounds per game . in some ways koch is more of a known quantity than weis . ''european basketball is different but the ball is the same , '' tapscott said . ''the height of the basket is the same and the intensity of the competition is the same . they want to win . he is a back to the basket player and needs to work on his body , and he also has the task of adapting to a different culture . his english is good , but he 'll miss the baguettes . '' rebounds dave checketts , the madison_square_garden president , was in the war room last night but was not available to comment on the meeting he had with coach jeff_van_gundy yesterday . before van_gundy appeared to talk about weis , reporters were told by a team spokesman that no questions concerning his discussion with checketts would be answered . checketts is expected to talk with van_gundy again today . van_gundy 's agent , rob ades , is scheduled to come to new york this weekend to meet with his client , which may be a sign that the knicks are willing to tinker with his deal . although van_gundy weathered a difficult year and coached the knicks to the finals , the knicks do not normally rework deals before a coach reaches his contract year . pro_basketball	has a location of france
the united_states bobsled federation is still trying to sort out its team for the 1992 olympics in albertville , france , and it now appears that an independent arbitrator will have to help . at issue is whether all aspiring bobsledders had a fair chance in olympic trials held last july . at least three athletes with better known pasts in other sports edwin moses , the world champion hurdler , and two football players , willie gault and greg harrell claimed that , among other things , they were not properly notified of the trials schedule . several months after they had failed to make the team , they filed a grievance with the federation . a hearing was held dec . 20 before a three member panel of federation board members , who decided in favor of the athletes and recommended to the full board that new trials be held . but in subsequent consultation , the full board voted , 7 5 , against adopting the recommendation . that left the athletes one recourse to file for arbitration through the united_states olympics committee . the situation has left the federation in a muddle , with precious little time before the games begin , on feb . 8 . in various international competitions the last two years , moses and the others had impressive results , infusing the united_states efforts in albertville with a legitimate expectation for a medal . then after the trials , they quit the program in frustration , they said , over an improbable tangle of unfair procedures and missed communications . in truth , with them probably went any chance for a medal . so their plight has not been wasted on neil richardson , the new federation president who was appointed earlier this fall after the federation was reorganized by the u.s.o.c . because of administrative and financial mismanagement of its previous leaders . " it 's a mess , " said richardson , sympathetic to the athletes' complaints but also to the hopes of the 12 men who assumed they made the olympic team . " there are defintely plenty of issues on both sides of the table , and everybody is trying to find the right solution . i just want to make sure there is equity here , whether we 're talking about an athlete like these guys or a high_school superstar or a bobsled club in texas . i want people to know they have an equal_opportunity this sport needs to be opened up . " if an arbitrator were to decide for the athletes , the federation 's biggest problem would be organizing a trials competition , with time enough before the olympics . another football player who was not a party to the original grievance , hershel walker of the minnesota_vikings , is scheduled for a push off in january against the 12th member of the team , ton allen . " by then , " said richardson , " we could have a lot of push offs . " swan song of sorts the recent decision by jill trenary to withdraw from the national figure_skating championships next month in orlando , fla . , thus making her ineligible for the olympics , was not necessarily greeted with universal disappointment within the skating community . there are no hard and fast rules and certainly federation officials would never say so publicly but there is an implicit feeling among many of them that a natural progression should continue , with each new skater given time to maximize his or her talents , then move on to make room for the next . trenary , who is 23 years old , has been skating at the highest national level for nearly eight years . three times she won the national singles title , and once , in 1990 , she was the world champion . it was simply her misfortune that an olympic_medal just eluded her in 1988 , as she finished fourth in the 1988 winter_games in calgary , alberta , behind katarina_witt of east_germany , elizabeth manley of canada and debi_thomas . in the four years since calgary , a new group of skaters has emerged , three of whom kristi_yamaguchi , tonya_harding and nancy_kerrigan have produced exceptional results on the international scale , notably , their sweep at the world_championships last march . other younger skaters , like tonia kwiatkowski and nicole_bobek , will challenge them , if not in orlando , then a year later in phoenix . the mere presence in orlando of the world medalists would have made it difficult for a fit trenary to qualify for another olympic team . and as things developed , problems with her ankles , which affect her jumping , would have made finishing in the top three that much harder . there is the additional thought by some in the federation that the united_states might be better served in albertville by skaters more in step with the trends of the sport . over her career , trenary , a beautifully artistic skater , has become a throwback amid jumpers like harding , midori_ito of japan and surya bonali of france , who have brought a new level of athleticism to the sport . one of trenary 's great skills was the compulsory figures , an element of competition phased out after the world_championships of 1990 . inasmuch as judges are now awarding higher scores to the jumpers , as evidenced by harding 's victory over yamaguchi in this year 's nationals , when trenary was absent with an injury and yamaguchi had fewer impressive jumps , trenary would have had to overcome formidable odds and competition to gain a medal . and so long as olympic success is measured in that manner , trenary 's departure might become a benefit to united_states efforts . building for the future while experience generally accounts for some advantages at the highest levels of competition , it has a disturbing backside . among the 20 men and women who qualified for the united_states olympic speed_skating team , 11 are former olympians . that might speak well for 1992 , but it raises questions about the future . where are the olympic skaters of 1994 and 1998 ? " hopefully , there will be some young guys coming up , " said nick thometz , who qualified for his second consecutive olympic team this month . " you look at all the same guys from '88 , and it 's good for this team , and usually there is a good sprinter or two on the horizon . but that 's hard to see now . there 's no one over the hill . " a significant part of the reason has been the lack of a modern training facility , like the indoor rink on the university of calgary campus that served as the olymic venue in 1988 . only one other facility of its kind exists , in heerenveen , the netherlands . speed skaters in the united_states have only three places to train milwaukee , butte , montana and lake placid , n.y . and all of them are outdoors . by next year , however , american skaters will have their own indoor facility , the pettit national ice center in milwaukee , which is being built with the help of an 8 . 1 million revenue bond from wisconsin , and a 2 million private donation . another 4 million is expected to be raised through public donations . " our all around program has been lacking the last few years , " said peter mueller , a 1976 olympic gold medalist and a coach of the 1992 olympic team . " there 's a gap in the 18 to 21 year olds . but once the new rink goes up , that will be real important to our program . " brace for hunger pangs albertville , the nominal center of the olympics , is a town of some 22 , 000 year round residents and only a few outstanding restaurants . a british journalist phoned one of them recently and asked for a table on a particular day during the olympics . he was told the restaurant was booked that night . he asked for another and was told the same . " then what night do you have open ? " he asked . " none , " he was told . " we 're booked every minute of every day we 're open during the olympics . " coping and in control technical problems still arise now and then as the final preparations for albertville continue , although none especially bothers jean_claude_killy , the organizing_committee president . recently , noxious gas was found to be leaking from the refrigeration pipes of the bobsled run in la_plagne , provoking complaints from nearby conservationists . " we 'll cope , " said killy , confident the leak would be fixed in time . . . . to minimize the financial burden of the olympics on albertville , the indoor rink being used for the figure_skating events has been sold to a nearby ski resort for use after the games . . . . annabelle nash is britain 's leading luge athlete , and with good reason . her father , tony nash , was a luge gold medalist in 1964 . . . . the breadth of the games , spread over 600 square miles of southeastern france , has produced expectations of a handsome bill for security . the security director for the region , jacques lambert , said he expects the cost to be about 31 million . . . . with team_usa 's loss to a soviet select hockey team saturday night in richfield , ohio , the americans have a record of 0 12 1 in their last 13 games . olympics	has a location of france
a french high_school philosophy teacher and author who carried out a scathing attack against the prophet_muhammad and islam in a newspaper commentary says he has gone into hiding under police protection after receiving a series of death threats , including one disseminated on an online radical islamist forum . the teacher , robert redeker , 52 , wrote in the center right daily le_figaro 10 days ago that muhammad was ''a merciless warlord , a looter , a mass murderer of jews and a polygamist , '' and called the koran ''a book of incredible violence . '' the redeker case is the latest manifestation in europe of a mounting ideological battle that pits those who believe islam and the prophet_muhammad can be criticized in the name of free_speech against those in the muslim community who believe no criticism can be tolerated . a recent speech by pope benedict xvi that seemed to link islam and violence caused such an uproar in the muslim_world that the pope issued a rare expression of regret . the pope expressed_regret for the reaction to his remarks after muslims demonstrated against him around the world . just this week , a berlin opera_house decided to cancel performances of the mozart opera ''idomeneo'' because of security fears over a scene showing the severed head of the prophet_muhammad . the decision prompted an outpouring of protest about what was seen as the surrender of artistic freedom . in his commentary , mr . redeker compared islam unfavorably to christianity and judaism , although he admitted that the history of the catholic_church was ''full of dark pages , '' and he criticized the hostile reaction to the pope 's remarks . ''jesus is a master of love muhammad is a master of hatred , '' mr . redeker wrote , adding , ''whereas judaism and christianity are religions whose rites forsake violence and remove its legitimacy , islam is a religion that , in its very sacred text , as much as in some of its everyday rites , exalts violence and hatred . hatred and violence dwell in the very book that educates any muslim , the koran . '' immediately afterward , mr . redeker , who teaches in a public_high_school near toulouse and is the author of several books on philosophy , began to receive death threats by telephone , e mail and through the online islamist web_site known as al hesbah , a password protected forum with ties to al_qaeda . the forum published photos of him and what it said was his home address , directions to his home and his cellphone number , according to the site institute , which tracks violent islamist groups . that day 's issue of le_figaro was banned in egypt and tunisia . mr . redeker was denounced by a commentator on al_jazeera television . ''i ca n't work , i ca n't come and go and am obliged to hide , '' mr . redeker told europe 1 radio in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location on friday . ''so in some way , the islamists have succeeded in punishing me on the territory of the republic as if i were guilty of a crime of opinion . '' mr . redeker , who has kept in contact with news_agencies by cellphone and e mail , said that his wife and their children had also been threatened with death . he told europe 1 that his wife was in hiding with him , but he was less clear about his three children , saying that one of them had been forced to move and that another was in a boarding_school . asked to describe the sort of threats he had received , mr . redeker replied , ''you will never feel secure on this earth . one billion , three hundred thousand muslims are ready to kill you . '' prime_minister dominique de villepin on friday called the threats ''unacceptable , '' adding ''we are in a democracy . everyone has the right to express his views freely , while respecting others , of course . '' the interior_ministry has confirmed that mr . redeker is under police surveillance , and that counterterrorism experts have begun a preliminary investigation into the threats , which the ministry has described as ' 'dangerous . '' mr . redeker complained in the radio interview that he had to arrange his own logistics and ''find a place to sleep at night or live for a day or two . '' one of the threats came from a contributor to al hesbah , who wrote , ''it is impossible that this day pass without the lions of france punishing him . '' the contributor called on his muslim brethren in france to follow the lead of muhammad bouyeri , who murdered the dutch filmmaker theo van gogh after he made a film denouncing the plight of abused muslim women . ''may god send some lion to cut his head , '' the contributor said of mr . redeker , whom he described as a ''pig . '' mr . redeker 's situation echoes that of ayaan hirsi ali , a somali born dutch politician who collaborated with mr . van_gogh on the film and has been relentless in her criticism of some islamic practices . the subject of numerous death threats from radical islamists , she was put under the protection of bodyguards in the netherlands in 2002 , and currently has security protection in washington , where she recently became a fellow at the conservative american_enterprise_institute . in the figaro commentary , mr . redeker wrote , ''islam tries to dictate its rules to europe opening swimming pools at certain hours exclusively for women , forbidding the caricature of this religion , demanding a special diet for muslim children in school cafeterias , fighting for wearing the veil in school , accusing free thinkers of islamophobia . '' mr . redeker , who has written against islam in the past , does not shy from controversy . at the time of the american led invasion of iraq , he criticized french pacifists , and he has written extensively about how watching sports competitions is worse than opium . his new book , ''depression and philosophy , '' is about to be published . at first , mr . redeker did not speak out about the threats . in an e mail message to the new york times last tuesday , he said it was not the right time to talk about his plight . then , in an interview with the local toulouse newspaper , la d p che du midi , published thursday , mr . redeker described the death threats , adding , ''what is happening to me corresponds fully to what i denounce in my writing the west is under ideological surveillance by islam . '' that interview set off a public defense of mr . redeker in the name of free_speech and condemnations of those who threaten him , which snowballed friday after his radio interview with jean_pierre elkabbach , the president of europe 1 , who is the host of a popular interview show . philippe de villiers , a far right politician , wrote president jacques_chirac a letter on friday asking that mr . redeker be given ' 'shelter as a symbol at the lys e palace , which is the palace of the republic , rather than let him wander , '' according to agence_france_presse . le_figaro , in an unusual front page open_letter on friday signed by the editor and the publisher , said , ''we condemn with the greatest conviction the grave attacks on freedom of thought and freedom of expression which this affair has provoked . '' on thursday , education minister gilles de robien was less forceful . he expressed ' 'solidarity'' with mr . redeker , but cautioned that a ' 'state employee must show prudence and moderation in all circumstances . '' but two large teachers' unions in separate statements on friday threw their support behind mr . redeker 's right to speak freely , though one of them made clear , ''we do not share his convictions . '' mr . redeker said that he had no second thoughts about what he wrote . ''no regrets , '' he said in the radio interview . ''i have given a lot of thought in writing this text . ''	has a location of france
when todd_martin awoke today , he felt the gravity of the task ahead . his davis_cup teammate jim_courier took him aside in the morning simply to remind him " to do what you do best . " " it was just a nice gesture , " said the 24 year old martin . " i was pretty nervous and pretty anxious to get going . " reverting to a net rushing style that best complements his big serve , martin dispatched guy_forget , 6 3 , 7 6 ( 7 3 ) , 7 6 ( 7 5 ) , to give the united_states the first round victory over france before 4 , 327 at the bayfront center arena to clinch the series for america . courier later provided icing on the cake with his 6 4 , 6 3 victory over cedric pioline . with its 4 1 victory in the three of five match series , the americans advance to the davis_cup quarterfinals to face italy in palermo march 31 april 2 . " it 'll probably be on clay , " tom_gullikson , the united_states captain , said . " we 've got some guys who play well on clay , so we 'll be competitive . " martin viewed today 's match as " probably my biggest hurdle in the last couple of years . " he had come here off a straight set loss to yevgeny_kafelnikov in the australian open quarterfinals . the " bad taste in his mouth " continued , according to gullikson , with a lopsided loss friday to pioline that gave france a 1 0 cup lead . " i 'm no steve young , " martin cracked , referring to the san_francisco quarterback who finally started in and won his first super_bowl . " i just needed to change things around a little . " one thing he did was to charge the net . he went there 63 times today and won 48 of the approaches , a 76 percent success rate . by contrast , he tested his net game just 42 times , winning only 25 points , in his opening loss . several people close to martin , including gullikson , were in his ear over the last two days recommending that strategy . " when you 're 6 foot 6 , " the coach said , " you ca n't play baseline tennis . " martin 's net game was boosted by his serve today . he produced 20 aces and was accurate with 59 percent of his first serves , winning an eye_catching 90 percent of those . still , the match 's only service break came in the fourth game of the first set when martin , down by 40 30 , won the next three points . that was enough for him to take the opening set . in the second set tie_breaker , the american forged a_4 1 lead on three straight winning forehands . after the second one , he leaped in the air , yelling , " yeah ! " for all to hear . forget closed to 5 3 , but martin hit a winning backhand and closed out the set on forget 's netted backhand . ahead by 5 4 in the third set tie_breaker , martin reached match point when he hit a forehand service winner of forget 's second serve . he squandered the first match point with a long forehand . at 6 5 , a forget forehand hit the net , bounding high and invitingly . martin ripped it for the match winner . that sent him into a frenzy of celebration . he punched the air , hugged gullikson . then he threw a sweatband into the crowd and hit a ball into the rafters . this was a reversal of form for martin , yannick noah , the french team captain , acknowledged . " you can tell when someone is comfortable by the way they play on key points , " noah said . " on key points , he served well and he went for the shots . " forget was one of the heroes when france upset the united_states in the 1991 davis_cup final . but this weekend , he lost three matches , two in singles and one in doubles . he was asked about the americans' chances to win davis_cup this time around . " with all the different possibilities they have for players , they have by far the best team , " he said . " but anyone can lose . " sweden rallies by the associated press sweden , the davis_cup defending champion , came back after being down by 0 2 and won its first round series over denmark when stefan_edberg and jonas bjorkman won in copenhagen . bjorkman , substituting for the ailing magnus larsson , defeated frederik fetterlein , 6 7 ( 5 7 ) , 6 4 , 6 7 ( 5 7 ) , 6 3 , 6 4 , in the final match . earlier , edberg beat kenneth carlsen , 2 6 , 6 3 , 6 2 , 7 6 ( 7 3 ) . italy advanced to face the united_states when andrea gaudenzi beat salva dosedel , 6 3 , 6 2 , 4 6 , 6 2 , for a 3 1 lead . the series in naples was one of few sporting_events taking place in italy . vitually everything else was canceled following a fan 's death before a soccer game last weekend . tennis	has a location of france
it had been 70 years since the french were host to the americans in a davis_cup match at roland_garros . during that span , rackets went from wood to titanium , tennis attire from long flannel pants to sweat wicking shorts , and players from amateurs to full blown professionals . but what has not changed with the decades is the french team 's ability to bedevil its american visitors on red clay . in 1932 , it was the mousquetaires giving the tennis lessons to the americans . today , it looked more as if the mouseketeers were doing the instructing . and when the diminutive arnaud cl_ment and s bastien grosjean had finished scrambling and counterpunching and andy_roddick and james blake had shuffled off court looking grim , the french , who won the cup last year , had a rather surprising and very commanding 2 0 lead in this davis_cup semifinal . cl_ment struck first , beating roddick , 4 6 , 7 6 ( 6 ) , 7 6 ( 5 ) , 6 1 . grosjean struck next , overcoming the demoralizing effects of squandering three match points in a slightly surreal third set to beat blake , 6 4 , 6 1 , 6 7 ( 7 ) , 7 5 . ''it was the little guy who beat the big guy today , which is nice , '' said the french captain , guy_forget . in terms of physique , that was accurate . cl_ment is 5 feet 8 inches , grosjean 5 9 . roddick is 6 2 and hits his serve as consistently hard as any other man in tennis . blake is 6 1 and has a fearsome forehand . but in terms of results and experience , the americans were the slighter figures . neither has advanced past the quarterfinals in a grand_slam event , and until today neither had competed against top players in meaningful davis_cup matches on the road . ''i think it was a real learning experience for our guys , to be honest , '' said patrick mcenroe , the united_states captain . ''i think they played well , but at crucial times , they did n't play smart . '' it did not always feel like a road trip . early in roddick 's match , the contingent of about 1 , 500 american fans was louder than the late arriving french , but the other 13 , 500 seats were soon full . ''this is the most disappointed i 've ever been in myself in my life , '' the 22 year old blake said . ''it 's not a feeling i want to repeat . unfortunately , it 's the chance you take when you step out on a court for a davis_cup match . '' in truth , all four men had difficulty handling the moment . cl_ment looked nervous and adrift in the first set and had to save break points to avoid trailing , 0 5 . grosjean looked lethargic and off rhythm late in the third set and early in the fourth , when he fell behind , 1 4 . but the two frenchmen soon shook themselves free of their troubles . cl_ment , a former australian open finalist , was particularly impressive , all the more so when you consider that roddick got a high percentage ( 69 ) of his usually overwhelming first serves into play . cl_ment 's idea or perhaps it was forget 's idea was to use his quickness to defend brilliantly , vary his pace and trajectories , and allow the explosive , inconsistent 20 year old roddick ample_opportunity to shoot himself in the sneaker . but the pi ce de r sistance was cl_ment 's ability to rush the net and make the most of it . he lacks wingspan , but makes up for it with reflexes and anticipation . the match turned in the third set , when cl_ment saved five set points , often with spectacular shot making . after that , roddick , whose emotional , free swinging style burns more energy than cl_ment 's more compact , composed approach , ran out of fuel and optimism . ''even if i followed my strategy perfectly , it was really a match that came down to almost nothing , '' the 42nd ranked cl_ment said . the second match was even more difficult to read . it started with blake playing poorly and acting negatively . but what looked like a straight set french victory became more complicated when both men struggled with nerves and consistency late in the third set . blake served for the set at 5 4 and was broken grosjean then had three match points at 6 3 in the tie_breaker . but blake survived and rolled to a_4 1 lead in the fourth , only to lose his momentum by playing a careless game on his serve . ''i think i was playing two against one for a lot of the match playing against myself and him , '' blake said . it was fitting that this mood swing disguised as a match ultimately concluded with grosjean falling behind by 0 40 on his serve and winning the next five points . now the french need to win only one of the three remaining matches to earn a spot in the final , as does russia , which went up by 2 0 against argentina today in moscow . and just in case the french need another confidence boost , the united_states has a 1 30 record in the davis_cup when it trails by 0 2 . the americans must win saturday 's doubles fabrice santoro and micha l llodra are expected to play for france against blake and 32 year old todd_martin . if blake does not recover well from today 's 3 hour 3 minute ordeal , mcenroe indicated he might use 20 year old mardy fish . ''i 'd cherish the opportunity to play in a fifth match and make up for this , '' blake said . ''i 'd like the opportunity to make up for it even quicker tomorrow , but that 's pat 's decision . '' tennis	has a location of france
the cabinet approved a draft law banning the wearing of religious symbols in public schools , paving the way for its consideration by the national_assembly on tuesday . president jacques_chirac and his center right government have said the law , which would ban muslim head_scarves , jewish skullcaps , large christian crosses and perhaps other symbols from school premises , is needed to preserve the secular nature of the french_state . but it is widely seen as a move to stanch the rise of militant islam among the country 's large muslim population . ''the government bill clearly reaffirms the neutrality of public schools , '' mr . chirac told the cabinet , according to a spokesman . ''it does not aim to ban religious symbols in everyday life . '' elaine sciolino ( nyt )	has a location of france
new business students may yearn to chat with one another in wall_street english , but the bottom line is that the conversations are a little stilted . in the spacious student building at essec , a business school in the paris suburb of cergy pontoise where a quarter of the instruction is in english , the hallways are plastered with fliers promoting local plays in english . but students gather in the common area to speak to one another in french . karen huggins , 28 , a first year american student in the m.b.a . program , said that when she arrived in september , she quickly realized that she had to change her own style of speaking . ''there are still a lot of french students who do n't speak very fluent business english with all its terms , '' ms . huggins said , adding that a classmate once pulled her aside to urge her to speak more slowly . the shift to english has also brought cultural change to the school , one of france 's elite grandes_coles , said bruno heraud , director of international recruitment . english speaking foreign students increase competition with french students , who traditionally believed that the toughest challenge was to pass the admissions test . ''once you were in then , you were finished , '' said mr . heraud , describing the prevailing view , which is also being challenged at other grandes_coles . ''you could have fun because you will get the degree , and you will get all the best jobs . '' these days , recruiters say , students are conscious of the reality they face beyond the protected confines of the campus when they seek jobs in international companies . jean_luc decornoy , president for france of the global consulting_firm kpmg and chairman of the essec alumni association , said the shift to english at his own company started in 1998 coincidentally , the year france was host of the world_cup soccer tournament . resistance may still come from those over 50 , he said , but he believes new students are comfortable with the basic concept that ''english is the language of business . '' there are other signs of cultural and linguistic change at essec . this year , for the first time , an american student was accepted into foy 's , the school 's exclusive bar club and the equivalent of a posh fraternity . ''for the first time , most of student life is moving into english , '' said olivier arnaud fenaud , 23 , a second year french student in the m.b.a . program . ''it 's going on kind of slowly because essec traditionally was very , very french . '' many former club members , he said , were surprised to learn an american had been accepted , but the newcomer has already made an important cultural contribution to night life introducing beer pong , a drinking game that is a staple of american fraternity life .	has a location of france
lead he was france 's star soccer player throughout the glory years , when the french national team made the semifinals of the world_cup in both 1982 and 1986 , and he won the european player of the year award in 1983 , 1984 and 1985 . now , with france floundering as it tries to qualify for the 1990 world_cup , michel platini has been named head_coach of the french national team . he was france 's star soccer player throughout the glory years , when the french national team made the semifinals of the world_cup in both 1982 and 1986 , and he won the european player of the year award in 1983 , 1984 and 1985 . now , with france floundering as it tries to qualify for the 1990 world_cup , michel platini has been named head_coach of the french national team . platini , the captain of the national team from 1979 to 1987 , replaces henri michel , whose tactics came into question after france tied lowly cyprus , 1 1 , in a world_cup qualifier on oct . 22 . platini , 33 years old , recently retired as a player . he last played for juventus , of turin , italy , and helped that club win the 1984 cup winners' cup and the 1985 european champion clubs' cup . ( ap ) sports people	has a location of france
when yannick noah announced yesterday that he was resigning as the nonplaying captain of the french davis_cup team , it was n't because as it might appear of france 's stunning quarterfinal loss to lowly switzerland over the weekend . he retired because tennis is simply no longer his primary interest . noah said he had made the decision to quit three weeks ago , because he wanted to concentrate on his new singing career . although noah had been criticized for using a couple of untested players against switzerland after concluding that guy_forget and henri leconte were not playing up to par , french tennis officials confirmed that noah had indeed told his players of his plans to step down before the match against switzerland . " he did n't want anyone to say he left after a defeat , " said francois jauffret , the french tennis federation 's technical director . " we 've fallen from the heights , " he added . " it 's an incredible blow . " ( ap ) sports people tennis	has a location of france
she is a native of guadeloupe , lives in hollywood and runs for the french olympic team . now marie jose perec is making huge splash in atlanta . grace . fearlessness . confidence . while michael johnson embarks on his well publicized quest for a historic double , and carl_lewis crusades for a spot on the united_states olympic team , perec has quietly dazzled the audience here with the seemingly effortless ease and grace with which she has dominated competition . perec warmed the track for johnson on monday when she set an olympic record in the 400 . she won the race in 48 . 25 seconds , a comfortable 38 tenths of a second ahead of cathy freeman of australia . few noticed that perec pulled the second and third place finishers higher freeman set an oceania record and fali ogunkoya of nigeria set an african record . after a day off , perec was back on the track today beginning her attempt to win a medal in the 200 meters . the women 's world record in the 400 , 47 . 60 by marita koch of germany in 1985 , was set at a time when athletes from the eastern_bloc nations were suspected of , and in some cases proven , to use performance_enhancing_drugs . earlier this month , perec said , ''that record is not human it 's not possible . '' after winning the gold_medal at the barcelona games in 1992 , she said her winning time , 48 . 03 , was the legitimate time . in the intervening years , as she has gained strength and confidence , perec no longer regards koch 's mark as beyond reach . this is part of an evolution that began on guadeloupe where she was raised by her grandmother . she moved to france when she was 14 after a french coach timed her in a 200 meter race in guadeloupe and informed her that she had qualified for the french national team . perec was dropped by the french coach jack piasenta in 1994 after skipping the european indoor_championships . that led her to her current coach , john_smith , who she credits with instilling in her a heightened self confidence and a quiet killer attitude . ''he has a way of approaching things that 's much more positive than i was used to , '' she said . ''he puts my goals very , very high and it 's worked . as time goes on , i begin to believe that the 400 meter record might be possible . '' in the past , perec was content to simply run fast smith conditioned her to run to break records . ''he told me i was wrong not to think about the world record , '' she said . ''i think i 'm exceptional . i know that sounds pretty american , but he has an american way of expressing himself . in france , i did n't think i was exceptional . that 's what he 's brought to me . '' ato bolden , the men 's 100 meter bronze medalist , said that perec reminded him of the deadly venus flytrap , a flower that lures prey with sweet fragrance and appealing looks . ''people think she 's timid , '' bolden said . ''that is a mistake . '' perec does n't crush the opposition like johnson , or step on it like gail devers . she sails past the field , easily , virtually expressionless . she can be disarmingly unassuming . at the same time perec is aware of how she affects her competitors . during the track and field trials , perec noted with typical candor ''when i run , the other girls freeze . they run slower when i am there . '' that wo n't be the case on thursday when she runs against the likes of of carlette guidry , merlene ottey , freeman and juliet cuthbert . today , she won her first two heats without sweating the first in 22 . 62 seconds , the second in 22 . 24 , the fastest qualifying time of the day . yet her approach to the possibility of winning two gold medals is a marked contrast to johnson 's bold declarations and the advertiser 's grand marketing schemes . when she speaks about going for a double , perec reveals a genuine sense of uncertainty . ''i do n't know what 's going to happen , '' she said . critics say she is a pure 400 meter_runner who does the 200 meter only to improve her speed . perec disagrees , not loudly , but firmly . ''i 'm not a 400 runner , '' she said . ''i 'm a sprinter . '' the difference between her quest and johnson 's is experience , she said , not intensity . ''michael johnson knows what it 's like to go for the 400 and training for the 200 in the same meet , '' she said . ''i 'm just going to try . it 's no risk . '' atlanta day 13 track and field	has a location of france
even as the fires smoldered in france 's working_class suburbs and paramilitary police officers patrolled paris to guard against attacks by angry minority youths last month , dozens of young men and women dressed in elaborate , old fashioned parade uniforms marched down the champs_lys_es to commemorate armistice day . they were students of the grandes_coles , the premier institutions of higher_education here , from which the upper echelons of french society draw new blood . few minority students were among them . nothing represents the stratification of french society more than the country 's rigid educational system , which has reinforced the segregation of disadvantaged second generation immigrant youths by effectively locking them out of the corridors of power . while french universities are open to all high_school graduates , the grandes_coles great schools from which many of the country 's leaders emerge , weed out anyone who does not fit a finely honed mold . of the 350 , 000 students graduating annually from french high_schools , the top few grandes_coles accept only about 1 , 000 , virtually all of whom come from a handful of elite preparatory schools . most of the country 's political leaders , on both the right and the left , come from the grandes_coles . president jacques_chirac and his prime_minister , dominique de villepin , studied at the national school of administration , which has produced most of the technocrats who have run france for the last 30 years . two opposition leaders , fran_ois hollande and laurent_fabius , did , too . ''it 's as if in the u.s. , 80 percent of the heads of major corporations or top government officials came from harvard_law_school , '' said fran_ois dubet , a sociologist at the university of bordeaux . these schools officially there are 200 but only a half dozen are the most powerful have their roots in the french_revolution and the napoleonic empire . just as the sat 's were meant to give all american students an equal shot at top universities , the examination based grandes_coles were developed to give the bourgeoisie a means of rising in a society dominated by the aristocracy . it worked for nearly two centuries . throughout the 19th_century , french administrations drew establishment cadres from the loyal ranks of the grandes_coles , avoiding the universities , which , outside the control of the government establishment , they saw as potential pools of dissent . even in the 20th_century , the merit based system allowed young people from modest backgrounds to move up into the corridors of power . but children of blue_collar workers , who made up as much as 20 percent of the student body of the top grandes_coles 30 years ago , make up , at best , 2 percent today . few are minority students . in the 1950 's , only a small proportion of french students pursued higher_education , leaving room for a slice of the working classes to get into the schools , said vincent tiberj , a sociologist who studies social inequalities in france . since then , the number of candidates for the schools has expanded far faster than the schools themselves . at the same time , the channels leading into the schools have narrowed the vast majority of students entering the grandes_coles today come from special two year preparatory schools , which draw their students primarily from high_schools in the country 's wealthiest neighborhoods . ''the top five or six grandes_coles recruit students from fewer than 50 high_schools across france , '' said richard descoings , director of the elite paris institute of political studies , better known as sciences po . administrators at the grandes_coles say students who do not follow the focused , specialized curriculum of the preparatory schools have almost no chance of being accepted . and while , theoretically , top students from any high_school in the country can apply for the preparatory schools , the system has become so rarefied that few people from working_class neighborhoods are even aware that the opportunity exists . ''there 's a lack of information , no one talked to us about the preparatory schools , '' said alexis blasselle , 20 , the daughter of working_class parents and now a student at the exclusive cole polytechnique . she learned of the preparatory schools by chance the summer after graduating from high_school . ''the solution is n't to open up another avenue to get into the grandes_coles , but to make people aware of the possibility . '' sciences po ( pronounced see ahns po ) , alone among the elite schools , has opened a new avenue of entry for students . high_schools from disadvantaged neighborhoods nominate students , and sciences po then gives them oral examinations for intellectual curiosity and critical_thinking . this year , 50 students were admitted through the program , while 200 entered through the normal examination process . the conference of grandes_coles , an association of the 200 schools , has also started a program that reaches out to top students in working_class neighborhoods to help guide them through their high_school years and better their chances of getting into a preparatory school . but the top half dozen grandes_coles , those that provide the country 's leaders in politics and business , remain more or less closed . the barriers for second generation immigrants are enormous . schools in poor , often immigrant neighborhoods get the most inexperienced teachers , who usually move on as soon as they have gained enough tenure for a job in a better area . the initial fork in the lives of many young people comes when they are about 13 and have to choose between a general course of study or vocational training . many young second generation immigrants are guided into technical classes or , at best , post high_school associate degree programs in marketing or business that are of little help in finding a job . second generation immigrants also often ''live in an environment that is outside of french culture , '' said mr . descoings of sciences po . ''they are not in the proper social network . there is n't the socialization that exists in a wealthy family in an exclusive neighborhood of paris . '' sitting outside paul luard high_school in saint denis , one of the poorest suburbs north of paris , b linda caci , 16 , calls the school guidance_counselor ''the head of disorientation , '' saying that the school cares only about making sure that the students graduate , not what happens after that . ''to become part of this cr me de la cr me , you have to have benefited from a favorable social environment and education , '' the sociologist , mr . dubet , said , calling graduates of the grandes_coles a sort of state nobility . ''it 's like the olympics you have to begin very , very early . ''	has a location of france
at the start of the women 's 200 meters tonight , kelli white felt tired , empty . this was her eighth round of sprints at the world track and field championships . she rocked from side to side in lane 6 and wondered if she had anything left . ''the start , 12 or 15 steps , was all i had , '' white said . ''it gave me enough oomph to get down the track . i was just hoping they were n't coming . i kept pushing . '' she blasted from the blocks desperately , unable to see her most threatening opponents behind her , and she built a clear lead out of the turn . with half of the race left , it was essentially over . white powered across the finish line in 22 . 05 seconds , a personal best . her celebration was restrained . even hoisting the american flag took some effort in her depleted state , yet nothing could undercut the breadth of her accomplishment . white became the first double winner at these world_championships , having won the 100 on sunday in another personal best of 10 . 85 seconds . a career that did not produce a state high_school title in california or a national collegiate title at the university of tennessee has blossomed into international versatility . white , 26 , has a chance to win a third gold on saturday in the 4x100_meter relay . only two east_germans , silke gladisch in 1987 and katrin_krabbe in 1991 , had won the 100 and the 200 at the world_championships . if white can repeat the accomplishment at the 2004 summer games in athens , she will join a rarefied list of american women who have won the olympic sprint double wilma rudolph in 1960 , florence griffith joyner in 1988 and marion_jones in 2000 . jones took this season off to have a baby . presumably , she will regain her form , which should establish an intriguing sprint rivalry next spring and summer . her personal bests of 10 . 65 in the 100 and 21 . 62 ( altitude ) and 21 . 76 ( sea_level ) in the 200 are considerably faster than white 's , but jones has not been at her speediest since the 1997 and 1998 seasons . ''marion is a great athlete , '' white said after winning the 100 . ''i have a lot to go to catch up to where she is . i look at her as a mentor , not as some competitor i 'm going to take down . '' there is speculation that the two might meet next month in a 100 meter race in moscow , though jones 's comeback has not been confirmed . white said she had not meant to send a message to jones with her own double sprint title . ''things can change from month to month , '' white said . she seemed glad , though , to have finally escaped jones 's considerable shadow , as is her american teammate torri edwards , who won bronze in the 200 in 22 . 47 after taking silver in the 100 . anastasia kapachinskaya of russia won the silver in the 200 in 22 . 38 . ''i finally made a mark for myself and hopefully i 'll be appreciated in the track and field world , '' white said . ''i think a lot of women here feel underappreciated . we 've now proven we can run very fast . '' sprinting roots run deep from the white family tree . white 's mother , debbie byfield , ran for jamaica in the 1972 munich olympics . her father , willie white , finished sixth in the 100 meters at the 1960 united_states olympic trials . in 1994 , white ran the nation 's fastest high_school 200 in 23 . 80 seconds . a horrific accident soon after , however , threatened her career and the vision in one eye . as she waited at a mass transit station after school in union_city , calif . , white said she and several friends were attacked by two girls , one of whom wielded a knife . white 's face was slashed , and the wound required more than 300 stitches . the cut missed her left eye by only about a quarter of an inch . a thin scar is still visible on her forehead , inside her left eye and across her cheek . white says she does not think about the incident unless reporters ask , which is often . her standard reply is ''things happen in life . you have to get over it . '' it is a kind of mantra that has guided her through the rough patches of her career . last summer , white tore the plantar fascia , or connective tissue , that ran beneath her right foot , and could not compete at her accustomed level . the pain felt as if her foot were being ripped apart . still not fully fit in february , white failed to qualify for the world indoor_championships . as late as april , she thought she might have to curb her outdoor season . eventually , things began coming together . white is coached in the bay_area by remni korchemny , who also coached valeri borzov of the former soviet_union to olympic gold medals at 100 and 200 meters at the 1972 olympics . to build strength and endurance , white gained 13 pounds and added 400 meter sprints and two mile runs to her training regimen . this reserve power apparently got her through tonight 's race , even though she felt exhausted after four rounds of the 100 and another four rounds of the 200 . ''this is a great accomplishment , '' white said . ''it shows how much courage i had to be able to put everything out there . '' track and field	has a location of france
the government said today that it would ban the wearing of muslim head_scarves in public schools , asserting that the widening practice violated a tradition of secular education in france . the wearing of head_scarves has become increasingly common among muslim schoolgirls in france , particularly in areas with large concentrations of arab or turkish immigrants . education minister francois bayrou said in a published interview that he was issuing instructions to principals of all public schools to start enforcing the ban immediately . asked if the scarf worn by some muslim girls was the specific target of the ban , mr . bayrou said yes . he said the scarf had the effect of dividing muslims and non muslims in schools and therefore circumvented the principle of separation of church and state . schools and secular society " we must respect the culture and faith of muslims , but history and the will of our people was to build a united , secular society , specifically where schools were concerned , " the education minister said in an interview published today in the weekly le_point . " the national will cannot be ignored . " " my instructions to school heads will be very clear , " he said . " we will continue to accept discreet religious signs , as has always been the case . but we cannot accept ostentatious signs that divide our youth . " among france 's 56 million people , an estimated 5 million are muslims , mostly of arab descent . the majority are members of families that migrated to france from algeria , morocco , tunisia and some black african_countries . the dispute over the head_scarves , which cover a girl 's hair , ears and neck , first flared when a few muslim girls began wearing them to schools in 1989 . the socialist government that was then in power urged that the girls be persuaded to take off their scarves but be allowed to wear them if they insisted on doing so . some muslim girls were suspended from school by their principals nonetheless , but the clamor subsided when a government council ruled that the issue would be left to local school officials to decide . increase in recent months but the practice of wearing the scarves has been revived over the last few months , in what many of the french regard as an echo of the islamic fundamentalist movement that has been challenging algeria 's military backed government . the phenomenon spread to more schools , with an estimated 700 girls across france wearing the scarves , or hijabs . a commentary published today in le_monde said , " the wearing of the veil has often become an arena of combat for radical muslim fundamentalists who are fighting secularism , testing the resistance of french society in the immensely sensitive area of the school . " the federation of national education announced its " total support " for the move , but the edict is expected to draw strong protests from fundamentalists and from several groups that represent immigrants or campaign for civil_liberties . the article in le_point went so far as to link the scarves to a reported campaign by hard line muslim fundamentalists to win converts among arabs in france and to slayings in algeria of french citizens and other foreigners by muslim militants seeking to oust the government there . raids in arab neighborhoods in the last few weeks france has conducted mass police sweeps in arab neighborhoods and arrested and expelled more than 20 muslim militants of algerian and moroccan origin . the government charged that they formed a network of underground militant fundamentalists supporting the islamic salvation front , the movement in algeria that is struggling against military rule there . reflecting france 's mood of anxiety about those developments , the education minister seemed to place his decision in the wider context of confrontation with religious fundamentalism . mr . bayrou emphasized that his ministry intended to enforce the ban and that if educational boards failed to comply , the government would present the edict as a proposed law to the conservative controlled parliament for approval .	has a location of france
about 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon , i decided to take my own olympics poll . this would be personal and unscientific . my sample population two middle_aged women , a middle_aged man and three female students in the luxembourg garden . earlier in the day , i sat in the office of jean_fran_ois lamour , france 's minister of youth and sports and a former olympic gold medalist in fencing . i wanted to know why he thought paris was prepared to be host for the 2012 summer games after two failed attempts . paris lost the 1992 games to barcelona and the 2008 games to beijing . from the outside , paris , with a solid , unified front , appears to be the front runner in this race against new york , moscow , london and madrid . the boulevards here are lined with 2012 olympics banners , and the airports and the train_station sing the gospel of the 2012 games with signs and artwork . there is evidence of a city that is truly eager to be host for the olympics . even at roland_garros , site of the french open , center court is surrounded with ''paris 2012'' banners . several players competing in the french open even agreed to tap their chest twice after matches to signify the slogan , ''my heart beats for paris 2012 . '' two were from rival bid countries james blake of the united_states and svetlana kuznetsova of russia . but what about the people of paris ? new york has a similar corporate and governmental push behind its olympic bid , but what has bothered me is a man on the street ambivalence over the city 's effort to be host of the games . are the people here behind the paris bid ? ''of course , '' lamour said . ''the polls show that 85 percent of the french population supports our bid the french and parisians are behind the bid . '' what about the other 15 percent ? five percent do n't like anything , lamour said . ''we need that 10 percent . we have to find a way to show them that the olympics are good for paris and good for france . '' on sunday , french voters will participate in a referendum on whether to ratify a new european constitution . polls indicate that they will reject the constitutional treaty , and lamour said yesterday that the result would have no bearing on paris 's olympics bid . ''a negative vote will not have any impact on our ability to organize the games , '' he said . opposition in france to the charter for the european_union seems based , to a large extent , on the fear of or the resistance to an expansion of europe , and a potential loss of jobs . such an opening up is precisely what the olympic_games are an opening up to the world . if a country is afraid to open up , how can it hold the olympics ? ''it 's a paradox , '' lamour said . ''we want the games , but we say no to europe . '' i left lamour 's office with an interpreter and headed toward the luxembourg garden in the latin_quarter , near the sorbonne . as i approached my six poll participants , the subject was paris 's 2012 olympics bid , and the question was simple do you want the games in paris ? josianne plessis and paulette boissonnette said they were in favor . yes , plessis said , the traffic would be a nightmare , but the new people , the visitors , would be worth the headaches . ''different nationalities , young people , that will be good , '' she said . what about the crush of humanity , all the crazy people who would descend on paris ? what about that burden ? ''on the contrary , '' she said . ''that would be very good . '' the only downside , she said , shifting into english , ' 'maybe we will pay more taxes . '' farther along in the garden , three female students from the sorbonne sat and talked , enjoying a marvelous afternoon in the sun . they expressed the same theme of openness . hakima abchiche called the games a good thing and a way to bring different nationalities to paris . each of the six parisians i polled referred to the 1998 world_cup , held in france , as the basis of their support for the olympics . france won the world_cup that year , and paris was on a high that lasted for months . ''everybody was in the streets , '' abchiche said . ''that was real nice . '' a little farther along , i came across a gathering of chess players who , in my experience , tend to be contrarians , so i expected that they would object to the paris bid . but one competitor , gerard schindler , said he was all for the games in paris . he , too , referred to the 1998 world_cup for the power and joy a great sporting_event could bring to one 's hometown . ''all of paris was celebrating , '' he said . paris , schindler added , needed another celebration . ''in france , people are not always happy , '' he said . '' maybe the games can boost our spirits and our solidarity . '' schindler said that after the world_cup , people seemed to draw closer together , and there was a bit more congeniality among strangers . many new yorkers expressed the same feeling after the tragedy of sept . 11 , 2001 , tore our city apart . the concept of the olympics as a healing force i like it . sports of the times e mail wcr nytimes . com correction june 6 , 2005 , monday a sports of the times column on may 27 about public support for paris 's bid for the 2012 olympics misstated one of the five finalists to be the host city in some copies . it is madrid , not lisbon .	has a location of france
the french government presented measures on wednesday intended to make the french feel more european . the minister for european affairs , no lle lenoir , said language study would be extended to all primary schools , where pupils would be required to learn at least two european_union languages , including french . at 18 , all french youths would receive a handbook explaining their rights as union citizens . the european_union now includes 15 nations but will increase to 25 next year . ms . lenoir told reporters that while many of the french saw how ''europe affects their everyday lives , '' they often regarded european institutions as ' 'distant , and do not see what they have to offer them . '' she said the measures would also require schools to display maps of the european_union the text of the union constitution . ( details are being debated by national representatives before a final text is ratified . ) at sporting_events , schools would be urged to display the union 's distinctive blue flag with gold stars alongside the french flag . most european_nations have been struggling almost since the inception of the idea of a united europe after world_war_ii to give citizens a stronger sense of common identity , with varying_degrees of success . the european flag is prominently displayed on public buildings in most nations alongside the national flag . in france , preschool children have for years learned songs like one that now begins , ''fifteen little europeans , united under one flag . ''	has a location of france
high_school students demanding smaller classes , greater safety and vastly increased educational spending demonstrated in paris and other french cities for the fourth straight day today , in a fast growing movement that has thrown the socialist government on the defensive . with a big demonstration planned for paris next monday , the government is groping for a way to appease the students , asserting that its recent increase in school spending of 9 percent a year already showed a big commitment to improving education . following a decades old french student tradition of mass protest in the streets , an estimated 15 , 000 students marched today in toulouse , 10 , 000 in brest , 4 , 000 in rheims while a few thousand demonstrated at the bastille in paris as well as in quimper , toulon and besancon . student leaders say they hope the march in paris on monday will attract 100 , 000 students . these rallies come after a nationwide protest last monday , in which more than 20 , 000 students demonstrated in paris while tens of thousands of others marched in lyons , strasbourg , bordeaux and montpellier . in banners and chants they demanded more money for education . 'we want cleaner schools' " we want cleaner schools , more money to renovate them , less violence and more teachers , " said remy lachaise , an 18 year old student demonstrating today in paris . after the protests gathered momentum late last month , the government promised to hire 3 , 000 more teaching assistants , 1 , 000 maintenance people to brighten up the schools and 100 more security people . but the students say these measures do not go nearly far enough . " it 's true they are making efforts , but when we 're in school , we do n't see that things have changed , " delphine batho , president of one of the chief student groups , said in an interview . " the situation in the schools is unsatisfactory . there are n't enough desks , professors or classrooms . one ca n't work properly in these conditions . we need an emergency plan . " the tangible issues mindful of how the student demonstrations of 1968 helped push president charles de gaulle to resign , the government of prime_minister michel_rocard is paying close attention to the protests , concerned that they could spiral into a major social and political crisis . president_francois_mitterrand has been eager to show his government is listening . " youth should be listened to when they say what they want today and what kind of world they would like tomorrow , " he said . the current protests are different in many ways from the massive protests of 1968 that shook all of france . today 's demonstrators are from high_schools , while most of the 1968 demonstrators were university students . most of the 1968 demonstrators were from middle_class or wealthy families and protested the overall capitalist system bourgeois values , social stratification and a lack of equality . in contrast , many of today 's marchers are working_class and immigrants primarily concerned with tangible issues like safety and size of classes . the current wave of protests began in late october after a 15 year old girl was raped in a school lavatory in st . ouen , a working_class suburb of paris . the first protests began there and in neighboring communities as students demanded more security guards . these students later began calling for newer schools , complaining that schools in richer communities were more modern . the protests quickly snowballed into a nationwide movement and the demands broadened freedom of speech in schools , a greater say in how schools are run , and a reduction in the average high_school class size to 25 . classes of more than 40 students are common . march to national_assembly education minister lionel_jospin has been exasperated by the protests , responding to the demand for classes of 25 students , he said , " this would represent 40 , 000 additional teaching posts . " last monday , the demonstrators_marched to the national_assembly , where legislators were debating the education budget . mr . jospin outraged student leaders by advancing the debate to a week earlier than scheduled in the hope of disposing of the subject before the student movement grew any larger . many officials are puzzled by the protests because the government has made education , to use president mitterrand 's term , " the priority of priorities . " this year france can boast for the first time that its education budget exceeds its military_budget . even before the protests , the government planned to raise school spending by a total of 25 percent between 1989 and 1991 , or almost 15 percent after inflation . to increase educational quality and equality , the government is pursuing plans so that by 2000 , 80 percent of all high_school students will have the academic preparation to take the baccalaureate examination , which is a crucial stepping stone to university . that compares with a rate of 40 percent in 1985 .	has a location of france
lead last autumn a diverse group of local and national french politicians joined with sportsmen in persuading the international_olympic_committee to designate the alpine resort of albertville as the site of the 1992 winter_games . the i.o.c . appeared pleased that the albertville cause was led by jean_claude last autumn a diverse group of local and national french politicians joined with sportsmen in persuading the international_olympic_committee to designate the alpine resort of albertville as the site of the 1992 winter_games . the i.o.c . appeared pleased that the albertville cause was led by jean_claude_killy , the former skiing superstar , whose involvement seemed to guarantee that the athletes would not be overshadowed by political and economic interests . albertville , a municipality of 18 , 000 , had the solid support of some dozen other towns in the economically depressed savoy region , which relished the prospect of the billions in development and tourist francs that would be attracted by the host 's role . the organizers promptly budgeted 450 million , and the french government made plans to spend 500 million to improve the region 's roads and bring in the super fast tgv train , putting savoy within three and a half hours of paris . the government also promised to pick up the tab if the games produced a loss . soon after he was named to head the organizing_committee in january , however , killy began having second thoughts . they concerned the official albertville plan , a vaguely_worded document implying , though not quite promising , that all of the olympic largesse would be spread over a wide area of savoy , with some sites of competition and housing as far as 50 miles from albertville and even farther from one another . killy was not alone . a number of i.o.c . members shared his view that widely dispersed sites would prove a travel nightmare for competitors and spectators alike and would also increase the costs of television coverage , thus cutting the organizers' income and leaving them at the mercy of government financing . what that implied was control by politicians . killy 's dream that the games would be run by a sportsman 's committee acutely sensitive to athletes' wants now seemed in jeopardy , and he called for consolidation of the events . the region 's mayors revolted , at one point leading a mass demonstration to albertville demanding that killy stick with the plan . faced with what has been described as ''a war between the village steeples , '' killy resigned . ''i had a certain vision of the games , '' he said . ''i wanted them designed for athletes and kept rigorously economical . but it seems this is not possible . so i 'm giving my place to those who think they can be run differently . '' that place is being taken by michel_barnier , a local member of parliament who is heading a committee now made up entirely of politicians and savoy businessmen . ''all the villages in the original olympic application , '' barnier has said , ''will participate in organizing the games . '' sports world specials	has a location of france
howard carter , a former louisiana_state forward who has been playing basketball in france , was charged with buying and using drugs after the police arrested him and seized a dose of heroin , the authorities in le havre said yesterday . carter , 33 , freed on friday , was arrested with five suspected drug dealers in the stairwell of a building shortly before his team , pau orthez , was to play saint thomas le havre on tuesday . his case is to be heard in court april 25 , and carter was suspended by the team until his court appearance . if found guilty , he faces five years in prison . ( ap ) sports people basketball	has a location of france
after her first grand_slam final had ended in a 6 2 , 6 3 loss to martina_hingis , amelie mauresmo sat at a table outside the players' lounge today and talked calmly and confidently about her decision to make her homosexuality public knowledge . even before arriving at the australian_open , the 19 year old mauresmo said she had decided to talk about the topic , not because she wanted to become a symbol or the focus of attention , but because she did not want to dance around the subject throughout her career . ''when the media asks me what 's going on in my life , i 'm obliged to talk about this because it 's part of my life , '' she said . ''and here it is . it 's clear that i 'm not going to get unanimous support for this . not everybody is going to be behind my back saying , 'super . ' but no matter what i do , there will always be people against me . with that in mind , i decided to make my sexuality clear . ''there will be people who i hope will respect me for doing it because it was my decision , and because there are many other players who are the same way as i am and say nothing and act as if nothing is going on . '' mauresmo , who is from bornel , france , was asked if her decision might serve as an example to those players . ''perhaps , '' she said . ''i hope so for them , because right now they are the ones who are having a hard time dealing with their situation . i feel sorry for them . '' mauresmo 's resolve to talk about her sexual preference will be tested most obviously by the corporate world . the last high profile tennis_player to acknowledge her homosexuality , martina_navratilova , never received sponsorship and endorsement contracts commensurate with her achievements before retiring in 1994 . ''this will be a good test , '' said pam shriver , a former president of the women 's tennis association and navratilova 's former doubles partner . ''if the commercial world embraces her , then it 's a different era . '' mauresmo , who has a clothing contract , said ''i think things have evolved and , in my opinion , if they want to set me aside , there will be dozens more who will take me . it 's clear . and if they let me go for that , they are jerks anyway . '' shriver expressed her belief that ''there certainly wo n't be any repercussions long term with the players in the locker_room or the way amelie is treated at tournaments . '' but in the short term , there were repercussions in melbourne . mauresmo came here with her new coach , christophe fournerie , and her french girlfriend , sylvie bourdon . on thursday , after her semifinal victory , hingis was asked about mauresmo at a news conference with swiss journalists , which was broadcast around the tennis center . the journalists reported that she answered in a joking tone in german ''she 's here with her girlfriend . she 's half a man . '' hingis later denied making the comment and explained that she had said only that mauresmo played like a man , but neither fournerie nor mauresmo was convinced . ''i listened to the press conference , and she really said that 'she was half a man because she was with a woman , ' '' said fournerie , who did not explain where he had listened to hingis . ''she would do better to think before speaking . despite her young age , she has got responsibilities in light of her ranking . she needs to understand certain things . '' mauresmo said hingis 's comment ''was a very bad joke . '' ''i saw another interview after the doubles where she said , 'i did n't want to say it that way , ' '' mauresmo said . ''but for me , it was stupid on her part , really stupid . '' hingis 's news conference with the swiss came on the same day that a remarkably poised mauresmo upset top seeded lindsay_davenport in three sets . when davenport met with reporters , she said , ''a couple of times , i thought i was playing a guy . '' she also made references to mauresmo 's broad shoulders and power . unlike hingis in her purported comment , davenport made no reference to mauresmo 's sexual preference , and she later made it clear that she had been talking only about mauresmo 's tennis . but the remarks from the world 's two top ranked players made the front pages of several australian newspapers on friday . and when mauresmo picked up the papers that morning to revel in her upset , bourdon said , she was quite disappointed . ''she was so happy when she saw herself on the front pages , and then we saw that what was below the pictures had nothing to do with tennis , and she was clearly affected by this , '' bourdon said . on friday night , before she left melbourne , davenport sent a note of apology to mauresmo , saying she was sorry that her comments had contributed to the commotion . ''her message was very important for me , because i was very disappointed by what happened , '' mauresmo said . ''it was good , and i appreciated it . '' the 5 foot 9 inch mauresmo expressed surprise that the 6 2 davenport would be in awe of her power . ''lindsay hits the ball harder than me she is more powerful than me , and she 's six inches taller than me , so that really shocked me , '' said mauresmo , who was also surprised by suggestions that her powerful shoulders and solid build were new developments . i 'm getting the impression from people that in the last 15 days it suddenly became like this , but i 've always been like this . '' hingis , who began the match with four grand_slam_singles titles already to her credit , would prove the better and more consistent player on center court . mauresmo was nervous from the start , and though she improved her performance in the second set and saved six match points in the final game , hingis 's victory would take little more than an hour . after it ended and before they climbed the steps into the president 's box to accept their trophies and give their speeches , the two european teen_agers exchanged a few words . according to mauresmo , hingis apologized for what had happened . but hingis said after the match that she had told mauresmo something she wished to keep private but that ''there 's nothing to apologize for . '' hingis added , ''i think we will talk a little bit more . '' the last unseeded woman to reach a grand_slam_singles final was venus_williams , at the 1997 united_states open . within a year , williams was in the top five . mauresmo will be ranked at least 18th on monday . ''it 's going to depend on how i 'm going to handle this final and everything , '' mauresmo said of her future . ''i know my ranking can go up very quickly . i just do n't want to expect too much . '' tennis	has a location of france
the free_agent forward j . r . reid , who finished last season with the knicks , will play in france next year for about a third of the money he made in the national_basketball_association . the move is an effort to increase his future value to n.b.a . teams , his agent said yesterday . reid , 28 , signed with psg racing basket of the french first division . the one year contract is valued at more than 800 , 000 , his agent , lee sentress , said . reid made 2 . 4 million this past season in the last year of a four year pact he signed in 1992 . the signing comes after reid finished a season in which he averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds , below his career averages , in 65 games with the san antonio spurs and knicks . the knicks , who used reid mostly as a reserve , obtained him in the trade that sent forward charles smith to the spurs . ( bloomberg ) sports people basketball	has a location of france
there is no repeating what happened in france in 1998 . only once can you win the world 's biggest sporting_event for the first time . and when that first time happens to be in your own country and comes by way of an unequivocal 3 0 victory over brazil brazil ! the uniqueness becomes even more obvious . surprising your planet , your nation and yourself is indeed a tricky act to follow , but that is what the french soccer team will attempt to do over the next month at the world_cup in south_korea and japan . different continent . different context . same ugly gold trophy . same leading man zinedine zidane , the son of algerian immigrants and the friend and relation of all those who like their soccer with an irresistible dollop of panache . it has been not quite four years since zidane scored two of france 's three goals with his head in the world_cup final not quite four years since about 500 , 000 parisians massed on the champs_lys_es on the night of july 12 for the biggest spontaneous celebration there since liberation not quite four years since huger than life portraits of the french players were projected one by one onto the arc de triomphe . in that span , zidane 's profile , in particular , has continued to grow . now 30 , he is not only the artful force in midfield for the world 's best national team ( france won the prestigious european_championship in 2000 , too ) , he is also the artful force for the world 's best and most recognizable club team , real_madrid . last summer , real paid a world record 64 . 5 million transfer fee to italy 's juventus to acquire zidane . ''no player is worth this amount of money , '' zidane said appealingly upon arrival in madrid , perhaps , but only perhaps , unaware of the pay scale in major_league_baseball or in the n.b.a . ''i 've got four years to repay the debt on the field . '' real may consider the debt repaid already . this season , real 's centennial , zidane led it to the title in the champions_league , the world 's most prestigious club competition . the champions_league was the only major title missing from zidane 's career , and just as he proved decisive against brazil in 1998 , he proved decisive in the final . he scored the winning goal against bayer_leverkusen of the german bundesliga with an exquisitely timed left footed volley off a ball that dropped from a great height . believe it or not , zidane does not score often . his true talent comes in creating opportunities for others with his vision , touch and ball as extension of foot control . but he certainly picks his moments well , and his latest perfect strike sparked another city center celebration by hundreds of thousands , this time in madrid . ''for me , he is now the best player in the world , '' said aim jacquet , who coached the french team in 1998 . zidane , otherwise known as zizou , is not yet nearly as polished or as comfortable with a microphone as those american global figures michael_jordan and tiger woods . nor is he nearly as rich , with an estimated annual income of 15 million . but zidane is still the highest earning soccer star , with endorsement contracts from adidas , volvic mineral_water , ford and satellite_television and mobile_phone companies . since 1998 , he has also grown more comfortable about using his influence off the field , chiming in confidently during france 's recent presidential_election against the far right candidate jean marie le pen and his national front party . ''a party that does not at all correspond with france 's values , '' is how zidane described it . he grew up in a housing_project in the suburbs of marseille , where his parents were hardly the only recent immigrants . in 1998 , zidane and his multihued teammates became a symbol of france 's increasingly multiethnic identity . unlike in italy , spain , england and germany , where club teams remain highly competitive , france 's club teams struggle internationally , mostly because their stars play elsewhere to avoid the french tax rate . with no powerhouse clubs to generate huge followings and enthusiasm , the national team takes on an even larger cultural role . there is no questioning the results of les bleus . since 1998 , they have been beaten only twice in games that counted once by the russians in qualifying for the 2000 european_championship and once by the netherlands in pool play at that tournament , which france eventually won against italy . though the 1998 captain , didier deschamps , has retired , there has been continuity . jacquet was replaced as coach in 1998 by his assistant , roger lemerre , and 7 of the 11 men who started against brazil should start against senegal in the world_cup opener on friday . the french should have a more potent attack this time . in 1998 , they lacked a proven world class striker . now they have two thierry henry and david trezeguet , who were part of the 1998 team but had not yet reached maturity . henry scored 32 goals for arsenal , the english champion , this past season , and trezeguet did the same for juventus , the italian champion . each poses a different challenge to the defense henry with his acceleration and trezeguet with his remarkable ability to put awkward shots consistently on target . that success helps explain why jacquet did not hesitate when asked how this year 's team compared to his team . ''it is better , without any need for discussion , '' he said . the star defender lilian thuram is not so certain . ''in 1998 , we had this internal fire that was shared by the team as we chased for every ball , '' he said . ''i hope it will still be there . today , we 're on top . we control the game well . but who knows if subconsciously , when we 're in trouble , if there will be the same desire to sacrifice ? '' another question_mark is the defense , whose members are nearly all 30 or older and where goalkeeper fabien barthez , brilliant in 1998 , has been inconsistent with his club , manchester united . there is also concern about the lack of recovery time between the club season and the world_cup , particularly for zidane , and concern about france 's potentially brutal draw , which could have it face england in the second round , brazil in the quarterfinals , argentina in the semifinals and italy , germany or spain in the final . since it began in 1930 , only two countries have won consecutive world_cups italy in 1934 and 1938 and brazil in 1958 and 1962 . so while there is no way to repeat what happened not quite four years ago on that summer night in st . denis , making it through that gantlet unscathed and away from home would arguably be a greater accomplishment . ''without being pretentious , we fear nobody , '' zidane has said . ''but we do n't have a superiority complex . we simply know we have a great team , a great chance to win a second world_cup in a row and grab a piece of history . '' world_cup 2002	has a location of france
bonjour . my name is jean_marie and i am your olympic guide on this bus tour of the venues for the xvi winter_games that open tomorrow here in the savoy . for you americans , that 's pronounced sav wa , as in sav wa fare . here in albertville where you do n't pronounce the t , you can see the stadium where tomorrow 's opening ceremony will be held , as well as the rink for figure_skating and the outdoor oval for speed_skating . but before the driver turns onto the main road to the mountain venues , i must inform you of the event that is new to these winter_olympics the 55 seat bobsled . you are familiar with the two man bobsled and the four man bobsled , i am sure . and for all the beauty of the snow capped mountains surrounding us , you may not be happy to know that coming back you will be on a 55 seat bobsled as this bus comes down the twisting two lane mountain roads with their hairpin turns and sometimes no guard rails . any questions so far . yes , monsieur ? " where do we get on this bobsled ? " you are on it now . your 53 seats , the driver 's seat and my jump seat here in the front . the same buses will be transporting spectators , journalists and yes , the olympic athletes , too . as we climb , you will see that these mountains are not like your american mountains . compared to the french_alps , your rocky_mountains are , how do you say , foothills . yes , monsieur ? " what about the catskill mountains ? " " i have never seen the catskills , but an american friend of mine who plays golf told me that compared to the french_alps , the highest mountain in the catskills is just an uphill par 5 . that same american described these mountains as , how do you say , big time . yes , madame ? " how high are these mountains ? " for more than 20 minutes now , we have been going up , up , up . and when we get to the top , to courchevel 1850 , the altitude will be 1 , 850 meters . that is why it is known as courchevel 1850 , more than a mile high . over there at the byblos hotel where the international_olympic_committee met this week , rooms are more than 500 a night . " you mean 500 francs . " no , monsieur , 500 american . it is a jet set hangout . only the i.o.c . members could afford it . but when it snowed all day tuesday , there was no view . all they saw were snowflakes so big it was as if you opened a down pillow and the feathers fluttered out . that is the charm up here . clouds float below your room . or sometimes past it . then poof , sunshine again . " where are we now ? " we are on the way around the mountain to meribel , where the women 's alpine_skiing will be held across the valley from the new 6 , 500 seat arena where all the hockey games will be held halfway up this twisting road . " who will use that arena when the olympics end ? " that , madame , is a very good question that nobody has an answer for . but now , as we go down the mountain , i suggest that you close your eyes . or if not that , please do not look out the window . " there 's no guard rail here ! " please , do n't all speak at once . yes , occasionally there is no guard rail but your driver knows the road . " if he skids , he wo n't know it ! " in the 55 seat bobsled , that is the chance we must take . but now that we are safely down off that mountain and while we go up to la_plagne where the real bobsled and the luge runs are , then on to tignes for the freestyle , i will tell you the history of the savoy , pronounced sav wa . beyond that mountain , it is said that hannibal drove his elephants through the pass from italy , although i do n't see how . it is also said that caesar 's legions later came through that pass . in time the savoy , pronounced sav wa , was a separate region on both sides of what are now the french_alps and italian alps , with the swiss alps only a few miles away . after the year 1000 , a vassal of the holy roman empire , humbert the white handed , founded the house of savoy , pronounced sav wa , but for centuries there were many hard wars fought here . this region did n't belong to france until 1860 but some famous people grew up here , rousseau the philosopher and st . francis de sales . up ahead of us now is val_d'isere , where jean_claude_killy , who won three gold medals in 1968 at grenoble , learned to ski . sunday the men 's downhill will be here and later the other men 's alpine events . but now our 55 seat bobsled is about to go down the mountain again . please close your eyes . " can we win a gold_medal ? " only if nobody peeks .	has a location of france
for more than two hours , rafael nadal played his quarterfinal_match at the french open as if he had never seen the man on the opposite side of the net . as soon as he stepped on to the court , he knit his brow and glared . time and again , he rudely aimed his shots out of his opponent 's reach . unemotionally , he sent his signature forehands spinning over the net , without consideration that his opponent might be unable to handle them . to make it to the final of this tournament , nadal would not place nice , even for one second , even against his longtime friend and mentor , carlos moy . so nadal went out wednesday at roland_garros and disposed of moy , 6 4 , 6 3 , 6 0 . ''so , well , the match was better for me , like than for him , that 's for sure , '' nadal said later , as he morphed back into the goofy young spaniard he is off the court . nadal , who turned 21 this week , was only 12 when moy , a fellow majorcan , lifted the french open champion 's trophy in 1998 . now nadal is looking to win his third french open in a row , and his victory against the 30 year old moy put him one step closer to that . one look at nadal at the start of the match showed how much he wanted the victory . he had warmed up so thoroughly he was dripping with sweat , his dark shaggy hair matted to his head . he knew he had to be ready against moy , who had practiced with him for many years and knew his moves well . after the victory , nadal , seeded second , said he was happy because he had played his best tennis of the tournament . he has not lost a single set here . ''that shows how much better he is to the other guys , '' said moy , who had 38 unforced_errors to nadal 's 15 . ''i think that there are just a few players who can , not just not beat him , but even get a set from him , '' he said . novak djokovic , seeded sixth and one of the three serbs in the men 's and women 's semifinals , is one of those players . djokovic , 20 , is next in line to play nadal at roland_garros . no . 1 roger_federer will play no . 4 nikolay davydenko in the other semifinal . in march , djokovic found a way to beat nadal at this year 's masters series event in miami , which was played on a hard court . but even here on roland_garros 's clay , djokovic said he had a chance of beating nadal again . even if it was only a small one . ''he 's the best player in the world on this surface , and everybody knows that , '' djokovic said . on wednesday , djokovic continued to lead the surge of serbian players here by defeating 125th ranked igor andreev in straight sets , 6 3 , 6 3 , 6 3 . his compatriots no . 4 jelena jankovic and no . 7 ana ivanovic will play in thursday 's women 's semifinals . ivanovic will play no . 2 maria sharapova , while jankovic will meet no . 1 justine_henin , who has been the french open champion three of the last four years . the serbian cheering section , which is growing by the moment , made itself known during djokovic 's match wednesday . about a dozen of djokovic 's family and friends cheered and clapped in unison while he was on the court . djokovic was wearing his lucky yellow shirt , and more than a dozen of those fans followed suit . glimpsing that sea of yellow made djokovic laugh as he went on to beat andreev without too many problems . andreev had beaten no . 3 andy_roddick in the first round , but was not surprised that his tournament ended with the match against djokovic . ''i think his stronger point is that he hits no bad shots , '' andreev said . ''he does very good everything . he 's defending very well . he 's serving well on important points . ''so he 's a strong guy , '' he said . ''i 'm surprised , like , mentally , he 's so strong for the young age that he is . '' later , nadal called djokovic a ''potential future no . 1'' because of his big serve and aggressiveness . both parts of djokovic 's game have improved this year , turning him into one of the few players who could challenge nadal or federer for the title here . djokovic said he could not see himself as a grand_slam winner yet because he would have to beat nadal to get there . last year , he lost to nadal in the quarterfinals after retiring with a back injury . he is bracing himself for another round . ''he plays with a lot of motivation and confidence , '' djokovic said of nadal . ''and physically he is very ready and probably the most prepared player on the tour . '' against moy , nadal made sure he was prepared . he loosened up by running and bouncing around the locker_room as if he were a child who had ingested too much sugar . as the days go on , the pressure grows for him to win again at roland_garros . but this year , more than any other , he said he feels more physically and mentally ready for this tournament . ''i feel better because i can play a little bit different , '' he said , comparing his performances with last year 's . ''i can play a little bit more aggressive . i can play defense sometimes , but i can attack , too . so that 's a little bit of an advantage . '' at the same time , federer is feeling good , too , particularly after beating nadal last month in hamburg , germany , to break nadal 's 81 match winning_streak on clay . ''yes , do n't mention the name federer again , '' nadal said earlier this week , with a grin . tennis	has a location of france
o . j . simpson is not a household name in france . here , it is the trial of bernard tapie , a french socialist politician , that has the country enthralled . mr . tapie , a former urban affairs minister , is accused of fixing a match involving the marseilles soccer club he owned in 1993 . more to the point , he is accused of lying to cover it up , a charge he hardly bothers to deny . " i have lied in good faith , " he told the judge as his trial continued monday after his alibi , provided by a fellow socialist , jacques mellick , crumbled . that was because mr . mellick , who is a member of parliament and also a former government minister , admitted friday night that he had lied under oath about being somewhere else with mr . tapie when the fix was allegedly put in . mr . mellick has been in jail since the weekend . the prosecutor asked for an 18 month sentence for mr . tapie . it was just one more episode in an unending drama of political_corruption , bribery and attempts to manipulate justice that is gripping france even more than the campaign to elect a successor to the socialist president , francois_mitterrand . whoever of the three leading candidates is elected the front runner , the conservative mayor of paris , jacques_chirac , his fellow conservative , prime_minister edouard_balladur , or the socialist , lionel_jospin will face a growing crisis of confidence in the credibility and integrity of the french political process , for no party is untouched . concern about where this will lead does not stop at the french border . " is france headed into an italian style political crisis ? " a german policy maker said recently . thierry jean_pierre , a former investigating judge , does not think france is about to throw away its political system the way italy did after its established parties were discredited by links to organized_crime . " the level of overall corruption is lower than in italy , and we do n't have the mafia based here , " said mr . jean_pierre , the investigating magistrate in a scandal about alleged kickbacks to a consulting_firm whose sole function turned out to be financing the socialist_party . " but the general setup is the same , all the big companies and all the political_parties are involved in it , and everybody has gotten used to thinking of corruption as being normal , " he said . until the past year or two , it was also considered normal for french politicians to approve periodic amnesty laws letting themselves off the hook . they approved one in 1988 and another in 1990 as an amendment to a law reforming the system of financing political_parties . for mr . jean_pierre and some of his fellow investigating magistrates , that was the last straw . " we were shocked that government ministers could use the law this brazenly to escape prosecution , " mr . jean_pierre said . initially , the socialists of president mitterrand seemed the most deeply implicated , and in parliamentary elections in march 1993 a center right coalition under prime_minister balladur swept to victory . but the conservatives are now just as much under fire as the socialists , with three former ministers of the current government forced into resignation last year under clouds of suspicion . at center stage in alleged wrongdoing by the socialist_party is a consulting_firm called urba . until it was exposed and forced to stop its operations in 1990 , urba was the indispensable key for concerns hoping to land public works contracts in socialist run regions of france . " the consultancy firms kept books listing all the companies in every area , and if any of them wanted to bid on a major public contract , they had to pay money to be considered , " mr . jean_pierre said . " then the company that got the contract had to kick back 3 to 4 percent of it to the consultancy firm . " urba was hardly unique in the french party political system it was just among the first corruption cases to be uncovered . this month , at saint brieuc in brittany , the socialist_party chairman , henri emmanuelli , and 16 other defendants were tried for illegal financing practices from 1988 to 1991 , when mr . emmanuelli was party treasurer . mr . emmanuelli said that he had met urba 's chairman , gerard monate , two or three times a year to discuss the party budget , but denied that he knew the details about how the firm came up with the money . yves boivin , the prosecutor in the case , said " of course you knew very well how urba worked . as party treasurer , you made the decisions . " he asked the court to impose a two year suspended_sentence on mr . emmanuelli . the verdict will be rendered after the decisive second round of the presidential elections on may 7 . the socialist candidate , mr . jospin , a former education minister , has not been personally tainted . neither have the two conservatives in the race , mayor chirac and prime_minister balladur , but their rally for the republic party has been as deeply implicated in sleazy dealings as the socialists . a former conservative internal security minister , robert pandraud , was accused this month of being involved in siphoning money for the party from the public_housing authority of the paris region while he was mayor chirac 's chief of staff from 1983 to 1986 . prosecutors say the setup was for companies allowed to do work for the housing authority to submit inflated bills so they could make kickbacks to the party functionaries who had made the contracts possible . mr . pandraud denied knowing any such thing , but another former close aide of mayor chirac , michel roussin , was forced last year to resign as foreign aid minister in mr . balladur 's cabinet after his initials were found next to a receipt for 52 , 000 on a list of such payments . mayor chirac has not been charged with involvement in such payments , which also used party consultancy firms as conduits . mr . chirac 's poll ratings have risen to the point where he is now favored to win in both rounds of the election , on april 23 and may 7 , no matter who else runs . his fellow conservative , prime_minister balladur , has seen his ratings steadily fall , partly because of the corruption scandals . mr . balladur and his chief cabinet supporter , interior_minister charles pasqua , were accused late last year of trying to remove eric halphen , the energetic chief investigating judge in the cases involving the conservative_party . the removal of the judge was suggested after his father in law , dr . jean_pierre marechal , was arrested in december after accepting a bag containing 200 , 000 at charles de gaulle airport in paris from didier schuller , a conservative member of parliament the judge was investigating . the police said dr . marechal had asked for the money in return for getting his son in law , the judge , not to investigate mr . schuller . " he insisted on coming to see me at the airport , " dr . marechal said later . " he gave me a blue duty_free bag with a box inside . i thought it was cigars . " in february , the paris court of appeals found that the arrest had been tantamount to entrapment of dr . marechal by mr . schuller and the police . the case collapsed after the court ordered the transcripts destroyed . other scandals have involved the french communist party , which is accused of having its own consulting_firm to provide finances , and one of the current government 's coalition partners , the republican_party , has been reportedly implicated in illict financing by the electronic giant alcatel c . i.t. , despite denials by all concerned . " we have just begun to scratch the surface , " mr . jean_pierre said . " all the biggest industrial groups in france have been involved , and there is corruption in every economic sector . "	has a location of france
gilles grimandi has seen the soccer world from the apex of the english game as a member of last year 's arsenal team , which won the english_premier_league and the f.a . cup , the fabled double . now he has assumed a new perch , a mile high in denver with the colorado rapids , as the first frenchman to join major_league_soccer . ''i felt very comfortable when i came here , very similar to where i come from in france , '' said grimandi , a midfielder from gap , france , in the southern alps . ''but what was more important was the good feeling i got when i came here . '' grimandi , 32 , left london after five years at arsenal and entertained offers from japan , middlesbrough in england , and french clubs like nice , sedan , strasbourg and troyes . earlier in his career grimandi played for arsenal coach arsene wenger when monaco won the french title in 1997 , and he followed wenger to england . ''when i told him i was thinking about going to america , wenger was a bit surprised , '' grimandi said . ''but , like me , he thought it would be a good challenge . he understood my feelings . '' grimandi , who at 5 foot 9 and 160 pounds has a reputation as a defensive midfielder , signed a three year contract with m.l.s . for 280 , 000 a year , although he could have made more money elsewhere . still , his signing does not follow the trend in m.l.s. , which has neither the money nor the inclination to pick up older stars from overseas . ''six months ago this guy was playing for arsenal at the highest level of the world club scene , '' colorado coach tim hankinson said . ''with his experience , gilles will bring a professional approach , one that our players have already embraced . they are picking his brains . he will be of particular help to pablo mastroeni in our midfield . '' grimandi practically dropped into the rapids' lap last summer when his agent , patrick mccabe , contacted hankinson after grimandi called him ''out of the blue . '' ''he wanted a different cultural experience , '' mccabe said about grimandi , who speaks excellent english . while grimandi trained last summer with the rapids , the metrostars also expressed passing interest . but that was before bob bradley took over as coach and changed the focus to younger players , both foreign and domestic . ''there are many players in europe who are interested in my experience in america , '' grimandi said . ''i am here to help the game go up , and i do believe that a few top players would be interested in coming here . for me , it was just time to move , to find a new life experience . '' confederations cup the tournament the soccer world loves to hate will not continue beyond 2005 , said michel platini , the president of fifa 's technical committee . platini said last week that the 2003 and 2005 confederations cups must be played because of contractual_obligations . the draw for the tournament , which will be played in france in june , was held last week , and the hosts were either extremely lucky in drawing japan , colombia and new zealand , or else the draw was stacked . the united_states ended up in a group with brazil , turkey and cameroon . ''it is not a compelling competition , '' paddy harverson , a spokesman for manchester united , said last week during an interview in manhattan . ''it is a competition too far for a lot of players whose season ends in may . if they played in this tournament , they would only have 10 days' holiday before our preseason begins . '' corner_kicks whither the golden goal ? uefa , the sport 's governing body in europe , has decided to do away with potential game winning sudden death goals in the champions_league and 2004 european championships . . . . the switch to a new defensive scheme and a prominent role for central defender gregg berhalter have given the struggling energie cottbus some hope in the german bundesliga . cottbus returned from the six week winter break by winning three and tying one as berhalter , who plays for the united_states national team , anchored a defense that has allowed one goal in the last four games while taking 10 of a possible 12 points . . . . the english second division club queens park rangers and milwaukee wave united ( a_league and major indoor soccer league ) have signed an agreement that will include player exchanges and clinics beginning this summer , according to the london based soccer investor newsletter . . . . japanese officials said they would not come to the united_states next month for matches against uruguay and the united_states because of security concerns . goltv is a new 24 hour soccer channel available on the dish network and soon on some digital cable services . it is aimed at the hispanic market in the united_states , but about 60 percent of its broadcasts will be in english on the secondary audio program , said enrique carrillo , the network 's vice_president for sales and marketing . there will also be a 60 minute weekend magazine wrapup in english . the schedule includes about 800 games , 300 live , from south and central_america , italy and real_madrid tv . jack bell beckham cut after being hit by shoe david_beckham , the captain of england 's national team , was cut over his left eyebrow saturday when he was struck by a shoe kicked in anger by his manchester united coach , alex ferguson , after a 2 0 defeat to arsenal . the dressing room incident came after united 's loss to arsenal in the f.a . cup 's fifth round . television footage showed beckham arriving for united 's training yesterday with a cut above his left eyebrow . ''it was a freak act of nature that happens , and it 's over , '' ferguson said in an interview shown on british television . ''it was more than just me upset in there . '' the medical staff at united 's old trafford stadium closed beckham 's cut with two stitches , the sun newspaper said . ( bloomberg_news ) soccer notebook	has a location of france
prime_minister jean_pierre_raffarin of france said on tuesday that muslim head_scarves must be banned from public schools because they undermine the french republican ideal of freedom and equality . ''certain religious signs , among them the islamic veil , are multiplying in our schools , '' mr . raffarin told the national_assembly in introducing a divisive bill to ban most religious symbols from public schools . ''they are taking on a political meaning . some want to know how far they can go . we are giving them a response today . '' he rejected arguments from observant muslims and jews that their religions require head coverings and that the ban would violate their freedom of belief . ''religion , '' he said , ''cannot be a political project . '' until now , most french officials , including president jacques_chirac , have avoided casting the debate on the banning of religious symbols as singling out islam . but in ''us against them'' language , mr . raffarin spoke of france as ''the old land of christianity , '' and he called on france 's muslims to behave like good citizens . ''today , all the great religions in the history of france have adapted themselves to that principle , '' of secularism , he said . ''for the most recently arrived , i 'm speaking here of islam , secularism is a chance , the chance to be a religion of france . '' the bill , as drafted , would ban from public elementary and high_schools ''ostensibly'' religious symbols , including the muslim head_scarf , the jewish skullcap and large christian crosses . it would not apply to private schools or to french schools in other countries . the punishment for violators of the new law would range from a warning to temporary_suspension and expulsion . with passion and anguish during the debate , which is expected to last four days , some speakers defended the measure as a necessary step to stop the spread of radical islam , while others predicted it would be impossible to enforce . pascal clement , the head of the law commission of the national_assembly , called the measure ''the flag of france whose colors we want to raise today , once again , above the schools . '' but the measure , proposed by mr . chirac in december after the recommendations of a presidential commission , has met with unexpected opposition from a small center right party , the union for french democracy , and criticism from some members of mr . chirac 's own commission that its work has been distorted . it also has divided the french cabinet and enraged france 's muslim minority and some of the teachers' unions , even as it has heartened both muslim and non muslim feminist groups . the conference of french catholic bishops and france 's tiny sikh minority oppose the measure french jewish leaders are in favor . still , the draft law is expected to pass because mr . chirac 's party , union for a popular movement , holds 364 seats in the 577 seat national_assembly , and a bill needs only 288 votes for passage . even within the french government , there is no agreement on what the new law would ban . last month , the minister of national education , luc ferry , said bandannas and even beards would be banned if they were considered to be religious symbols a few weeks before , the interior_minister , nicolas_sarkozy , had said muslim girls would be allowed to wear small bandannas . foreign_minister dominique de villepin was widely quoted in the french press as warning in a cabinet meeting that the measure was misunderstood abroad and would damage french relations with muslim dominated countries . the foreign ministry officially denied he made the remarks , but officials confirmed mr . de villepin 's intervention . some speakers suggested amendments that would ease the penalty for violators or replace the word ''ostensibly'' with ''visibly'' to better define prohibited symbols . a leader of the union for french democracy , fran_ois bayrou , said that a ban on all visible religious symbols would violate the french constitution and european_union human_rights regulations . in a new poll issued by the polling organization sofres on tuesday , 57 percent of the french said they believe that ostensibly religious symbols in school are ''a threat to national cohesion . '' but in a separate survey by the bva polling organization for the left leaning newspaper lib_ration on jan . 28 , 58 percent of the french said they think that the new law would be difficult to enforce . about 140 lawmakers in the national_assembly , the lower_house of parliament , are expected to speak about the bill , which is scheduled to go to a vote on feb . 10 . if passed , it will go into effect in september for the next school year .	has a location of france
and so , the 7 , 110 minutes of cbs 's winter_olympics broadcast are over . so are the 2 , 700 minutes of tnt 's coverage . share a moment with the world ? how about share a never ending marathon ? or an iditarod across all of the arctic ? devoted albertville watchers deserve a documentary made of them by the olympic filmmaker , bud greenspan . imagine the narration " the relentless mr . couch potato head . . . weary from his previous night 's labors . . . arises once more at 7 a.m . . . . to challenge anew the murderous course before him . . . to watch many more hours of slalom and skiing with guns . . . for he is a champion . . . spending 164 hours seated quietly on his sofa . . . taking copious notes . . . wearing out the tape heads of his video_cassette recorder . " time now to empty out those notebooks and take a last look at some of the good and bad of cbs and tnt in albertville why , they're cast as well as , let's see , harry reasoner and barbara_walters poor tim_mccarver and paula zahn . they are talented in their real life jobs , but blended as the prime time hosts about as badly as harry and barbara did during their years as nightly news anchors at abc . zahn loosened up , went to a few venues during the morning shows , but mccarver never left the studio . the job should have gone to one person greg gumbel . we haven't seen this much hype since the bay city rollers cbs played the melancholy dan_jansen song long after we cared to listen . after he lost the 500 meter race , the hype continued . he headed for the 1 , 000 . the hype rose . he lost the 1 , 000 , badly , and the broadcast that night still nagged us to watch . cbs seemed more upset than jansen about losing the races . sam kinison sounds like marceau compared with these folks cbs 's freestyle_skiing announcers , greg lewis and park smalley were so loud we could hear them just by opening our windows . and we still needed earplugs . local police in tignes reported avalanches from your volume . simplicity is underappreciated , or , " let's put a big photo of mountains behind us and pretend it's albertville " tnt was smart and low tech enough to think that an oversized photograph of the alps behind anchors nick charles and fred hickman , in an atlanta studio , would convey an ersatz sense of place . the cbs sets , save pat o'brien 's in late night , were as inviting as a speed skiing slope . " what did you want us to do , put up pictures of mountains ? " said duke struck , who supervised set design for cbs . yes , duke , that would have been nice . get these people a new abacus cbs claimed it had 10 1 2 minutes of commercials per hour during prime time . not so . a random walk through a few hours showed more ads were crowbarred . the 8 9 p.m . hour on feb . 22 featured 13 1 2 minutes of national commercials , plus 90 seconds of promotions for cbs programs and one minute of local spots . time to put arnold ( shame on you ) diaz of wcbs ( channel 2 ) on the case . stars are born cbs 's andy mill came out of the lengthy shadow of his wife , chris_evert , as the men 's downhill skiing analyst . when he made a point , he explained it , tersely and without bombast . tnt 's peter carruthers shone on figure_skating and kept quiet during skaters' routines until the replays . a star fizzles scott hamilton is an enthusiastic , but not fully credible analyst . he needs a thesaurus to find synonyms for " unbelievable . " he needs a governor on his emotions . and he needs to learn not to excuse bad routines by saying what skaters do is difficult enough without his criticizing them . there are ways to critique without worrying if midori_ito is going to slug you . can we see even more of those split screens ? the technical star of the games was cbs 's use of the split screen . during hockey , replays were shown on one screen while live action continued on the other . during skiing , we saw how one skier handled turns around gates against another at the same point on the course , thus showing how one gained or lost precious time . just what did baron pierre de coubertin mean ? so often we heard what the founder of the modern olympics intended the olympics to be . did he want elite athletes ? did he want amiable klutzes ? cbs 's al trautwig decided that he meant some of both , and gave us a tad more than we needed of an inept cross_country_skier , the cheerful faissal cherradi of morocco , who found it difficult to stay on his feet for very long . trautwig mined much more than that out of cross_country and was the most inventive venue reporter . they get a lot for their money sure , tnt was n't swimming in technical overkill , but it showed more and better events than it could have imagined . ted_turner 's network made its presence known for just 20 million one twelfth cbs 's 243 million rights fee . you need the right man for the job no better announcing team emerged from the olympics than cbs 's hockey team , john davidson and mike emrick . they call hockey full time and are always prepared . but cbs needed an expert on inanity for the opening and closing ceremonies . nobody knew what to say about the bubble ladies or the dancers with hula hoops glued to their waists or the epcot center vikings . but who knows the french better than jerry_lewis , their adopted saint of comedy ? he 'd have known what to say about that bewinged man fluttering about in an angel costume . airwaves sunday 's final night of olympic coverage on cbs garnered a preliminary overnight nielsen_rating of 14 . 4 the full national rating will be smaller , when released today . through saturday night , cbs 's 15 night rating average was 19 . 1 , down 2 percent from the 19 . 5 for abc during the 1988 winter_olympics . albertville tv sports	has a location of france
a report delivered to president jacques_chirac on thursday called for a new law banning the wearing of ''conspicuous'' religious symbols in french public schools large crosses for christians , head_scarves for muslim girls , or skullcaps for jewish boys . the recommendation was the most striking in an official reassessment of how to preserve the principle of the separation of religion and state in france in light of such developments as the rise of a large muslim population and a new wave of anti_semitism . that principle , the report said , would be guaranteed by impartiality and the banning of all conspicuous religious symbols in official institutions , but individuals using those institutions would not be barred from wearing ' 'discreet symbols like , for example , medallions , small crosses , stars of david , hands of fatima , or small korans . '' in today 's france , no social issue provokes more emotion and debate and cuts across political lines more sharply than the islamic veil . this week 's elle_magazine , for example , printed an open_letter to mr . chirac signed by leading french women muslim and non muslim calling for an outright ban . the report , prepared by an independent commission appointed by the government , also recommended that public schools add jewish and muslim holidays to the christian holidays now observed , a move so far untested in europe , and to provide special meals for jews and muslims in school cafeterias . in addition , employers were urged to allow employees to choose the religious holidays they take off for example , yom_kippur for jews , id al kebir for muslims or the orthodox christmas for orthodox christians . the 67 page report is the work of a_20 member commission of religious leaders , teachers , politicians and sociologists that was created in july by mr . chirac . it is certain to intensify rather than quiet the increasingly shrill debate in france over the intrusion of religion into public institutions as the country struggles to retain the ideal of strict separation between religion and state it codified into law a century ago . the report highlights the challenges that france , like much of europe , faces in coming to grips with islam . in one measure of the significance of the report , le_monde published it in its entirety in an eight page supplement . the report 's whole tenor indicated that the state intends to reassert what it regards as its traditional right to pronounce on how religion influences public life in france . the commission said that a 1905 law codifying the separation of church and state was no longer adequate given the cultural and religious composition of present day france . it said that organized groups were testing the secular_state by demands on public services in the name of religion and pressuring muslims to identify first with their faith and then with their french citizenship . ''in one century , because of immigration , french society has become diverse in terms of its spiritual and religious aspect , '' the report said . ''the challenge today is to give space to new religions while at the same time to succeed in integration and struggle against political religious manipulation . '' bernard stasi , a former education minister who headed the commission , said at a news conference announcing its conclusions that the commission had been ''astonished to see that the situation was more serious than what we previously thought . '' ''there are without any doubt forces in france that try to destabilize the republic , and it 's time for the republic to react , '' he said . currently , there is no uniform regulation on wearing veils in public schools . a ruling in 1989 by france 's council of state declared that religious symbols could not be worn in public schools if they ''constitute an act of intimidation , provocation , proselytizing or propaganda , '' threaten health , security or the freedom of others or ' 'disturb order . '' mr . chirac will decide next wednesday whether to accept the commission 's recommendations , including whether to support a law banning head_scarves in schools . some opponents of a ban argue that it will harden the ideological battle lines and spawn the establishment of private islamic schools that will be hard for the state to monitor . many french muslims defend the wearing of the veil as a religious obligation dictated by the koran . supporters of a ban say that it is the only way to stop what they see as increasing demands by france 's large muslim community for special privileges , like the separation of men and women in public swimming_pools and treatment of female patients exclusively by female doctors . the open_letter in elle said , ''the islamic veil sends us all muslims and non muslims back to a discrimination against women that is intolerable . '' it was signed by dozens of prominent women , including the actresses isabelle adjani and nathalie baye the historian elisabeth badinter the writer catherine millet and the fashion_designer sonia rykiel . among the muslim signers was fadela amara , founder of ni putes ni soumises ( neither whores nor doormats ) , a movement that represents women from the immigrant suburbs of paris . by contrast , a letter this week from the council of christian_churches , representing roman_catholics , orthodox christians and protestants , warned that any law banning the islamic head_scarf ''would be felt as discriminatory . '' one motivating_factor behind the declaration was that the wearing of crosses would most likely also be banned . some conservative politicians , like christine boutin , a deputy in parliament , oppose a ban because , as she argues , it is better to ''trivialize'' the veil and get used to it rather than ' 'stigmatize'' it and make it more of a crisis . even within the french government , there are deep divisions . mr . chirac has made no secret of his opposition to head_scarves in schools , telling students at the french high_school in tunis last week that he saw ' 'something aggressive'' in the wearing of muslim veils and pledging that the french_state would forbid students to wear what he called ''ostentatious signs of religious proselytism . '' by contrast , france 's interior_minister , nicolas_sarkozy , opposes such a law , arguing that an outright ban would represent ' 'secular fundamentalism . '' r my schwartz , the commission 's secretary , said at thursday 's news conference that members were shocked in the course of their hearings to find that some muslim girls said they were pressured into wearing veils by family and ''outside groups , '' a reference to muslims who advocate strict religious practices . ''many asked for protection from the state , that the state forbid the wearing of religious symbols in school to guarantee their protection and their individual freedom , '' mr . schwartz said . the report also dealt with issues much broader than women wearing a veil . among them was the issue of pressure brought by some muslim prison inmates on other prisoners to insist their families wear ' 'religiously correct'' clothing during visits , and demanding strict religious observance while in prison . the report also touched on the different religious traditions in burying the dead and religious prejudices in everyday french life like the de facto job discrimination against candidates of foreign origin or foreign parentage . it also addressed the anti semitic sentiment among alienated muslim youth and the hostility in some schools toward the teaching of the holocaust . other topics in the report were related to health and education issues , like the refusal by some muslim women to be treated by male doctors , and the refusal by some girls taking first aid courses to give emergency treatment to male accident victims . another part of the report dealt with social differences like the refusal of some muslim women to shake hands with men . among the report 's other recommendations were the development of arabic_language programs in public schools the creation of a national school for islamic studies the recruitment of muslim chaplains in the armed_forces , prisons and hospitals the elimination of ''urban ghettos , '' neighborhoods heavily_populated with one ethnic_group , through urban_renewal projects the teaching of the ideal of secularism and the ' 'solemn adoption'' of what will be called a ''charter of secularism'' to explain the republican ideal of the secular_state .	has a location of france
it has been nearly 24 years since soviet tanks rolled into wenceslas square , but the czechoslovakia olympic hockey team continued to memorialize the event tonight with a visceral 4 3 victory over the unified team . the czechoslovaks pressed hard for 60 minutes , giving up their bodies all over the ice until the final buzzer and the sing song celebration in the locker_room . the effort was not unusual for the eastern_european underdogs , who usually come up big against the russians , or their latest namesakes , in mid tournament . after that , it is a roll of the dumpling . " there is a problem between the russians and czechs , " said jiri slegr , the czechoslovak defenseman , explaining his team 's success . " it is still there . " 'we kept hitting them' all of the unified team goals were scored on power plays , and referee george mccorry of canada warned both benches to stop the rough stuff midway through the third period . the czechoslovaks did not listen , and finally scored the winning goal on a snap shot by petr rosol from the slot at 16 minutes 42 seconds of the third period , their first victory in olympic competition over the former soviets since 1968 . " my team is more tough than the russians , " slegr said . " we kept hitting them . " it was a day for tough going , as competition in the olympic hockey tournament began to get serious for the first time . today it was the teams in group b and thursday it will be group a 's turn , with the key match pitting the united_states against finland both teams have two victories in their first two olympic_games . it will be a match between ego bruised powers finland , team of reluctant refugees from the national_hockey_league , versus the united_states , squad of do it yourself inferiority complexes . let the chips fall as they may , mostly from their shoulders . today was more a time to settle old scores . the czechoslovaks , like the unified team , have lost several of their stars to the n.h.l . but unlike their young opponents , the czechoslovaks have gone to older , more experienced players to fill the breach left by the departure of jaromir_jagr , robert reichl and michal pivonka . the older players , apparently , have no problem remembering the prague spring . the victory tonight , in the first matchup of medal_contenders , was achieved with politically_correct backchecks and opportunistic sniping in front of the net . " to win against this team is the same like in canada winning against the canadiens , " said czechoslovakia 's coach , ivan hlinka , who insisted the victory was no political statement . " they are just one of the best teams in the world . " a berth in quarterfinals the victory clinched a spot in the quarterfinal round for the czechoslovaks , who could claim the no . 1 seeding in group b with victories over powerful canada and weak switzerland . the defeat , however , did not eliminate the unified team from tournament . earlier today , france earned a dramatic victory in front of the home fans , 4 3 , on a goal by stephane barin at 16 42 of the third period . the french now are likely to advance to the quarterfinals as the fourth qualifier from group b . canada defeated norway , 10 0 , to remain in a first place tie , and also to clinch a quarterfinal berth . eric_lindros had a goal and two assists , as canada completed the easy portion of its schedule . for the united_states , the hard part is ahead . the americans face finland doubting how seriously their opponents take them . " we do n't know if they respect us , " center ted donato said today of the finns . " in practice , they 're a lot fancier . they watch and giggle at us . these teams believe they 're more intelligent than we are . they see us as a bunch of young kids . " when the puck is dropped , that 's when emotion comes in , " donato said . " we 'll give them the puck for 55 minutes and go for the results . go take all your stickhandling and go celebrate with that . " donato 's belligerent attitude is no accident . it has been carefully nurtured by the american coaches and by the players themselves . in their hotel in la tania , there is only talk of the europeans' superior airs , not of their accessibility or friendliness outside the arena . when it was discovered that the united_states players would be sharing the same hotel with its opponents , hockey organizers provided nintendo and monopoly games for team members to curtail socializing . with the exception of 31 year old veteran moe mantha , who ca n't stop himself from greeting old teammates and opponents in every hallway , the americans stick to themselves . finland , a team with 10 former n.h.l . players , is taking the match on thursday quite seriously . as finland 's assistant coach , sakari pietila , put it , from a broken lexicon of a hipper past , " this whole 'nother happening . " " now that we play the u.s . , " said right wing hannu jarvenpaa , " the tournament is starting . " albertville	has a location of france
lead the bidding for the television rights to the 1992 winter olympic games will be held next month and will probably go to about 200 million , a drop of more than 100 million from this year 's games . the bidding for the television rights to the 1992 winter olympic games will be held next month and will probably go to about 200 million , a drop of more than 100 million from this year 's games . one reason for the lower price is that the time difference between albertville , in the french_alps , and the united_states will result in many events being shown on tape rather than live . the calgary games cost abc 309 million , a price the network said was too high . jean_claude_killy , the legendary french skier and a co president of the albertville organizing_committee , was in new york yesterday to make arrangements for a may 24 meeting that will include abc , cbs and nbc . bob wussler , executive vice_president of turner_broadcasting system , said cable companies would also be represented at the meeting .	has a location of france
there are 32 , 000 students at the nanterre campus of the university of paris , but no student center , no bookstore , no student run newspaper , no freshman orientation , no corporate recruiting system . the 480 , 000 volume central library is open only 10 hours a day , closed on sundays and holidays . only 30 of the library 's 100 computers have internet_access . the campus cafeterias close after lunch . professors often do not have office hours many have no office . some classrooms are so overcrowded that at exam time many students have to find seats elsewhere . by late afternoon every day the campus is largely empty . sandwiched between a prison and an unemployment office just outside paris , the university here is neither the best nor the worst place to study in this fairly wealthy country . rather , it reflects the crisis of france 's archaic state owned university system overcrowded , underfinanced , disorganized and resistant to the changes demanded by the outside world . ''in the united_states , your university system is one of the drivers of american prosperity , '' said claude all gre , a former education minister who tried without success to reform french universities . ''but here , we simply do n't invest enough . universities are poor . they 're not a priority either for the state or the private_sector . if we do n't reverse this trend , we will kill the new generation . '' it was student discontent on campuses across france that fired up the recent protests against a law that would have made it easier for employers to dismiss young workers . college students were driven by fear that their education was worth little and that after graduation they would not find jobs . the protests closed or disrupted a majority of france 's universities for weeks , labor_unions declared solidarity and eventually the government was forced to withdraw the law . ''universities are factories , '' said christine le forestier , 24 , a 2005 graduate of nanterre with a master 's degree who has not found a stable job . ''they are machines to turn out thousands and thousands of students who have learned all about theory but nothing practical . a diploma is worth nothing in the real world . '' the problems stem in part from the student revolts of may 1968 , which grew out of an unexceptional event at nanterre the year before . one march evening , male students protesting the sexual segregation of the dormitories occupied the women 's dormitory and were evicted by the police . a year later , nanterre students protesting the war in vietnam occupied the administration building , the first such action by students at a french university . the student revolt spread , turning into a mass movement aimed at transforming the authoritarian , elitist french system of governance . ultimately 10 million workers left their jobs in a strike that came close to forcing de gaulle from power . one result was that the country 's university system guaranteed a free or almost free college education to every high_school graduate who passed the baccalaur at exam . university enrollment soared . the value of a bachelor 's degree plummeted . but the state failed to invest much in buildings , facilities and professors' salaries to make the system work . today the french government allocates about 8 , 500 a year to each university student , about 40 percent less than what it invests in each high_school student . most students are required to attend the universities closest to their high_schools . although certain universities excel in specific fields of study , the course offerings in , say , history or literature are generally the same throughout the country . compounding the problem , france is caught between its official promotion of the republican notion of equality and its commitment to the nurturing of an elite cadre of future leaders and entrepreneurs . only 4 percent of french students make it into the most competitive french universities the public ''grandes_coles . '' but the grandes_coles , along with a swath of semiprivate preparatory schools , absorb 30 percent of the public budget . they are well organized , well equipped , overwhelmingly white and upper_middle_class , and infused with the certainty that their graduates will take the best jobs in government and the private_sector . students are even paid to attend . the practice in the united_states of private endowments providing a large chunk of college budgets is seen as strange in france . tuition is about 250 a year , hardly a sufficient source of income for colleges . but asking the french to pay more of their way in college seems out of the question . when the government proposed a reform in 2003 to streamline curriculums and budgets by allowing each university more flexibility and independence , students and professors rebelled . they saw the initiative as a step toward privatization of higher_education that they feared would lead to higher fees and threaten the universal right of high_school graduates to a college education . the government backed down . at nanterre , alexandre frydlender , 19 , a second year student in law and history , complained about the lack of courses in english for students of international_law . but asked whether he would be willing to pay a higher fee for better services , he replied ''the university is a public service . the state must pay . '' a poster that hangs throughout the campus halls echoed that sentiment ''to study is a right , not a privilege . '' professors lack the standing and the salaries of the private_sector . a starting instructor can earn less than 20 , 000 a year the most senior professor in france earns about 75 , 000 a year . research among the faculty is not a priority . because students generally are required to attend the university closest to home , most do not live on campus . at nanterre , for example , there are only 1 , 050 dormitory rooms and a long waiting list . the amenities are few . twenty two students share three toilets , three showers and a small kitchen furnished with only a sink and a few electric burners . ''there 's no place where students can hang out , no place to play cards or to watch a movie , '' said jean giraud , 20 , a second year law student who lives in one of the dorms . ''people come for class and then go home . '' while students are ready to protest against something they dislike , there is little sense of belonging or pride in one 's surroundings . during the recent protests over the contested labor law , that attitude of alienation contributed to the destruction of property , even computers and books , at some universities . the protests also were the latest warning to the french government and private corporations that the university system needs fixing . officials , entrepreneurs , professors and students alike agree that too many students are stuck in majors like sociology or psychology that make it difficult to move into a different career in a stratified society like france , given the country 's troubled economy . the fear of joblessness has led many young people in different directions . students who have the money are increasingly turning to foreign universities or private specialized schools in france , especially for graduate school . and more young people are seeking a security for life job with a government_agency . in a speech at the sorbonne in late april after the labor law was rescinded , prime_minister dominique de villepin pledged ''a new pact between the university and the french people . '' mr . de villepin , a graduate of the cole nationale d'administration , the grandest of the grandes_coles , promised more money and more flexibility , saying that as in the united_states , a student with a master 'sdegree in philosophy should be able to become a financial_analyst . when a student asked him to explain how he proposed to do that , mr . de villepin had no concrete answer . instead he talked about the ''happiness of the dog that leaves its kennel . '' but flexibility is not at all the tradition in france , where students are put on fixed career tracks at an early age . ''we are caught in a world of limits where there 's no such thing as the self made man , '' said claire de la vigne , a graduate of nanterre who is now doing graduate work at the much more prestigious institut d' tudes politiques de paris . ''we are never taught the idea of the american_dream , where everything is possible . our guide is fear . ''	has a location of france
the new education minister , fran_ois fillon , suggested that the law prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols in schools , including islamic head_scarves , could be interpreted to allow bandannas . ''it is only necessary that it not be ostentatious , because that 's what the law says , '' he said . ''there were bandannas in school before the question of the head_scarf issue came up . '' at a gathering of the union of islamic organizations of france last weekend , the group 's leader proposed that muslim girls learn to use bandannas as ' 'discreet headwear . '' h l ne fouquet ( nyt )	has a location of france
laure manaudou was 14 and she had just won a silver_medal in the 100 meter_backstroke at the 2002 french championships behind roxana maracineanu , the world champion backstroker who was 11 years her senior . for most youngsters , such a result would have been cause for a shriek of delight , but up on the podium , manaudou looked as glum as a teenager who has just had her cellphone confiscated . ''her face said it all , '' maracineanu said . ''she 's always been very ambitious . '' five years later , that ambition and the sacrifices and heavy workload that go with it have transformed manaudou into one of swimming 's dominant and most versatile figures . she left her parents and her home at 14 to train in melun , france , with the taskmaster coach philippe lucas . she stopped formal schooling at 15 , but her range now extends from the 50 meter_backstroke to the 1 , 500 meter_freestyle . but she is at her very best in the middle distance freestyle events , as she has underscored here at the world swimming championships . she broke the world record in the 400 on sunday and in the 200 on wednesday in a stirring final that left her gasping for air and forming a heart shape with her fingers in a message to her boyfriend , the italian swimmer luca marin , who is also competing here . ''the 400 is my race , and i was definitely feeling the pressure , but in the 200 i could just let it go and enjoy myself , '' said manaudou , who broke through by winning the 400 free at the olympics . like michael phelps , who smashed his 200 butterfly record earlier in the evening , manaudou has no fear of doubling or tripling up in the same session . on tuesday night , she swam the 100 backstroke , taking the silver_medal behind natalie coughlin of the united_states , then jumped back into the pool for the 1 , 500 free and then the semifinals of the 200 free in the same session . ''she 's had a breakout year , '' phelps said . ''she 's definitely a talented swimmer . i was pretty impressed about that triple . '' it did not all work as planned . manaudou finished in last place in the 1 , 500 final tuesday . but after a rare morning off , the 20 year old did not look the least bit world weary in the 200 free , as she took command of the race at the halfway mark with her brutally quick stroke rate and then held off annika lurz of germany on the final lap to win in 1 minute 55 . 52 seconds . in any given lap , manaudou might take as many as 15 strokes more than some of her less manic rivals . ''her stroke rate is huge , '' maracineanu said . ''it 's perfect for middle distance . i think if you watched a tape of janet evans , i think you 'd see she was even faster than laure . the real middle distance swimmers have a capacity to turn their arms really quickly , and it 's usually to compensate for the fact that they do n't have the strength under the water . but that 's where laure is different . she has power to move the water as well . she gets loads of leverage , which is why she 's also good in the backstroke . '' manaudou 's 200 time was nearly a second faster than the world record set by federica pellegrini of italy less than 24 hours earlier . it has been that sort of championships , one where seven world records have already fallen at the halfway mark . phelps , in the rarest form of his career , has already broken two . in the 200 butterfly , he led from the first wall to the finish to break his own mark by a stunning 1 . 62 seconds in 1 52 . 09 . it was the biggest improvement in the record in 48 years , and as the one man show disguised as a race progressed , there was as much awe as applause in the stands , as fans looked at each other and the clock and back at each other again . the winning margin was also the greatest in world championship history for the 200 fly as the silver medalist wu peng of china finished slightly more than three seconds back . ''i feel like a_12 year old being able to drop more than a second off my best time , '' phelps said . ''i feel like an age group swimmer again . i 'm definitely really pleased . '' he has set 18 individual world records , and his performance wednesday was , in some respects , more of a jaw dropper than his beating ian thorpe 's world record in the 200 freestyle tuesday . at this stage , one where phelps is making an increasingly convincing case for being the best swimmer in history , it is difficult to imagine anyone lopping 1 . 62 seconds off one of his records . leave it to phelps , and perhaps everyone should have seen a big gain coming . he already had broken his 200 butterfly record last month in a preliminary meet in the united_states when he was not yet shaved and tapered . that performance was so recent that the record had not yet been ratified by swimming 's international governing body . ''i honestly did n't really know what to expect in the butterfly , '' phelps said . ''i felt horrible in the warm up pool . '' phelps had felt terrific in the same place tuesday night , but it does not seem to matter what happens before he gets in the pool at this stage . the result is going to be a lower number than even he expects . ''my goal was to break 1 53 , '' phelps said . ''but i never thought i would be that close to 1 51 . '' he said ''since i went 1 54 , it 's pretty much been piece by piece . it 's never been a whole chunk out of the record like that . i guess we 're doing something right in the pool back home . '' though this has been an upbeat championships for phelps and the americans , there was a downbeat note thursday when brendan hansen , the reigning world champion in the 200 breaststroke , had to withdraw from the heats of the event , citing a virus . hansen , who already had won the 100 here , looked fit wednesday night when he finished second in the 50 . but according to a statement issued by the american team , he later felt ill and was monitored by doctors throughout the night . there is still a chance he may race in the 400 medley_relay sunday . swimming	has a location of france
lead the tour de france entered its final week today by shaking out the leadership during a time trial up mont ventoux in provence . the tour de france entered its final week today by shaking out the leadership during a time trial up mont ventoux in provence . to general surprise , the overall leader 's yellow jersey is now worn by jean fran 3cois bernard , the 25 year old leader of the toshiba team based in france . bernard , who had been second over all before today 's event , is a frenchman , which made his victory in the 22 . 6 mile time trial especially popular with the hundreds of thousands who watched him climb the mountain . known as a strong competitor in time trials and a splendid all round rider , bernard was not expected to overpower the pure climbers in the long ascent over gradients that often exceeded 9 degrees . easily defeats climbers yet , by finishing in 1 hour 19 minutes 44 seconds , he easily defeated climbers like luis herrera , who was second , 1 39 behind pedro delgado , who was third , and fabio parra , who was fourth . another all round rider , stephen roche , was fifth . the day 's results put bernard in first place just before the 25 day race enters the alps . second over all in least elapsed time is roche , an irishman with the carrera team , 2 34 behind . he was third before today 's race . third over all is charly mottet , a frenchman with the systeme u team , 2 47 behind after leading the race for a week . delgado , a spaniard with the pdm team , is fourth , and herrera , a colombian with cafe de colombia , is fifth . attack in alps all may be expected to carry the attack in the alps to bernard and his team , which raced last year under the sponsorship and name of la vie claire health_food stores . the time trial was two races in one the first half over rolling road , the final half straight climbing over a mountain rated beyond category in steepness and difficulty . luckily for the racers , it was a sunny , cool day with the weather at the summit positively chilly . it was near the ventoux summit in 1967 that the tour de france recorded its only death of a contestant . tom simpson , an englishman , collapsed during a climb in high humidity and heat exceeding 110 degrees . rushed to a hospital in avignon by helicopter , he died late the same afternoon . an autopsy found traces of amphetamines in his blood not enough to have been fatal , but enough to have overcome simpson 's pain threshhold . the death , which was marked today when tour organizers placed a wreath at a memorial plaque , helped bring about drug checks of riders . canins regains lead saint nizier , france , july 19 ( ap ) maria canins of italy won the ninth stage time trial of the women 's tour de france today and regained the overall leader 's yellow jersey by a margin of 2 seconds . she covered the 15 mile course from correncon to saint nizier 22 seconds ahead of jeannie longo of france , who had replaced canins as the overall leader on the fifth stage at luz ardiden . canins was timed in 32 minutes 29 seconds . tamara poliakova of the soviet_union finished third , 30 seconds behind canins . 2 fail testing carpentras , france , july 19 ( ap ) guido bontempi of italy and dietrich thurau of west_germany failed drug tests after earlier stages of the tour de france , race officials said today . bontempi of the carrera team tested positive on july 7 after the seventh stage , which he won . he has now been demoted to last place in the stage , with 10 minutes deducted from his overall time . thurau , who tested positive after the eighth stage on july 8 , was similarly penalized . he finished 101st on that stage and was relegated to last place . the west_german abandoned the tour at the beginning of the 15th stage with a knee injury . tour de france	has a location of france
during a changeover in the middle of her third round match , venus_williams whipped out a notebook and flipped through its pages , desperately looking at strategy and inspirational sayings she had compiled for times just like this . in her first grand_slam event since wimbledon last year , williams struggled at the french open on friday . one glimpse at her opponent during that changeover showed how badly things were going . jelena jankovic , seeded fourth , sat in her chair at courtside , giggling . she stole glances at the box in the stands where a crowd of boisterous friends and family from serbia cheered and sang . she needed to bury her face in a towel to repress her laughter . jankovic had plenty to be happy about in her 6 4 , 4 6 , 6 1 victory that knocked williams , a five time grand_slam_singles champion , out of the tournament . going into the fourth round at roland_garros , the only american remaining is the eighth_seeded serena_williams , venus 's sister , who beat michaella krajicek , 6 3 , 6 4 , on friday night . ''i have really positive people in my player box , so it really helps me to play , and it releases the tension on the court , '' said jankovic , who referred to herself and her entourage as clowns , because they are so giddy when they are together . later , jankovic wondered why so many players looked solemn during their matches . ''why go to the court like you are going to a cemetery ? '' she said , grinning wide . ''it does n't make any sense to me . '' for williams , there was not much reason to smile . with her wrists taped , she remained stoic throughout the match , although she shrieked several times when her shots flew wide or long . her stinging first serve , which reached a grand_slam record 128 miles an hour earlier this week , did not rattle jankovic . neither did her powerful shots that landed in nearly every spot on the court . with grace and ease , jankovic returned those shots , skillfully and joyfully hitting on the lines or into the corners . without much resistance from williams , jankovic won the first set . williams recovered , taking a 3 0 lead in the second set before winning it , 6 4 . the third set flew by for williams , who was worn down by long rallies and jankovic 's ability to stay peppy on the clay . jankovic broke her serve three times . williams double faulted twice . her shots , particularly her forehands , often floated long . she hit a backhand into the net to end the match . ''i 'm disappointed that i lost , but i feel like i 'm playing well , '' williams said . ''i think i just got a little bit tired at the end , too . it 's tough on clay . '' williams , who turns 27 this month , had played the 22 year old jankovic four times before . jankovic now has a 3 2 edge , having won their past three matches . in april , jankovic beat williams in the semifinals of the clay_court event in charleston , s.c . jankovic also eliminated williams in the third round at wimbledon last year , preventing williams from successfully defending her title . williams said that those previous losses did not affect the way she played friday . considering how much tennis she has missed in the past year because of wrist problems , williams said that she was happy with how she played at roland_garros . her father , richard williams , said he thought she looked intimidated . ''venus played with fear because she lost to that girl a couple of times now , '' he said , shaking his head . ''i 've never ever seen her play like that before . she has never been that scared of hitting the ball . ''if i was her and i kept playing like that , i would just quit . i 'd just retire . '' zina garrison , venus_williams 's coach on the united_states fed_cup team , said she thought williams looked strong , but that she lacked the energy to keep up with jankovic . williams lost a few pounds recently , garrison said , and that may have weakened her . garrison seemed impressed with every part of jankovic 's game , saying , ''it 's been a long time since i 've seen anyone who moves as easily as her . '' it has also been a long time since there has been a player as bubbly as jankovic , whose upbeat attitude seems irrepressible . her mother , snezana , takes credit for that . snezana jankovic , an economist in belgrade , serbia 's capital , said she made a point of reminding jelena to stay happy . she added ''i tell her , 'do n't ever cry about tennis because i do n't want to see your tears . when you cry , it hurts me , too . if you lose , just stay happy and forget it . if you are good enough , the results will come . ' '' notes both no . 1 seeds won matches friday to reach the fourth round . roger_federer , the world 's no . 1 , beat potito starace without breaking a sweat , 6 2 , 6 3 , 6 0 . justine_henin , the two time defending french open champion , only looked as if she had broken a sweat because it rained during her match . on her 25th birthday , henin defeated mara santangelo , 6 2 , 6 3 , while fighting through stomach cramps . ''no , it was nothing to do with my being 25 , although i 'm aging , that 's true , '' she said . she said that the cramps were probably a result of stress as she waited for her match to begin . tennis	has a location of france
the french economy may be stagnant and unemployment still rising , but it took a perceived threat to the public_school system to bring hundreds of thousands of people into the streets of paris today in the first major protest against the rightist government of prime_minister edouard_balladur . the demonstration was enthusiastically backed by socialist and communist opposition leaders , who , still nursing their wounds after the conservatives' overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections last march , were eager to be seen identifying with a genuinely popular cause . organizers of the daylong march to the place de la nation in eastern paris maintained that one million people had taken part , while the paris police estimated the turnout at around 260 , 000 . the most recent demonstrations of this size , in 1984 and 1986 , were also protests over education policy . this time , the protest went ahead even though the government decided to abandon its disputed plan to increase state financing of private and religious schools after some of its features were declared unconstitutional by the watchdog constitutional council last week . with stuntmen and bands providing entertainment , the crowds marched under banners reading , " schools belong to the people , not to the pope ! " and " no money for the clergy ! " " this is a loud protest scream so that it never happen again , " said guy le neouannic , head of the teachers' union . end to ceiling proposed the government 's plan was to eliminate the 10 percent ceiling on municipal financing of private schools , so they could spend more on improvements . but protesters said that abandoning the limit would divert much needed resources from the public_school system and weaken a 150 year old tradition of secular education . around 17 percent of french students now attend private schools , most of them run by the roman_catholic_church . because those schools take the pressure off public schools , the state has in fact long paid the salaries of teachers in private schools . last week mr . balladur tried to silence critics by promising an extra 420 million to public schools over the next five years . but such was public opposition to the new bill that even the president , francois_mitterrand , a socialist , spoke out against the bill and implicitly backed today 's protest . the leftist opposition jumped at the chance of embarrassing a government that despite its failure to revive the french economy to date , has remained enormously_popular . today some organizers of the protest said it marked the rebirth of the left . political experts said that even though mr . balladur has been forced to back down in much the same way as he abandoned a plan to restructure air_france after a disruptive strike last summer , there is no certainty that the dispute will mark the end of his honeymoon with the electorate . a poll published today in the journal du dimanche said 70 percent of those surveyed favored the government 's decision to drop its educational reform bill and 50 percent believed the protest today would be " useful . " but 59 percent also said the constitutional court 's ruling against the bill did not represent a personal failure for the prime_minister .	has a location of france
lead the french will never again have to complain about having oignons ( onions ) and huitres ( oysters ) at their pique niques . the french will never again have to complain about having oignons ( onions ) and huitres ( oysters ) at their pique niques . as a result of new rules that the french government is recommending to simplify the sometimes mind bending complications of french spelling , the french will now be able to eat ognons ( no i ) and huitres ( no accent mark ) at their piqueniques ( no hyphen ) . ( the ''i'' in the word oignon , pronounced ohn yonh , with a diphthong , has long been silent huitre is pronounced hwee truh . ) aware of france 's deep pride in the language of moliere and proust , prime_minister michel_rocard cautiously called on the nation 's schools this week to begin teaching the new rules in september 1991 . the changes affect about 1 , 200 french words . the high commission on the french_language , which was appointed by the prime_minister , issued its report this week after it won the approval of the academie francaise , the academy of intellectuals that has for centuries been the guardian of the french_language . ''it was never a question that the government legislate in such matters , '' mr . rocard said . ''the language belongs to those who use it . '' nevertheless , he said , it is the government 's role to recommend usage that ''appears most satisfactory . '' the spelling report comes after years of angry debate between purists who say their beautiful language should not be tinkered with and dissenters who complain that french schoolchildren are wasting thousands of hours memorizing illogical spellings when that time could be better spent studying computers and quarks . hoping to fend off a backlash by the purists , the high council played down the importance of its recommendations , saying they were not full scale reforms but ' 'rectifications'' that were ' 'modest in content and scope . '' the high commission , which included writers , journalists , corporate leaders , scientists and the film_director jean luc godard , noted that it was careful not to make recommendations so sweeping that ''a novel of the past century would become unintelligible . '' the commission said that on average just one word per page would be changed in a novel like ''les miserables'' by victor hugo . the recommendations focused on eliminating many hyphens and circumflex accents and creating uniform rules for the plurals of many words . retiring the circumflex ? the circumflex accent that often appears over the letters ''i'' and ''u'' will be eliminated in many words . thus ''ile'' ( island ) becomes ''ile , '' ' 'diner'' ( dinner ) becomes ' 'diner'' and ''cout'' ( cost ) becomes ''cout . '' the circumflex will remain on well known verbs like ''apparaitre'' ( to appear ) and ''naitre'' ( to be born ) . circumflexes will remain on the word ' 'sur'' ( sure ) , to distinguish it from ' 'sur , '' meaning ''on . '' the commission also called for a huge reduction in the number of hyphens , so that ''contre espionnage'' becomes the fused word ''contrespionnage'' and ''croque monsieur , '' the grilled ham and cheese sandwich , becomes ''croquemonsieur . '' some american imports , like ''week end , '' ''cow boy'' and ' 'strip tease , '' will drop their hyphens . but hyphens will be added in numbers over 100 , so that ''cent vingt neuf'' ( 129 ) will become ''cent vingt neuf . '' bernard pivot , who for 15 years has run a popular television_program on literature called ''apostrophes , '' said , ''the purists are going to scream , but children and foreigners will be happy . '' the national association of schoolteachers backed the recommendations . but the societe des agreges , an elite group of scholars with advanced teaching degrees , said ''once more , parents and teachers will be disoriented and will no longer come to accept any rule . once again under the pretext of remedying supposed anomalies , new ones are being introduced . '' a matter of logic ? prime minster rocard asked the high commission last october to issue recommendations on spelling after a series of books were published attacking french spellings for being illogical . in addition , some government officials pushed for the changes because they believed that making french spelling easier would help france gain in its fight with english to be taught as the second language in many countries . but the high council said current spelling rules should continue to be tolerated for many years . other recommendations include changing many anomalies . thus ''bonhomie'' will become ''bonhommie , '' so that it is consistent with ''homme'' ( man ) , while ''imbecillite'' becomes ''imbecilite . '' ''combatif'' will become ''combattif'' to agree with the verb ''combattre'' ( to combat ) . the rules also call for changing some plurals . the plural of ''apres midi'' becomes ''apres midis'' rather than simply ''apres midi . '' it also seeks to regularize the plurals of foreign words that have been adopted in france , although those plurals might cause many foreigners to wince . the plurals of ''ravioli'' and ''graffiti'' become ''raviolis'' and ''graffitis , '' and the plural of ' 'match'' becomes ' 'matchs . '' avant et apres these are some of the changes recommended by the french government to simplify french spelling . changes in accents some words that will lose the circumflex huitre ( oyster ) becomes huitre aout ( august ) becomes aout murir ( to ripen ) becomes murir bruler ( to burn ) becomes bruler gouter ( to taste ) becomes gouter diner ( dinner ) becomes diner but certain verbs keep the cirumflex , among them paraitre ( to appear ) naitre ( to be born ) the word ' 'sur'' will keep its circumflex when it is used to mean ' 'sure , '' and will still be spelled ' 'sur'' when it is used to mean ''on top . '' changes in hyphenation some words that will lose their hyphens pique nique becomes piquenique porte monnaie ( purse ) becomes portemonnaie contre offensive becomes controffensive contre espionage becomes contrespionage week end becomes weekend cow boy becomes cowboy changes in spelling some words with new spellings bonhomie becomes bonhommie oignon becomes ognon ( the word is pronounced ohn yoh ) chariot becomes charriot combatif becomes combattif	has a location of france
once his match was over and the final beads of sweat had trickled down roger_federer 's glistening face , he disappeared into the tunnel off the main court at the french open . and for hours , he waited . he had just defeated fourth_seeded nikolay davydenko in straight sets on friday , 7 5 , 7 6 ( 5 ) , 7 6 ( 7 ) , to advance to the final at roland_garros his record eighth grand_slam_tournament final in a row . but the question of whom he would play in that final still loomed . would it be rafael nadal or novak djokovic who would stand between federer and a fourth consecutive grand_slam_singles title ? ''i mean , i probably prefer djokovic , to be honest , '' federer said before that second match was done . ''never lost against the guy , and the guy has never played in a grand_slam final . so that would be stupid to say the other guy . '' hours later , federer learned that his wish would not be granted . that other guy , nadal , ended up defeating djokovic , 7 5 , 6 4 , 6 2 , to set up the match everyone has been waiting for . on sunday at roland_garros , it will be roger versus rafa , no . 1 versus no . 2 , one of the best players in history versus the best in the world on clay . neither would admit he had the edge . ''he has already won the title twice , so i 'd say he was the favorite , '' federer said . nadal said , ''he beat me the last time in hamburg , but for that reason , maybe , he 's the favorite . '' so far , at least at roland_garros , nadal has had the secret to beating federer . he defeated him in the finals last year , and in the semifinals in 2005 . this year , he has not dropped a single set at this tournament , and he said this was his best clay_court season ever . just one tiny thing has marred nadal 's season so far one week before the french open , federer finally figured out how to beat nadal on clay , halting nadal 's 81 match winning_streak on the surface . federer had not beaten nadal on clay in five previous matches . that victory a quite convincing 2 6 , 6 2 , 6 0 win in the final at the masters series tournament in hamburg , germany set up a perfect situation for federer at this french open . it may have given him the confidence that he needs to stop nadal , the 21 year old who has never lost here . still , djokovic , the sixth seed , said federer would need much more than confidence to win on sunday . ''if you win on clay against him , you 've got to do more , you 've got to push him more , push him over the limits , '' he said . ''you 've got to play really great tennis , and it has got to be your day . '' between matches at the french open , nadal squeezed in an excuse for his loss to federer in hamburg . he said he had been tired from playing in so many tournaments , then traveling home to majorca to film commercials . here , he has not shown any signs of fatigue , even off the court . for a show being broadcast pre and post tournament , he was videotaped singing ''la bamba , '' in a type of karaoke gone wild . on the court , he said he felt loose , too . ''i 'm not playing for the grand_slam , whereas he is playing for the grand_slam , '' he said . ''why should it be a pressure for me ? i do n't see why . '' on friday , whether he could feel it or not , nadal was under pressure to make the final , at least from the fans . djokovic , a_20 year old serb , stood between him and that achievement . djokovic had a breakout tournament , weathering marathon matches and spectators who cheered his opponents . he was gracious , snapping off his wristband and handing it to a man in a wheelchair after winning his quarterfinal . he was expected to be one of the few players good enough to challenge nadal or federer . but after the semifinal , djokovic was left shaking his head . ''he 's physically stronger than any other player on the tour , '' he said of nadal . ''i think that 's his advantage . '' although federer lacks nadal 's strength most notably the bulging biceps he is usually known as the tour 's most graceful player . that was not the case friday . in an uncharacteristic display , federer showed that he was human , looking clumsy as he made 45 unforced_errors and saved 14 break points along the way . for federer , there is pressure to be perfect , even on clay , his worst surface . he has set expectations unbelievably high . he has won 10 grand_slam_singles titles but at the french open has always come up empty handed . federer 's father , robert , says that winning this tournament has been an important goal for his son . it is all he has thought about for the past four months , he said . ''you can tell that he is feeling the pressure , '' robert federer said . ''when you have grand_slam win after grand_slam win , it 's difficult . it is not as easy as everyone thinks . '' tennis	has a location of france
when they burst into worldwide consciousness at the calgary winter_olympics four years ago , the judges did not know quite what to make of them . amid all those other dance couples with their orthodox presentations to classical_music , isabelle and paul duchesnay of france wore simulated animal skins and used percussive rhythms to evoke images of africa . they finished eighth . if there was a message from the judges , as there often is in figure_skating , they ignored it . plunging ahead with new provocations over the next three years , the duchesnays not only rose in international standing from third at the 1989 world_championships to second in 1990 to first in 1991 they began influencing the way other skaters performed . more and more , the traditionalists began breaking out , even those from russia , the seat of ice dance conservatism , which produced all the champion couples but one since dance was added to the olympic program in 1976 . not coincidentally , the exception was christopher dean and jayne torvill of britain , the iconoclasts of the 1984 games in sarajevo , yugoslavia . three years later , dean became the duchesnays' choreographer and just last spring , isabelle 's husband and the discipline has not been the same since . 'this is definitely it' for those who have warmed to the duchesnays the 30 year old son and 28 year old daughter of a canadian father and french mother who reared them in quebec it may come as sad news that these albertville olympics will be their last . " this is definitely it , " paul said wednesday . yet there was not a tinge of regret in his voice . just as the duchesnays have shocked and entertained , they have stretched their sport to the point mere classicists risk lower consideration by the judges . when the dance competition starts friday night in albertville with compulsories , they will clearly be the favorites for the gold_medal among 19 couples despite the presence of the 1988 silver medalists , marina klimova and sergei ponomarenko of the unified team of former soviet athletes , twice world champions . the duchesnays are an odd pair as innovators . by their kinship , they cannot use romantic themes as so many others do , like klimova and ponomarenko , who are married . for their free_dance program , dean has chosen music from " west side story , " but not with isabelle and paul as maria and her boyfriend , tony . paul is maria 's brother , bernardo , and they skate an energetic , complicated , almost frentic program that speaks to the tribulations of life . to succeed , the program demands a unison of movement , but that has seldom been a problem for the duchesnays . even off the ice , they play well off each other , although their roles are not necessarily predictable . she has the more dominant personality he , the more introspective . when paul was asked how their relationship might have changed with dean as a brother in law rather than mere colleague isabelle whispered to him , " it has n't changed , " before he could answer . then " it has n't changed at all , " he said into the microphone . " the only thing that 's changed is that it 's a little more fun in the dressing room . now , i 'm not the only one joking around with chris . " isabelle nodded slightly , an apparent sign of approval . as workmates , they get along as well as any brother and sister . she recalled their last flare up , when paul became disturbed the other day because she had forgotten her sewing kit to replace a button on his costume . " no , " he said . " it was when you stepped on my foot during practice . " then he turned to the reporters " when she wants to say something , she lets me know by squashing my foot . " while their past performances have cast them as favorites and potential national heroes if they win , their preparation has not proceeded as smoothly as planned . in august , isabelle broke a small bone in one foot . in september , their older half brother , gaston , died of cancer . then last month , paul suffered a groin injury the week before the european championships . they were forced to withdraw . the lost time was critical , in that both regard their current free_dance program as the hardest they have performed in competition . " i find it quite difficult , " said isabelle . " it took me a long time to master everything . " ' albertville	has a location of france
a hundred days from now , a grand experiment in outsized olympic_games begins across 600 square miles of french alpine countryside , where thousands of athletes , officials and spectators will be ready to prove that traipsing has been made an official winter_olympic sport . oh , the places they 'll see . the last winter adventure was staged four years ago in the relatively tight confines of calgary , alberta . but the albertville olympics named for the town of 20 , 000 beside the mountains where skating events and opening and closing ceremonies will be held will be spread among 10 competition sites , some of them lavish ski_resorts connected only by long , winding , narrow mountain roads . for most people , getting from one place to another could take hours , longer during a snowstorm . at least the organizers had the foresight to house athletes near their competition sites . smooth preparations despite the expansive nature of the games , covering a wider area than any previous winter_olympics , the preparations have advanced rather smoothly . there have been occasional glitches along the way for example , the village of bride les_bains , the site of a large village for athletes , ran short of money several months ago , and some of the major roads have only recently been completed . but with the french minister of sport , frederique bredin , assuring the international_olympic_committee just last week that the government would keep all promises made to cover costs involving infrastructure , the major concerns remain unchanged from when planning began that bad_weather might make travel hazardous , that some visitors will not find accommodations convenient to the competition sites and that hotel and restaurant owners might raise prices to record levels . " these concerns could have been seen from the first day , " francois carrard , the i.o.c . executive director , said in a recent interview . " essentially , we are satisfied . " in addition to the geographical spread of the games and albertville 's position as the last winter_olympics on a four year cycle that began in 1924 a new four year cycle starts with the lillehammer , norway , olympics in 1994 this olympics will be noteworthy for several other reasons . a weaker soviet team with worldwide recognition of estonia , latvia and lithuania as independent states , albertville will be the first major competition with a soviet team of diminished strength . how diminished remains to be seen the soviet_union has been the leading country in the medal count in 7 of the last 10 winter_olympics and 4 of the last 5 . the baltics have produced good athletes in a variety of sports , and they have notified the albertville organizers that they will send teams 20 athletes from estonia in cross_country_skiing and biathlon , 30 from latvia in bobsled , luge and skiing and about a dozen from lithuania in cross_country and biathlon . all three countries had hoped to send more athletes but scaled back their plans because of limited money . among those expected to participate are two athletes who won medals for the soviet_union in calgary , vida venciene , a lithuanian cross_country_skier who won the 10 kilometer event and finished third in the 5 kilometers , and janis kipurs of latvia , a gold medalist in the two man bobsled competition with a russian partner , vladimir kozlov . not all baltic born athletes have had their interests served by independence , however . darius_kasparaitis , a 19 year old defenseman for the moscow dynamo hockey team the last five years has told the authorities he wants to play for the soviet national team in albertville . he is a native of lithuania , whose hockey team did not qualify for the olympic tournament . yugoslav picture unclear the yugoslav olympic team might encounter a problem similar to the soviet_union 's . with civil_war in yugoslavia continuing , the international ski federation has contingency_plans to recognize an independent team from slovenia . if the same is not true for croatia , which has also applied to the ski federation for recognition , it might be because a vast majority of yugoslavia 's best skiers , including franci petek , the world champion in jumping , and natasa bokal , a leading slalom and giant_slalom skier , are from slovenia and have refused to compete under the yugoslav flag . another uncertainty surrounds south_africa , which was readmitted to the i.o.c . in july after more than 20 years of banishment because of the government 's policy of apartheid . despite south_africa 's readmission , it seems very unlikely that the country will make an appearance in albertville . and that 's part of the reason , appearance . south africans compete well enough to avoid embarrassment in only two winter sports , figure_skating and short_track_speed_skating , and all the athletes who would qualify are white . " i do n't think that 's the message they want to send out , " said one i.o.c . official , who agreed with prevailing opinions that the 1992 summer olympics in barcelona , spain , would be a more likely place for south_africa 's return . sam ramsamy , the president of the national_olympic_committee , said from johannesburg this week that a final decision would be made this weekend . more medals for u.s. ? as the countdown to albertville continues , attention will also focus on the athletes from the united_states , most of whom bear no responsibility for the added pressures to win medals placed upon them in the midst of the calgary games . that 's when the united_states_olympic_committee chose to announce that a committee would be formed and headed by george_steinbrenner to figure out why americans were n't winning more medals . more than a few american athletes thought the timing of the announcement was heavy handed and mean spirited , but their position was hardly enhanced by the fact americans won just 6 medals , a far cry from their soviet counterparts , who won 29 . anyway , the committee recommended ways the u.s.o.c . could help its athletes perform better , and this will be the first olympic team since changes were made . it 's possible they helped , but probably not to any significant degree . based on performance results of the last year or so , the american team would appear to have the same strengths as in calgary , in figure_skating and speed_skating , with a few other isolated areas of hope . they include donna weinbrecht , who is regarded as a strong medal contender in free style skiing , a sport in which medals will be awarded for the first time , and anna sunnerup , a possible medalist in the new women 's biathlon events . all olympic_games have their oddities . calgary had bobsled teams from jamaica and the virgin_islands and a british ski_jumper known as eddie the eagle , who amused spectators around the world by finishing last among 58 jumpers on the 70 meter hill and last among 55 on the 90 meter hill . both jamaica and the virgin_islands plan to send bobsled teams to albertville , but the eagle was grounded when the british olympic association , unamused by his sudden fame , raised the qualifying standards to make the team after the calgary games . olympics	has a location of france
the olympic marseilles soccer club , plagued by one of france 's biggest sports scandals , is being purchased by adidas . the sporting_goods company will become sole owner of the club , mayor jean claude gaudin of marseilles said yesterday . he did not give the price for what was once france 's most popular team and one of the strongest in europe . olympic marseilles was involved in a match throwing scandal in 1994 . ( ap ) sports people soccer	has a location of france
french investigators are looking into a statement on an islamist web_site that claimed responsibility for an arson attack on sunday on a jewish center in paris , though they are skeptical that the claims are true . the statement , purporting to be from a previously unknown group called jamaat ansar al jihad , said its members set fire to the center ''in retaliation for the racist acts carried out by the jews in france against islam and muslims , and acts of defiling muslims' cemeteries . '' muslims have also been the targets of racist acts in recent months . craig s . smith ( nyt )	has a location of france
we were having lunch outdoors the other day , the way one does on the first warm afternoon in lyon or paris or new york , three cities where youri djorkaeff has lived . a stocky argentine man , dining a few tables away , did a double take when he spotted the alert dark features of the patron at the corner table . ''it 's like talking to god , '' the argentine man sputtered in english , as djorkaeff accepted a hug and posed for a photo . ''i know maradona , '' the stranger continued . ''he used to come to my house when he was hiding out . who do you think will win the world_cup this year ? you think my country has a chance ? '' this question is being asked in 32 nations around the world this week . djorkaeff replied that argentina and italy are always good , but in the end brazil has so much talent . ''it 's like an exact science , '' djorkaeff said . ''the same three , always , and maybe france or england or germany . '' reluctantly but civilly , the argentine man went back to his lunch , letting djorkaeff get back to his seafood salad and ros . in 1998 , in the world_cup final won by france , youri djorkaeff aimed a corner_kick toward the talented scalp of zin dine zidane , who headed in a goal against brazil . now playing for the new york red_bulls of major_league_soccer , djorkaeff , like billions of other people , is preparing to watch the world 's most popular sports event next month , on the tube from germany . ''this will be my first world_cup , '' djorkaeff said the other day . ''i will sit on the sofa and watch , like a good fan . i am checking the web to get all the information on the french team . '' djorkaeff and his wife and three children are living in the gramercy_park section of manhattan . as a proud frenchman of armenian and kalmuk ancestry , djorkaeff is a little disappointed there is not more of an armenian presence in new york , but he loves the long and mostly anonymous walks around this city . he also does not mind being lionized at french places like frederick 's lounge at madison and east 65th street , where he is one more sporting prince of this international city where soccer is a thriving daily presence . he was born to the spotlight , since his father , jean , was captain of france in the 1966 world_cup in england . when djorkaeff was a child , he played with a fuzzy replica of world_cup willie , the mascot of the english cup . he became a star for inter_milan , living close to the fabled duomo . ( ''milan is an amazing city , but a lot of it is hidden . you open a door , and there are these amazing courtyards and gardens . '' ) he joined the french national squad after the breakup of the beautiful underachieving team of the 1980 's . in the sunlight on madison_avenue , djorkaeff pointed to goose bumps on his arms as he recalled how the charismatic , multicultural french team rolled toward the 1998 cup . ''half of us played in italy , '' djorkaeff said , recalling those heady days a decade ago , when italy had the best league in the world . he still marvels at how the french coach , aim jacquet , confided in 1997 that ''everything is ready'' to win the world_cup . djorkaeff thought jacquet had gone mad , ''coach , are you o.k . ? '' exactly eight years ago , jacquet assembled 23 superb individuals at a rural camp . ''those little games in training , six men on a side , were fantastic , '' djorkaeff recalled . ''you ran a drill , the ball never went out . but it 's not just you . it 's the other team . your whole group . i never saw soccer like this . on our team , if anything went wrong , jacquet had two or three solutions . everybody was together . '' after the 3 0 victory over brazil for the championship , jacquet gave the players two options celebrate in the city of lights or go back to the training base with their wives ''the last time we would all be together , '' djorkaeff said in a hushed voice . the players chose to go back to the chateau , while millions of fans celebrated along the champs_lys_es . in 2002 in south_korea , djorkaeff and his mates were older , more brittle , and did not make it out of the first round . ''it is harder when you are champion , '' djorkaeff said . he retired from the national team , and last season he chose to play in m.l.s . for the experience of living in manhattan . ''if you think about football in italy or france , you would go home in a week , '' he said , respectfully , ''but i am at a point where i want to help build something here . '' he is busy on the phone these days , plugging his new book , ''snake'' the english nickname by which he is known in france written with arnaud ramsay , and published only in french by grasset . the american_league will soldier on during the world_cup , with the red_bulls playing a game the same day , june 17 , the united_states plays italy . still djorkaeff is marking off all the games he can possibly catch . he has helped win a world_cup . now it is time to watch one . sports of the times e mail geovec nytimes . com	has a location of france
the international_olympic_committee 's evaluation commission sat in a room under a huge dome the walls were covered with paintings , windows framed with statues , and the light from a giant crystal chandelier overhead glimmered off the gold colored walls . it was the kind of atmosphere only paris could muster a ballroom in the grand hotel decked out saturday for a fairly routine news conference for 13 people intent on saying little about their four day visit to evaluate paris 's bid for the 2012 olympics . as she did during the commission 's previous stops in madrid , london and new york , the chairwoman nawal el moutawakel praised the city 's efforts . but she was even more vague than she had been in the other cities . ''i would like to note the high caliber of paris 's bid for the 2012 olympics , '' she said . ''there is a lot of competition and we can be glad of that . '' the commission has vowed not to handicap the chances of the five bid cities , even when it makes its final report on june 6 , a month before the 117 member i.o.c . votes to choose the winner at a meeting in singapore . the commission 's final visit , to moscow , begins monday . the substance of the evaluation was kept behind the closed doors of the meetings here , but paris 's style came across clearly during the visit . the bid leaders decided to strike a lower key tone than their counterparts in the other cities , letting most of paris 's grandeur speak for itself , like the room where the news conference was held . there was no lavish dinner with royalty , as in madrid and in london , or star studded entertainment , as in new york . their dinner friday night at the home of jacques_chirac , the french president , had prestige , but the parisians let their surroundings do most of the talking . the bid team ferried the committee around the city , which was plastered with the bright , festive paris 2012 logo large lighted versions were on the eiffel_tower , the national_assembly and the h tel de ville . the requisite athletes were rolled out to express support for the bid . the bid leaders showed off a plan that included an existing olympic_stadium , the stade de france , and a modest building program , which included 13 temporary sports sites for the games . moutawakel would say nothing about the commission 's opinion of such extensive use of essentially disposable sites , but the stadium had its good and bad points . she noted that transportation problems marred the world track and field championships there in 2003 , but that paris was the only city with a stadium that did not need to be built or renovated . ''of course , having the infrastructure already ready is very important in our process , '' she said . as they had been all week , the paris bid leaders were optimistic but cautious in their assessment of their performance , careful not to appear overly confident in their position as the presumed front runner . ''i will answer your question on july 6 , '' mayor bertrand delano of paris said when asked how the visit went . delano took center stage in every news conference , usually flanked by the french sports minister , jean_fran_ois lamour , and other politicians . ''we are a team because this is a team sport , '' delano said . when he asked if anyone else wanted to offer general comments , the eight people at the table declined . the lowest profile of all was struck by philippe baudillon , who hardly spoke despite being the director of the bid committee . the bid leaders in new york ( daniel l . doctoroff ) and in london ( sebastian_coe ) orchestrated the visits , deferring to their political leaders on special occasions . the paris bureaucracy , though , painted itself as a positive force in the bid , demonstrating the depth of support across france . together , the bid leaders and officials managed to dodge most of the effects of the general_strike across the country on thursday , their assurances seeming to placate the commission 's concerns . ''this was an expression of democracy in france , '' moutawakel said . ''the fact that they marched in t shirts supporting the bid was very important . '' the depth of support for the games after two previous failed bids was paris 's emotional sales pitch . the bid leaders wanted to replace paris 's reputation for arrogance with one of eagerness . so the signs went up and the motto was everywhere l'amour des jeux , or roughly , love of the games . that love has to translate until july 6 . olympics	has a location of france
at the end of a long , tumultuous and ultimately demoralizing afternoon , oracene price sat down in the players' lounge , composed enough to smile , to surmise that she was ''not going to have a heart_attack'' over a semifinal defeat in a grand_slam event . it was , conversely , understandable how her daughter , still three months shy of her 22nd birthday , could be brokenhearted and moved to tears by the unruliness of a crowd that desperately wished for her to lose . on a court with the initials p ( for philippe ) and c ( for chatrier ) , political_correctness and primal compassion were lost on unfeeling fans who combined with a whirlwind named justine henin hardenne to put the first dent in serena_williams 's third set psyche and grand_slam armor in more than a year . the fans' behavior was ugly and everything else that price would call it arrogant , lacking in class and understanding of the game . ''she knew it was a dangerous job when she took it , '' price said of serena , her youngest daughter , after henin_hardenne advanced to an all belgian final against kim_clijsters with a 6 2 , 4 6 , 7 5 victory . ''that 's what i always told her . '' it made perfect sense that henin_hardenne , an underdog with a french name , would be the overwhelming favorite , especially after clijsters had qualified for tomorrow 's final by defeating the russian nadia petrova in straight sets . geographic and cultural partisanship are one thing . turning raucously on williams the way the fans did in the third set , even cheering her first service faults , was patently cruel . ''a little bit too much , '' henin_hardenne would say , admitting she was the beneficiary of what she could not condone . price did not invoke the undercurrent of race and serena said she did n't think the derision was related to the recent political tensions between the united_states and france . so what was it ? since the williams sisters have taken over women 's tennis , winning nine grand slams from the 1999 united_states open on the last four by serena it is always something . standing not far from price , pam shriver commented that the fans' reaction yesterday was mild compared with their treatment of martina_hingis in the 1999 final against steffi_graf . hingis was punished for a temper tantrum when the match turned for graf . all williams did was point to a couple of marks in the red clay on balls called in by the line judge before the umpire subsequently checked and overruled . on what is her least favorable surface , this was n't serena 's most memorable effort , she was quick to admit . henin_hardenne , a rising star , had beaten williams earlier this spring on clay , as had am lie mauresmo . for that matter , clijsters had her down by 5 1 in the third set of the australian open final on a hard court in january before a collapse that had nothing to do with being physically outclassed . no one is unbeatable , or indestructible , despite such unthinking portrayals of the williams sisters during their respective runs of tour dominance . this has always made me uncomfortable , the notion that they represent some huge leap on the athletic evolutionary chain , the genetic_engineering experiment of their father , richard . yes , the slender venus and the buff serena are superior athletes , but they are not the only tall power players in this era of big babe tennis . muscle does n't make the champion , and for all the requisite size and racket technology , women 's tennis especially is still a game that often comes down to guile and raw nerve . so seldom have the williams sisters been given the credit they deserve for their mental acumen and toughness too often under adverse conditions you wonder if , in the context of them being viewed as machines , it leads to misadventures like yesterday 's , fans forgetting that this is a 21 year old woman , a human being . as she has since winning here last year , serena had persevered , reaching the third set despite being outplayed for most of the first two . with the benefit of the first chair overrule , she had broken her sagging opponent at love for 4 2 . the second call on a 0 15 point in the seventh game turned the fans loose . price said she thought most of the louts were upstairs , in the cheaper seats . ( some did cry out for the others to stop and a few went so far as to cheer a later henin_hardenne fault . ) stunned , williams surrendered the break . ''it does n't make it any harder , '' she would say later . ''i just . . . '' she paused to let the tears flow and stuttered , ''actually , that 's a lie . '' henin_hardenne , dealing with her own nerves , would soon fail to serve out the match at 5 4 , double faulting twice . it seemed certain that williams would soon quiet her tormentors for good but , as price would say ''she was nervous . i think both players were , because of the crowd . '' serena was rattled , serving poorly , offering up drop shots to a speedy player . henin_hardenne broke back and , finally after 2 hours 20 minutes , served out the match . price , like serena , said henin_hardenne deserved to win . when richard williams was on tour with venus and serena , he often brought disdain upon the family by antagonizing opponents . price , now divorced from richard , has been the essence of comportment and class . asked how she as coach as well as mom could be so calm so soon after the match , she laughed and said , ''i 'm a cool lady . '' serena_williams lost her composure in a theater of howling fools . she and her grand_slam streak deserved far more appreciation and respect upon its end . sports of the times	has a location of france
jean_claude blanc was ready on friday . blanc , the president of the french tennis federation , sat in his spacious office on the ground floor of roland_garros with a stack of papers filled with numbers . he knew that i would advocate pulling the french open into the 21st_century by paying female players the same prize money as their male counterparts . the question of the day was simple when will women make as much as the men at roland_garros ? ''we 'll get there , '' he said . ''we 're closing the gap . '' i could n't believe i was having this discussion in 2005 in paris , the city of lights and enlightenment . a woman who wins the french open will receive 13 , 000 euros less than the men 's winner just because . the women 's winner receives 867 , 000 euros ( about 1 , 090 , 000 ) , the men 's champion 880 , 000 ( 1 , 106 , 000 ) . perhaps the difference is a gender tax . in blanc 's view , women do n't put in enough hours on the court , they do n't have the depth in their ranks , and the television networks prefer the men . ''when we look at what the television networks are picking for images , there are two thirds men 's and one third women 's matches , '' said blanc , who earned his m.b.a . at harvard . men , he said , also play more challenging matches in the early rounds because of their depth . ''you do n't have that much density yet , '' he said of the women 's game at the french open . ''the u.s . open is ahead of us on this matter , but we do believe we have reason not to go too fast on equitable prize money . '' he also cited the length of the matches . the men play best of five sets , women best of three . so blanc used some numbers to back up his contention . last year 's french open men 's champion , gaston gaudio , spent 19 hours 49 minutes on the court in his singles competition , and another 4 hours 21 minutes in doubles . the women 's champion , anastasia myskina , spent 9 hours 24 minutes on the court in singles and 3 hours 26 minutes in doubles . i made a proposal to blanc if women agreed to play best of five , would he consider making the prize money even ? ''in that case , '' he said , ''i think we have no argument not to give them the prize money . '' frankly , i think five sets is too much tennis to watch , for men or for women . but to make a point and force blanc 's hand , the women should play best of five matches . blanc is not sure that the women , especially at the bottom of the top 100 , can take the physical pounding of marathon five setters on the clay at roland_garros . this is silly and outdated . across the board , women athletes are giving world class performances in full measure . female sprinters do n't run 95 meters they run the full 100 . women run the full court in basketball , not half of it . zina garrison , in a telephone interview friday from maryland , said she would support best of five matches . she figured the reaction from players would be 50 50 . ''a lot of people would be on the fence , '' she said . preparing themselves to play a more grueling five set regimen would require women players to make a new commitment to conditioning , but this is a commitment the younger generation has already made . sesil karatantcheva said she would adjust to playing best of five . ''it really does n't matter because it 's part of the game , '' she said . ''if we play five , we 'll have to be a bit more prepared , a bit stronger . but it 's nothing that ca n't be done . '' venus_williams said the prize money issue was larger than tennis . ''larger than sports , '' she said . ''it 's about discrimination against women in the workplace . '' blanc 's biggest criticism of women 's tennis is what he calls a lack of depth . the top ranked man playing the 100th ranked one , he said , could be a close match . ''on the women 's side , no . 1 ranked and no . 100 ranked , you do n't have that much density depth , '' he said . ''the no . 1 ranked woman player playing against the 100th ranked is usually not competitive . '' when she heard this , garrison was incredulous . ''the depth of women 's tennis has never been better , '' she said . the wta furnished statistics showing that , among other things , television ratings for women 's grand_slam matches were often higher than those for men throughout the world , particularly in later round matches . a number of female players , including lindsay_davenport , have been fighting the prize money battle for years and have simply been worn down . ''personally , i 've given up , '' davenport said . ''i do think a lot of it is cultural . i 'm proud of how women are treated in the united_states and how the u.s.t.a . does that at the u.s . open . ''it 's a lot more difficult over here in europe . i think it depends on how strong the women get . at one point i was willing to boycott we were talked out of it . in 1995 , there was talk of a boycott . the powers that be do n't think it 's a huge fight . '' an hour after my interview with blanc , karatantcheva convincingly beat williams , a former wimbledon and united_states open champion . karatantcheva is 15 years old and ranked 98th . seems like density to me . sports of the times e mail wcr nytimes . com	has a location of france
what do you do after you win your second straight french open and finish rolling in the clay with delight ? if you are rafael nadal , you get rid of the sleeveless shirt and put on a crisp , long sleeved white one , then head to the same paris restaurant with the million euro view of the eiffel_tower where you celebrated the first time . then drop off the weary at the hotel and head to a below ground disco on the champs_lys_es with your father , uncles , agent and a few others . nadal has been impossible to miss on the tennis courts of europe this spring , stretching his record winning_streak on clay to 60 matches and shutting down roger_federer in his quest to make tennis history in the final sunday at roland_garros . but keeping track of nadal was trickier after midnight . he started out by sitting with his parents and sister at a small outdoor table on the terrace of the palais de chaillot with a huge statue of a man and a bison looming over them . the nearby tables were full of friends , relatives , former champions and admirers , including the film_director pedro alm dovar and the n.b.a . player pau gasol , each from spain . nadal is a spanish icon now , too he signed napkins , posed for dozens of group photographs and absorbed slap after congratulatory slap on his broad back . as he moved easily from group to group in the candlelight , it was no stretch to imagine the nadal clan occupying the same terrace at the same time next year . nadal is only 20 and still capable of improving his serve and his transition game . what needs no work for now is the mental game . what separates nadal from his peers and elders is not just his vicious left handed spin and soccer striker 's agility . it is his shot in , shot out zeal and his match in , match out belief . after making 12 unforced_errors in the first set sunday , nadal made a total of six in the next two . after putting 61 percent of his first serves in play during the first set , he was above 80 percent the rest of the way . and his 1 6 , 6 1 , 6 4 , 7 6 ( 4 ) victory stopped federer from winning a fourth straight grand_slam title . but the statistic that matters most now is that nadal is 14 0 at roland_garros , a place that once seemed anything but lucky for him . in 2003 , when he was on the verge of making his first appearance , he injured his right elbow while training on the grounds and had to head home to majorca . the next year he had to withdraw again because of a stress_fracture in his left ankle . nadal may look robust , but his body tends to break down , and it did so again in november . he was forced to stop playing for more than two months because of pain in his left foot , which , according to his uncle and coach toni nadal , was caused by a crack in a small bone . nadal had to adjust to a new insole in his tennis shoe that toni nadal said had affected his movement . ''i think last year he was moving better , with more ease , '' he said . ''now it 's requiring more effort from him , but he has improved the serve , and i think he 'll be a better player in the long run than he is now . we needed months to prepare this season properly , and we did n't get them . '' nadal is heading straight to the grass this week . he is seeded first but is hardly the favorite at the queen 's club tournament in london , where the low bounces and quick conditions do not fit his game . but he said he was excited about the prospect of returning to wimbledon , which starts june 26 . ''i still have to improve some parts of my game , but you need to prepare yourself , and we do n't have much time , '' nadal said , referring to the two week gap between roland_garros and wimbledon that seems to have prevented any of the men from winning them back to back since 1980 , when bjorn_borg captured both titles for the third straight year . ''the circuit is not well organized , in my opinion , '' nadal said . ''we do n't have much time between the two major tournaments of the year . federer is more adjusted to grass , so it 's going to be difficult for me to go there with good chances . '' rarely is a player who holds a 6 1 advantage over another so publicly deferential to him . ''he 's the most incredible opponent i 've played in my career , '' nadal said about federer . ''i 've never seen anyone so complete since i was born . '' toni nadal took the same tone . ''rafa being 6 1 against roger is not a source of pride for me , '' he said sunday at roland_garros . ''i 'm happy that rafa won the tournament , but i would have liked that federer could have won the grand_slam , because i think he 's a phenomenal player . for me , he is the player i enjoy watching the most . '' more than his nephew ? ''actually , yes , '' said toni nadal , who was soon exchanging handshakes with federer and apologizing as federer headed off the grounds . several hours later , early monday morning , nadal was headed to the champs_lys_es in a van full of other nadals and the former french open finalist alex corretja . once inside the disco , nadal did more posing for photos and text messaging than wild dancing . but he still looked fresh for someone who had just won the game 's most demanding tournament for the second straight time . it was nearly 4 a.m . when he finally called it a night . tennis	has a location of france
the opening night of men 's figure_skating at the albertville olympics produced one improbable performance after another as several of the world 's best skaters , including two from the united_states , found themselves in altogether unexpected positions . by the time the last of 31 athletes had skated his original program , about the only thing that seemed reasonable was viktor petrenko of the unified team holding first place . but take a look at the scramble beyond that kurt browning of canada , the three time world champion and a consistently spectacular jumper , missed the front end of a triple_triple combination jump and stood in fourth place , virtually out of contention for the gold_medal . christopher bowman , the united_states champion who finished seventh at the 1988 calgary olympics , was back there again after a flat performance . todd_eldredge , the 1990 and 1991 united_states champion who missed this year 's nationals with a back injury , landed the one triple_jump his injury had most affected , but then missed an easy double jump to finish in ninth . dream come true and most improbable of all was paul wylie . a wonderful skater of unfulfilled dreams , who has never finished higher than second in 11 tries at a united_states title , he delivered one of the best short programs of his career to take third place , behind petrenko and petr barna of czechoslovakia . in figure_skating 's weighted style scoring system , placements in the original program account for one third of the final score . in essence , that means that any of the leaders petrenko , barna or wylie can win the gold_medal by finishing first in the free skate saturday night , regardless of what anyone else does . it also means that browning , the prohibitive favorite , could win only if petrenko finishes no higher than third , and that bowman would be fortunate to finish in the top five . " i need help , " browning said , still uncertain how such bright hopes could have dimmed so quickly . his trouble came barely 40 seconds into his program as he took off on a triple_axel jump that was supposed to be followed immediately by a less difficult triple_toe_loop . he fell on the first jump and never tried the second . " basically , when i went up , i felt great , " he said . " but i went down so fast , i do n't know what happened . someone told me i have a bad habit of dropping my arm when i take off . maybe i did that a little bit . " showman that he is , he still won impressive scores for his artistic impression maybe that orange , jeweled gladiator outfit helped . but not only had petrenko and barna skated more effectively and entertainingly by then , so had wylie . talk about a happy athlete . this is a skater a 27 year old harvard graduate , no less who has always found a way to tighten up approaching a major international title . he has been 9th , 10th and 11th at the world_championships . he was 10th in the calgary olympics . this was to be his last chance to prove he could exorcize the psychological demons that separated him from the world 's elite . this time , he was among them . he was flawless in his combination jumps , one of the eight required elements in the short_program , and elegant as usual in presentation . only the judge from finland marked him down , maybe , someone said , because the united_states had beaten her country in hockey earlier in the day . " i 'm definitely elated , " wylie said . " i am so surprised , actually , that i really pulled it off . i proved a lot of things to myself tonight , and that 's why i came to the olympics a second time . " bowman 's performance was uncharacteristically emotionless , a fact he blamed on external_affairs . he was the first in a group of five to skate , just after the ice had been regroomed . he did n't think the audience was quite ready for him to start . usually , he is an overwhelming crowd favorite , which he milks to enhance his show . this time , he sensed nothing to milk , and it did n't help when he touched the ice on his first triple_jump . bad first impression " there was no real buzz , " he said . " people were still munching their croissants and euro burgers . it is very difficult to pull an olympic audience into your program when they 're out at the concession stands or finding their seats . " this was a devastating blow to bowman , who said , " i have to get myself ready for saturday . it will be difficult . mentally , i 'm pretty banged right now . " eldredge really did n't know what to expect after dealing with one back injury at the nationals and a different one after arriving here . the triple_axel jump was his nemesis , vital to success . when he converted his triple_axel double toe_loop combination 12 seconds into his routine , a smile was on his face . but as he neared the end , and a routine double_axel that would take him into his concluding spins , he took off too close to the boards , dropped his shoulder and fell . as he skated off the ice , he put a finger to his head , then his hand around his throat . " a fluke thing , " he said . " i bet i 've done that jump 10 million times . i do n't know if i ever missed one in competition . i slipped off an edge , one of those things i would never have expected . " at least he was n't alone . albertville	has a location of france
lead bob gainey , the left_wing and captain of the montreal_canadiens , confirmed yesterday at a news conference in montreal that he had signed a two year contract to serve as player coach with the epinal ecureuils , a second division hockey club in france that is on a par with junior b hockey in canada . bob gainey , the left_wing and captain of the montreal_canadiens , confirmed yesterday at a news conference in montreal that he had signed a two year contract to serve as player coach with the epinal ecureuils , a second division hockey club in france that is on a par with junior b hockey in canada . ''i 'll be expected to be the team 's dominant player on the ice , '' said the 35 year old veteran of 16 seasons with the canadiens . ''as a coach , i 'll be expected to teach the players , help them improve their skills and develop a playing style that is suitable to their caliber . '' gainey had 239 goals and 262 assists in 1 , 160 games for the canadiens . he won the selke trophy as the league 's top defensive forward four times . ( ap ) sports people hockey	has a location of france
from the 22nd floor of a retirement_home , with a sweeping view of a rundown section of east_london , the international_olympic_committee 's evaluation commission was asked to envision an olympic_park that would include a new stadium , various arenas and fields , and an athletes' village , all ready to spring from the grime and poverty that stretched below . a week later , from the 14th floor of a building on new york 's west 26th_street , the commission took in a panoramic view of an open railyard and an expanse of the underdeveloped far west side while the leaders of new york 's bid painted a vision of a stadium with a retractable_roof , parks , pedestrian boulevards and a new neighborhood radiating from all sides . but as the 13 members of the evaluation commission assess paris this week on their tour of the cities that are finalists for the 2012 games , no such flights of imagination will be necessary . the parisians will present a finished stadium , the stade de france , that successfully held the final of one of the world 's most important international sporting_events , the 1998 world_cup . their plan includes only eight permanent construction projects , and only the athletes' village involves a development more complicated than a single building . this lies at the center of the i.o.c . 's choice of the 2012 olympic city , to be made on july 6 at a meeting in singapore . paris , long considered the front runner , seems to be the safe choice , the city with less to transform in the name of the games , and it could cement its favored status with a flawless visit this week . new york and london , its main challengers , have aimed to position themselves as the visionary choices . ''i think it 's the job of every bid to leave the evaluation team with two very clear answers to two very clear questions why and how ? '' sebastian_coe , the chairman of london 's bid , said in a telephone interview . the commission begins its evaluation of paris today , after having made stops in madrid , london and new york . the commission will tour the final city , moscow , next week , a visit that coincides with the world_figure_skating_championships . it is focusing on the technical aspects of each bid , with a heavy emphasis on saving the i.o.c . the stress of its experience with athens , when dragged out preparations turned into a mad sprint to be ready for the opening ceremony last august . so , while new york and london require mental pictures , computer renderings and a belief that urban transformation would leave both cities and the olympic movement with rich legacies , paris 's simplicity has become its greatest strength . back for a third bid in the past 20 years after losing the 1992 race to barcelona , spain , and 2008 to beijing , paris draws no questions about its commitment to the games . its motto l'amour des jeux translates roughly to love of the games . its infrastructure draws few concerns . its metro needs no overhaul . its construction plan is minimalist , relying on 13 temporary facilities including ones to play host to basketball and baseball . and the stade de france , which has also held the world track and field championships , speaks for itself . ''we have had time , '' philippe baudillon , paris 's bid leader , said in a telephone interview . ''working for 20 years allows us a little more time to understand what we need for the organization of the games . '' it is also a reason why paris intends to take a more low key approach toward the evaluation team , which has been treated to lavish dinners with royalty in madrid and london , and received star treatment in a new york draped in olympic banners and dinner with celebrity guests . paris is responding with a dinner with president jacques_chirac and the mayor , bertrand delanoe , and has festooned itself in paris 2012 paraphernalia , including five million baguettes swathed in bid sponsored wrappers . but the bid is guided by people who have been through this process before and understand that ceremony goes only so far . baudillon led the team that prepared paris 's bid for the 1992 games , which lost to barcelona , the hometown of juan_antonio_samaranch , the i.o.c . president at the time . baudillon was not involved in the effort to land the 2008 games , a race paris lost badly to beijing , knocked out in the first round of voting amid complaints of the bid team 's arrogance . at the time , baudillon was an adviser to the prime_minister , which gave him a hand in what is now considered a paris strength , the building of the stade de france . ''the choice was whether we would build a stadium just for soccer or a stadium that could host an olympic_games , '' baudillon said . ''and i had to convince them because i knew we had to have this kind of stadium . i know it is a very important venue . '' now , baudillon can show the evaluation commission how paris 2012 plans to surround the stadium with six temporary facilities , to hold everything from basketball to judo , and a permanent aquatics center and an arena for gymnastics . for the other major cluster of sites , the centerpiece would be roland_garros for tennis and the parc des princes stadium for soccer . most of the sites around them would also be temporary . it leaves paris with much less of a physical legacy the gritty neighborhood around the stade de france , for instance , would probably return to grittiness but it gives the feeling that paris could be ready to play host to the games with a little heavy lifting . even the smallest sign of a setback , like paris announcing its aquatics center would not be ready to hold swimming 's world_championships in 2009 , has been trumpeted by rivals like london as a sign of weakness . it rang less than convincing , considering how much paris already has in place . ''not only do we have the stadium , we know how to use it , '' baudillon said . ''i think it 's an asset but it is important that we know how it works for a big event , how the public can get in and out . '' the proposed athletes' village , midway between the two clusters , is the one project that qualifies as any kind of urban_renewal project . currently dominated by railway tracks and warehouses , the batignolles district of the 17th arrondisement is considered the last piece of undeveloped real_estate in central paris , a_12 minute metro ride from the champs_lys_es . but it pales in comparison to the makeovers proposed by london and new york . london 's olympic_park would replace a depressed area with a mix of sports facilities and an olympic village that would become much needed mixed income housing after the games . the plans include a new rail_link to central_london , which is seen as a lifeline to a dying part of the city . ''i think our olympic_park is next generation thinking , '' coe said . ''we want to use sports as part of the regeneration process . '' new york not only proposes to remake manhattan 's far west side , but also etches new life into stretches of the queens and brooklyn waterfronts , as well as reclaiming two polluted lakes in queens for the rowing competition and turning part of staten_island 's fresh_kills_landfill into a park with a mountain biking course . ''the thing we hear over and over and over is 'legacy , ''' daniel l . doctoroff , the deputy_mayor and the nyc2012 founder , said . ''based on what we have heard , it is very important . these are an important part of our legacy . '' but they are also much more difficult to demonstrate to the entire i.o.c. , whose members are no longer allowed to visit the bid cities en_masse , and they do not provide the safety of a less ambitious plan like paris . new york 's efforts are also tangled in the controversy over the west side stadium , something doctoroff knows must be settled before the vote in july for the city to avoid giving the i.o.c . athens like flashbacks . paris , meanwhile , has slid easily into its role as favorite . the i.o.c . remains eurocentric 53 of its 117 members are from european_countries . four of the five finalists are european capitals . and even though the 2004 summer games were in athens and the 2006 winter_games will be in turin , italy , the next two 2008 in beijing and 2010 in vancouver , british_columbia are outside europe and that qualifies as a respectable gap . but the leaders of the paris bid are careful not to get comfortable as the theoretical front runner . ''we never take that into account , '' baudillon said . ''each bid has some assets and has problems to cope with . so i do n't believe paris is leading the competition . i think it is like a track and field competition . if you start to look at what people around you are doing , you do n't make your race . i want to make my race . '' that race is a bit more uphill for new york and london . the i.o.c . will have to decide whether it wants to make the extra effort . olympics	has a location of france
as the leaders practiced their free skate programs today , simulating what they hope will become medal winning performances friday night in the concluding round of the olympic women 's figure_skating competition , surya bonaly of france converted nine triple_jumps , the most of any skater , but left out her backflip . how critical was this , with the glamour event of the albertville games just a day away ? not very , from the whimsical look on bonaly 's face , as she left the arena , not talking because of a sore_throat . her mother , however , seemed downright annoyed , and she had no sore_throat . thus , the serenity of a routine day of preparation was broken , providing at least one minor diversion from the building drama of who would succeed katarina_witt as olympic champion the ever steady and imperturable kristi_yamaguchi of fremont , calif . , who held first place after the original program on wednesday night nancy_kerrigan of stoneham , mass . , whose growing elegance brought her to second place or the two participants in this little subplot , bonaly and midori_ito of japan , who held third and fourth ? ito first overshadowed in practice suzanne bonaly had been told by the competition referee , ben wright of the united_states that surya could do no more backflips in practice , as she had wednesday morning , just a shadow length from ito . wright saw it happen and viewed it as sheer intimidation , inasmuch as backflips are not allowed in performance . sure enough , in her original program , ito fell on the most difficult triple_jump she tried and left the ice looking appropriately distraught for a favorite who had just skated out of serious gold_medal contention . she wore the same haunted look this morning in practice . " of course , it was intimidation , " wright said today . " whether or not it was intentional or not , i do n't know . but these people have enough problems putting their mental state in order without this kind of bashing going on . " suzanne bonaly thought it was intimidation all right , wright intimidating her daughter to make certain the two americans stay closer to the gold than her daughter . besides , she said , surya needs those backflips as part of her daily workout routine . " to do it at that time is to unnerve surya , " she said of wright 's admonition . " it made her very upset . " in any other sport , this would be little more than a tempest in a teapot , but this is figure_skating , a virtual china shop of emotions . the pressures are that much more acute upon bonaly as european champion , the home country favorite and a skater of uncommon background . she is the 18 year old adopted daughter of an administrator with the french defense ministry , georges , and his wife , who works as one of surya 's trainers . for years , the parents perpetuated the story that surya was from reunion , a french island in the indian_ocean . more recently , they have said that her natural parents were from reunion and that she was born in nice , where georges and suzanne lived when they adopted surya . they have since moved to paris . in any case , the daughter grew in rapunzel fashion , never cutting her hair . she eats only natural foods , travels with her dogs in a van , preaches environmentalism and thrives in a sport in which nearly every participant is white or oriental . surya is black . her distinctiveness was reflected by her athletic career . once a gymnast and world junior tumbling champion in 1986 , she eventually narrowed her focus to skating . by 1989 , she finished 10th at the world_championships and in 1990 won her first of two european championships . other top jumping skaters have struggled to match their athleticism with artistry notably ito and tonya_harding of portland , ore . , who was sixth after wednesday . bonaly found her disparity stubbornly in tact until only recently , when her coach , didier gailhaguet , finally coaxed some elegance out of her . her jumping still dominates her programs , however , even if ito and harding are the only women to have converted a triple_axel in competition . bonaly has landed a quadruple toe_loop in practice and included one today . in all likelihood , she will skip the quad in her free skate and try about eight triples . most other skaters attempt no more than seven . " what she does is her decision alone at the time , " said suzanne bonaly , who frequently speaks for her daughter . for her program , bonaly has chosen a medley of spanish music as background for a simulated bullfight , in which the bull proves so courageous , the matador allows him to live . given her remarkable athletic ability , it once might have been fair to wonder which role she plays . but befitting her place in the standing and proximity to a medal no french woman has won since jacqueline du bief was third 40 years ago , bonaly as matador has proved herself a challenger worthy of serious consideration . even if her bull could not distinguish the rink from a china shop . albertville	has a location of france
albertville , france as the 1988 winter_olympics in calgary , alberta , ended and organizers were congratulating themselves for a job well done , senior members of the international_olympic_committee observed that only cities at least that big , 636 , 000 , might assure success for future winter_games . six months later , the committee awarded the 1994 games to lillehammer , a town of 22 , 000 in norway . meanwhile , there were the 1992 winter_games to consider , and they are likely to disprove the observations of 1988 in a different way . while it is hard to imagine a more spectacular olympic setting than the savoie region of france , no winter_games in history have fanned out across so many square miles , 615 of them . for those who want to see more than one event a day , which was relatively easy in calgary , bring a helicopter . o.k. , that 's impractical . pack a hang glider . the only concentrated area of competition is in albertville , where an indoor arena for figure_skating and short_track skating , a new medal sport , sits beside an outdoor oval for speed_skating . a 30 , 000 seat stadium for opening and closing ceremonies is under construction nearby . otherwise , it 's one narrow road and switchback turn after another to reach nine other competition sites . skiing events alone will be held at seven different places . few doubt organizers' ability few doubt that the albertville organizers can pull it off . olympics have been canceled for war , never for inconvenience . but unlike the games in calgary , where the venues were situated in the metropolitan_area or at mountains easily reached by freeways , the albertville games will severely test the patience and comfort of those who experience them , even with all the buses designated for ticket_holders and officials . with less than a year before opening ceremonies on feb . 8 , the man most responsible for the disposition of the games sat at his desk one recent afternoon , baffled by a sudden and relentless ringing of his telephone , one of those newer models with more buttons than numbers . " i do n't know how to work these phones , " jean_claude_killy muttered . " how do they expect me to run the games ? " with respect to the olympics , he was kidding . once a national hero and heartthrob for winning three gold medals in skiing at the 1968 grenoble games , killy is the 47 year old co president of the albertville organizing_committee , the first olympic champion to serve in such a position . he grew up in val_d'isere , site of the men 's alpine events , and knows the twists and turns of the savoie as well as anyone , not to mention its storied ski_resorts and challenging slopes . " cities like sapporo , calgary and innsbruck probably made more sense , " he said . " these will be mountain olympics , real winter_olympics . " was that a diabolical smile , or just his confidence showing ? staging the olympics is nothing new to france . the first winter_games , in 1924 , were held in chamonix , and 44 years later they came to grenoble , where killy won the downhill , slalom , giant_slalom and the hearts of his country . but like the host cities killy mentioned , they were relatively compact affairs , nothing so complicated as staging events across seven valleys of the savoie , where the idea to try again had floated about for years like mountain fog , never materializing . it was n't until late 1981 that a formal campaign crystalized behind the efforts of killy and michel_barnier , a savoie native serving in the national_assembly and president of the region 's governing_council . together , they saw what a bid could mean to the area 's principal industry , tourism . in a word roads . " the state was late 20 years , " killy said , referring to promises of help . " that 's the reason why we wanted to do it . the biggest winner of these games will be tourism . " the campaign was won five years after it began , when the international_olympic_committee chose albertville over six other candidates , including anchorage . for killy , a wealthy businessman who made big money in real_estate and sportswear , the jubilation was short lived . as the organizing_committee had grown to unwieldy proportions , with too many resorts promised competitions , he recommended scaling back , an idea that did not please civic leaders of villages left out of his consolidation . he was shocked and offended when some of them demanded he resign . rather than fight , he did . " i was disappointed to have to leave and not do the thing i wanted , simplify the system , " he said of his resignation in early 1987 . " there were just too many people involved . having gotten the games for these guys , i thought i had more credibility . the idea is so large , i just thought everybody would go for it , whether they got events or lost them . " the year that followed was traumatic for killy as well as the organizing_committee . within 10 months of his resignation , his wife of 14 years , daniele gaubert , died of cancer . meanwhile , i.o.c . officials began to consider it ludicrous , a savoie olympics without its native_son . in time , juan_antonio_samaranch , the i.o.c . president , and a man ever sensitive to image and public perception , made it clear he wanted killy back . " barnier is known only in france , " said jean_marie choffel , the director of tourism at meribel , the site for hockey and women 's alpine events . " jean_claude_killy is a flag for the world . " killy returned in march 1988 with an enthusiasm bordering on obsessive as plans narrowed to 10 competition sites , with other towns for the athletes' villages and centers for press and television . now an unsalaried co president with barnier , who handled the political side of issues , killy immersed himself in every phase of the mammoth project , reveling in the variety . " i have a natural curiosity , " he said . " i want to know why and who does what . i try to grab onto everything . i did n't think i would enjoy it as much as i have . " the objects of his curiosity abound . in recent months , environmental concerns developed over the ammonia being used to refrigerate the bobsled and luge runs in la_plagne , construction was slowed on the ski_jump slope in courchevel because of undetected underground springs and sections of the speed_skating track in albertville had melted in sunlight , exposing the sand beneath the ice . in each case , the problem was solved . but some continue . throughout the region work continues on projects designed to move people along faster , financed by the largest allocation from the 567 million guaranteed by the federal and regional governments . improvements to the highway from albertville to moutiers , a town where most roads leading to the mountains begin , is nearly complete , with two lanes added to the existing two . and tracks for a high_speed_train line have been laid in beside it . but few of the snaking mountain roads have been touched , leaving many rutted in spots and still dangerous in others , with soft shoulders and no guard rails . " work is scheduled to start on them this summer , " said anne quantin , a member of the public_relations staff , as she steered a van around the hairpin turns . even so , it 's scary to imagine what they might be like under ice and snow , with cars and buses straining to get ticket_holders , journalists and officials to the venues in time . under normal circumstances , traffic_jams during peak ski season are legendary . killy stressed that it 's far too soon to worry , citing all the work that has been done as reason enough to remain optimistic . then he recalled the 1984 summer_olympics in los_angeles , which would have been doomed under all the dire_predictions of stifling smog and traffic . " i never heard of games that did n't create negativity beforehand , " he said . " if you listened to the press before los_angeles , all you heard about was the smog and traffic . what never materialized ? smog and traffic . " even by factoring into his enthusiasm a qualifier , his lifetime love and familiarity with the area , it 's hard to resist his passion . as a skier , he never found a mountain he could n't conquer . he skis less these days , but his attitude is unchanged , thanks to a lesson he learned too late from his seven years as a member of the french national ski team . careening down mountains so fast , he had little time to appreciate the experience in a larger context . " i always thought to myself , 'why do n't i enjoy this more ? ' " he said , drawing a parallel to his current position . " i know we 're at the end now . i 'm missing it already . " olympics	has a location of france
an american tour company said today that 15 , 000 world_cup tickets were stolen from its paris office this morning , the latest twist in the uproar over the sale of tickets for the monthlong tournament . gillian pattison , a spokeswoman for prime sports international , said burglars broke into the company 's offices early_today , smashed a safe , grabbed more than 560 , 000 and made off with tickets for most of the remaining matches , including the final in st . denis on july 12 . the police confirmed that the robbery had taken place . but it was not clear why the company , based in beverly_hills , calif . , had so much cash or so many tickets in its office . a news release from the company offered a no questions asked reward of one million francs ( 166 , 500 ) for information leading to the return of the tickets . it quoted a company official , steve yovetich , as saying the tickets , all promised to customers , were ''important to our reputation . '' yovetich declined to respond to a telephone call , and pattison said she could not elaborate beyond saying that all the tickets had been sold to ''overseas customers'' who would be reimbursed if the tickets were not recovered . matt thacker , an official at prime sports international in beverly_hills , said he had no information , adding , ''we are a little in the dark because of the time difference . '' the theft came as complaints continued to pour in from thousands of supporters , including large belgian , brazilian and japanese contingents , who say tour operators have promised them tickets that have not been delivered . at least one paris hotel had to call the police to calm an irate crowd of brazilians whose promised tickets for the opening match 10 days ago had not appeared . the police and prosecutors have opened investigations into possible fraud that have already led to the arrest of two officials linked to isl worldwide , the official marketing agency of the international soccer federation , fifa , which organizes the world_cup . as is customary in france with ongoing investigations , the police have declined to comment . the world_cup , held every four years , has turned into an enormous business , with fifa reaping large payments from the sale of television rights and sponsoring contracts . as the fever to get tickets for games has mounted , prices for tickets have soared , with some reports suggesting that tickets for the final on july 12 may fetch over 15 , 000 each . there appear to be fortunes to be made on the black_market , and advertisements have begun to appear daily in newspapers from people seeking tickets . to date , the police and judicial investigations here have focused on isl france , the french subsidiary of isl worldwide , which is based in switzerland . the general director of the subsidiary , marc loison , and a consultant , gilles favard , have both been detained by the police for questioning on the possible fraudulent sale of tickets . the arrests followed a lawsuit filed by a french lawyer , francis debacker , representing four japanese tour operators who said they had paid for 15 , 000 tickets promised by favard but never delivered . in theory , isl france is supposed to market the world_cup but not sell any tickets . the sale of tickets was directed by france 's central organizing_committee for the world_cup , which was further embarrassed today by reports that a confidential phone_number leaked to a few privileged fans allowed them to buy huge blocks of seats when 170 , 000 tickets were put up for sale on a first come , first served basis on april 22 . bruno travade , a spokesman for the organizing_committee , said the committee had asked france telecom , the country 's main telephone company , to conduct an investigation into the existence of a secret number and would file charges if necessary . official phone lines were constantly busy when the tickets went on sale , and newspapers here were full of calculations from mathematicians putting the odds of getting through at one in several million . ''the system of ticket sales was not organized in a perfect manner , '' said sepp blatter , the president of fifa . ''indeed it was far from perfect . '' as the ticket scandal raged , the police moved to stop trouble on another front . the sale of alcohol around a paris stadium , the parc des princes , was banned during matches and for several hours before and after them . during the germany united_states game on monday , a number of german fans outside the stadium were arrested after minor clashes with the police . alcohol sales were also banned in the vicinity of five large video screens erected in the capital to show the games . ''we want to reassure parisians of their security , '' philippe massoni , the chief of police , said . english soccer hooligans have not yet disturbed the peace of paris , but reports of their behavior in the southern city of marseilles have caused concern here despite the fact that england 's next two games are in toulouse and lens . world_cup '98	has a location of france
an american in paris recently bought a house in larchmont without leaving france . similarly , a texas family made an offer on a home in wilton , conn . , without going there . whether it 's paris , france or paris , tex . , anyone with access to the internet can now " see " thousands of homes , apartments , hotels and office buildings all over the world , and they are available for sale or rent on the ever widening world_wide_web . " the internet has certainly changed the real_estate industry , " said hal maxwell , regional vice_president of coldwell_banker schlott for westchester_county . " we 're a national company , with 92 offices in the region and 2 , 400 nationally in 45 states . in october we opened our office of the future , our home page on the web . we now have the ability to give on line information on 40 , 000 listings to buyers all over the world . the home page has already brought us an increase of 250 additional leads a week from customers we would n't have had without the internet . " the buying public is fascinated by the world_wide_web , mr . maxwell said . " for instance , visitors to the recent real_estate expo '96 crowded around our booth , eager to learn how to shop for homes on the web_site , " he said . " our web_site is easy to use , and we 're easy to find because we 're the only national real_estate company to include all listings on one web_site . other national companies are franchise operations , and their inventories are divided among hundreds of smaller web_sites . " the user_friendly home page , mr . maxwell said , includes descriptions and pictures of thousands of homes as well as information on mortgages , community profiles with detailed descriptions of schools , taxes and even specifics like s.a.t . scores . new listings are added , and current listings are modified twice weekly . " a property listed with us receives maximum exposure 24 hours a day , 7 days a week , " mr . maxwell said , " and all our sales offices will be equipped to demonstrate coldwell_banker on line by the end of the month so a potential buyer who does n't have a computer can simply come into one of our offices and use ours . " as the complexities of the real_estate industry increase , so must the knowledge of its agents . technological literacy will be a requisite for those in the field . " we already have a computer training program in place , " mr . maxwell said . " looking toward the future , realtors who ca n't master the internet will probably be forced out of business . " what about those starting out in the industry ? " probably only those who are computer savvy will be considered , " mr . maxwell said . commercial real_estate concerns have also begun to use the internet as a marketing tool . michael siegel , executive director of the edward s . gordon company in white_plains , said " we were one of the first commercial real_estate firms to go on the internet eight months ago . our home page is full of general information about our company , and for those people who want more information we have a simple menu for those who want to go further . for instance , if someone is interested in a particular market segment , he or she can access information about space and rents and contact us for even more information directly by e mail . " the company 's in house education department is conducting computer training , mr . siegal said . " it is not really as difficult as we once imagined , " he said . " the technology is getting simpler all the time . " dale kaufteil , owner of harbor view properties , a residential , commercial and investment real_estate concern in mamaroneck , agreed . " computers are becoming easier to use , " he said . " we try to set up those that are user_friendly that will deliver information quickly and easily . " knowing how to use a computer has become essential in the real_estate industry , he added . " it 's another vast change , similar to the change that occurred 10 years ago when franchise operations took over independent offices , " he said , " one that people in our industry have to deal with and another nail in the coffin of those who ca n't . " mr . kaufteil , who knows enough about computers to have designed his own home page on the web , said it was not enough to list houses , apartments and investment properties but the trick is to know how to market them aggressively on line . " there are 11 million pages on the internet , 600 different real_estate sites alone , " he said . " i did n't want to wait passively for someone to find us , so for 100 i registered a domain name , which links us to directories and search engines , meaning that people logging on the internet for the first time will see our name come up in the first 10 to 20 real_estate references . " he said that in his spare time , in line with his aggressive marketing tactics , he cruises the information highway , making contact with international developers in europe , australia and the pacific_rim . " i 'm already seeing results , " he said . " we sold a shopping_center in rockland_county to a foreign investor and the stamford marriott_hotel to another group of foreign investors as a result of my contacting them on the internet . " one of the first real_estate companies in westchester to go on line , was houlihan_lawrence with 15 offices in the county . houlihan_lawrence 's database has more than 500 houses along with condominiums , co ops and rentals . the company reports that it has already realized more than 2 million in sales for homes that it has shown on the internet . " it 's a very important part of marketing that is getting more important every year , " said elly goodman , the company 's marketing director . " would be buyers can meet our agents , tour our current inventory , request our catalogue and receive a world of housing information without leaving home . " as for potential sellers , ms . goodman said , " we present their home in full living color on the internet to an estimated audience of 30 million cyber surfers , and that is coverage . " houlihan , which is an affiliate of sotheby 's international realty , is now able to show houses to an international audience , she said . " and we were also able to open up new markets by distributing our catalogue of better homes on our web_site , " she said . " this was an additional advantage a bonus as people from all over the world now e mail us , and we send our catalogue out to what we think of as a pre screened audience . " computer illiteracy would not prevent houlihan_lawrence from hiring an experienced sales person , ms . goodman said . " but certainly a computer background would be viewed as an asset , " she said . " right now we have more than 400 agents who are taking a major technology training course from our in house educational director . yet although we have adopted the new technology as an innovative and advanced marketing tool , we still feel buying a home is a personal thing , and although internet is a valuable tool , it will never replace people to people encounters in our business . "	has a location of france
with paris nursing its wounds after looting and violence disrupted a huge demonstration here on monday , french high_school students announced plans today to continue their campaign of protests against overcrowded classrooms , inadequate security and too few teachers . although the government responded to monday 's heavy student turnout by promising an emergency plan to help the country 's 4 , 700 high_schools , a student protest committee called for new demonstrations in paris and otherfrench towns and cities on friday . the government faced growing criticism not only for failing to respond to the students' demands but also for not controlling vandals who used monday 's demonstration to cause trouble . while the teen_age students marched peacefully from the place de la bastille into the latin_quarter on their way to the champs_elysees , older youths , many wearing_masks and carrying truncheons , looted shops in montparnasse , burned cars and repeatedly attacked the police . as a result of more than four hours of disturbances , 83 youths were arrested , close to 200 police officers were hurt , around 100 cars were burned and some 120 stores were looted . even the metro station at the pont de l'alma , where the police prevented rioters from crossing the river seine toward the champs_elysees , was damaged by fire . today the police chief of paris , pierre verbrugghe , defended the action of the police , arguing that it was more important to protect the 100 , 000 students than to attack the 1 , 000 or so vandals who , he admitted , acted " with a speed , violence and tranquil cynicism that surprised us . " opposition political_parties nonetheless criticized the interior_minister , pierre joxe , for the slow and inadequate response by the police , noting that looting during a smaller demonstration one week earlier had served as a warning that bigger trouble could come monday . aware of considerable public sympathy for the students and mindful of the widespread demonstrations by university students that rocked france in 1968 , the government has been anxious not to be seen as repressing the three week old movement . president_francois_mitterrand , who received a student delegation on monday , has suggested that the government of prime_minister michel_rocard should listen to the students' complaints . several prominent ministers as well as pierre mauroy , secretary general of the governing socialist_party , have distanced themselves from the education minister , lioneljospin . some french newspapers , including le_monde , have even speculated that , unless the crisis is rapidly resolved , the tensions created by the student movement within the government and the socialist_party could force the resignation of mr . rocard 's government . although mr . mitterrand chose mr . rocard as his prime_minister two years ago , it is widely believed that he considers the leader of the government to be a political rival . further , political experts believe the president would not like to see mr . rocard as his political successor . a more immediate question , though , appears to be whether mr . jospin can convince the students that his emergency plan can bring rapid improvements to high_schools in need of extra teachers and more classroom space .	has a location of france
naomi levine was reading about alberto w . vilar , the arts philanthropist , last year and noticed that he had studied economics at new york_university . mrs . levine , a senior vice_president at n.y.u. , knew that he had given millions of dollars to the metropolitan_opera , carnegie_hall and an array of other organizations . why not n.y.u. , she asked herself . she urged n.y.u . 's longtime former chairman , laurence a . tisch , to invite mr . vilar to breakfast . after a few proposals that went nowhere , the university hit pay dirt with a plan for a rhodes scholarship type program named after him for foreign students in the arts . mr . vilar recently pledged 23 million . ''that 's typical of how we do fund_raising , '' mrs . levine said . ''you find someone you think would be interested in what you are doing , and you go after them . '' some universities have armies of fund_raisers , as many as 100 . n.y.u . has a development staff of 25 ( including three people in alumni relations ) . it is a lean operation that spends about 6 cents for every dollar raised , one of the lowest spending rates among major universities . and at its heart is mrs . levine , a straight talking , no nonsense , 78 year old dynamo , who helped the university raise 2 billion over 15 years and 335 million last year alone , more than all but a handful of other universities . ''the roosevelt administration had a saying 'clear it with sidney , ' '' n.y.u . 's chairman , martin lipton , said recently , referring to president roosevelt 's close adviser , the labor leader sidney hillman . ''here it is . 'clear it with naomi . ' '' mrs . levine came to n.y.u . in 1978 to handle public_relations , government relations and a little bit of fund_raising . ( n . y.u . was raising 30 million a year then . ) but she gradually cut back on the other roles and focused more and more on the money . she had a knack . she thought strategically , capitalizing on the connections between ego , tax considerations and imaginative ways to spend money . she knew the university well . and in a business that depends heavily on personal relationships , she had many , both inside and outside the university . she presides over n.y.u . 's fund_raising apparatus in much the same way she held sway over the campers and counselors at camp greylock , the girls' camp she once ran in the adirondacks . she calls on people daily and lets them know what she needs and expects . her office is only a few doors down from n.y.u . 's president , l . jay oliva , and they chat with each other several times a day about ideas and prospects . dr . oliva came up with what he called an ''amorphous idea'' for the vilar scholarships , but mrs . levine helped structure it . ''we 're like a songwriting team , '' dr . oliva said . ''i 'm the composer she 's the lyricist . i have the idea for the music , and she makes the words . '' she talks daily to h . dale hemmerdinger , a real_estate executive who is chairman of n.y.u . 's development committee . she also relies heavily on mr . lipton and mr . tisch to open doors to prospective donors . ''once you open the door , '' she said , ''hardly anyone says no . '' and she leans freely on other well heeled trustees . trustees who have recently made significant donations include helen kimmel and her husband , martin , who gave 15 million for a new student center , and michael steinhardt and his wife , judy , who gave 10 million to the school of education . yet another trustee gave the medical_school 100 million last year but asked to remain anonymous . in all , the trustees gave n.y.u . 173 million last year , more than half of the 335 million in total gifts . as mrs . levine put it , in her typically blunt fashion ''our trustees are brought on to give money or to get money . to be crass , if you ca n't do those things , you get off the board . '' there is no embarrassment in her voice . she believes deeply in the product she is selling . she quotes her close ally , mr . tisch , as saying , ''this is a poor place and we have to work at getting money for it . '' she works to get to know the trustees and to strengthen their ties to each other and the university by taking them on trips to france , to london , to n.y.u . 's villa in florence . earlier this year , much of the board gathered in palm_beach , fla . ''there is nothing like living with each other for a few days for bonding , '' she said . she also ropes in others with little or no previous connection to the university , always looking for intersections between their interests and the university 's . edgar m . bronfman , for example , whom she knew in her previous role as executive director of the american jewish congress , has endowed n.y.u . 's jewish life center as well as a professorship . n.y.u . officials say that she thinks big , dreaming up ideas like a 1 billion fund_raising campaign in 1985 . ''at first we were all a little taken aback by the idea , '' mr . tisch recalled . ''then we got to like it . there was a shock value in a billion dollars . '' but mrs . levine also focuses on detail . she acknowledges spending hours and nights figuring out who is going to sit next to whom at a dinner . ''one little detail can ruin a deal , '' she said in a schoolmarmish tone . ''a letter with bad grammar . or spelling a name wrong . '' she admits that n.y.u . has failed to cultivate the university 's broader alumni base . most universities try to cultivate donors of smaller gifts soon after they graduate because it is hard to predict who will be successful later on . but with alumni who were mostly commuter students , that did not become a priority until recently . perhaps the biggest questions for n.y.u . is what will happen to development when mrs . levine moves aside . she recently announced her intention to cut back and run a philanthropy institute at n.y.u . 's school of continuing and professional studies . ( later this month , she plans to lecture on her approach to fund_raising . ) mr . tisch suggests that she may be indispensable . ''the most important thing for the university is to keep her active for another 15 years , '' he said . ''there is no after naomi . ''	has a location of france
in a subway tunnel far below the place de la madeleine on the right bank , an empty automated ghost train glides up to the platform . no driver is at the controls , and no conductor at the doors , which slide open as a recorded human voice announces ''madeleine . '' they close again , and the train whooshes off toward the next stop in the five mile long tunnel . this is the new meteor line of the century old paris metro . meteor , line 14 , has air cushioned trains on tires that can rush along at more than 50 miles an hour , twice as fast as regular trains , is to open on oct . 15 , the first new line since 1935 and the first to be fully automated . ''we 're retraining drivers to circulate on the platforms and in the trains with the passengers , where they can have some company instead of being shut up alone , '' claude janet , a metro visitor guide , said , standing at the curved glass windshield of one of the new six car trains as it rushed through the tunnel . so far there has been no outcry from the often militant metro labor_unions . the line has not tried to cut back on the number of employees on the new line because of automation , mr . janet said there are 242 of them , as many as it would take to run a conventional subway line of the same length . four people at the central computerized command post , in a bunker above one of the new stations just outside the bercy stadium and convention_center near the gare de lyon , can run all 13 trains on line 14 by themselves , watching their progress on computer screens and a green and red train board on a wall . the line runs deep underground between madeleine , chatelet , in the center of paris , and gare de lyon , and then crosses the seine to the biblioteque francois_mitterrand on the left bank . right now the tunnels are filled with hundreds of workers cleaning up dust and debris and putting the finishing touches on the spacious stations . some critics have wondered why madeleine , half a mile from one of the busiest commuter_rail stations in paris , the gare st . lazare , was picked as the western terminus of a line intended to relieve commuter congestion . ''the only reason we did n't extend the line to st . lazare in the first place was that we did n't have the money , '' mr . janet said . regional , local and national authorities financed the 1 billion cost of building the line , which began in 1992 . france prides itself on some of the most technologically_advanced rail transportation systems in the world , but throughout its history , the metro has always kept its distance from the french railroad system . its subway trains , like american ones , run on the right , not the left , the way trains do in france ( and cars as well as trains do in britain ) . some metro trains have been running on rubber tires instead of steel wheels since the early 1960 's . but until meteor , all metro trains have run a good deal more slowly than even the pokiest local on the suburban regional express rail lines , which since the 1970 's have run through the city underground in their own tunnels . eventually , by 2003 mr . janet hopes , meteor will reach st . lazare . the national railways will also build a new connecting commuter_rail station at the mitterrand library . the mitterrand station is the biggest in the system , with a concrete ceiling nearly 50 feet above the train platform , supported by majestic imitation granite pillars . at madeleine , passengers descend through a wide , brightly lit open mezzanine on broad staircases or escalators . all seven stations on the line are wheelchair accessible through elevators from the sidewalk . the stations' design keeps people from falling onto the tracks or wandering into the tunnels by sealing trains in a transparent cocoon . passengers can see the trains as they approach , but are separated from the tracks by a plastic barrier with doors . when the trains roll up , car doors and station doors match and open simultaneously , like elevators . alarms should go off and television screens in the control center light up if anything goes wrong , or if a passenger presses one of the emergency alarm buttons in the trains , which have remote_control cameras and emergency instructions in french , german , spanish , italian and english . the contrast with the claustrophobia and clamor of subways in new york and chicago is anything but an accident , according to bernard kohn , a french american architect who studied with louis kahn in philadelphia and taught at yale before returning to france in 1969 . ''we wanted people to feel they were being welcomed to a restful and un hectic environment , '' he said in an interview . bernard kohn associes formulated the architectural guidelines for the entire system and designed the station at madeleine and five of the others . ''the elitist view in paris is that the metro is only for people who ca n't afford other transport , '' he said . ''we wanted to get completely away from that and make people feel they are treated with dignity here . ''	has a location of france
it was fatigue that finally gave the police a chance to rescue six young hostages from a suburban nursery_school early_today by killing their dozing captor with three silent gunshots to the head . " man neutralized , " was the first message that crackled over police radios overheard by the crowd outside the school complex . barely thirty seconds after the man 's death , the smiling 3 and 4 year old girls held captive for two days were delivered to anxious parents outside . one child was overheard protesting that she wanted to return for her toy giraffe . the hooded gunman , with dynamite sticks strapped to his body , burst into the classroom of 21 children at the school in neuilly sur seine on thursday morning , demanding 18 . 5 million in ransom . the police identified him today as eric schmitt , 42 , an algerian born french citizen , but his background could not be confirmed independently . over the next 46 hours , through painstaking negotiations , he was persuaded to release 15 of the 21 children in batches . teacher refused to leave throughout the ordeal , the children 's teacher , laurence dreyfus , 30 , refused to leave the children for more than short periods of time . she left the classroom to get food and bedding , to speak with the parents clustered outside , and at one point to get a few hours' rest . ms . dreyfus , who calmed the children by telling them the armed , masked man with the gun was chasing a wolf , entertained and fed the children for the two days and nights , then put them to sleep with the help of sedatives . she was assisted by capt . evelyne lambert , a french_army pediatrician who was allowed into the classroom . in a televised news conference , charles pasqua , minister of interior , praised the two women who risked their lives to care for the toddlers . mr . pasqua announced that the two women would be given the legion of honor , france 's highest civilian commendation , for their bravery throughout the ordeal . it was not clear whether the teacher was in the classroom when the captor was killed , but she did emerge from the school with the children when the siege was over . gunman talked to psychiatrist after hours of negotiations with the police , the gunman , who was being observed by camera , spoke with a psychiatrist , gilles nakab . dr . nakab said the gunman was " calm and cool " and that most of the time he " was determined to keep his distance from the children . " toward the early morning hours , it was evident that mr . schmitt was becoming irritable and " destabilized " and asked to be left alone to rest at about 3 00 a.m. , dr . nakab said . when mr . schmitt , who never removed his hood or gloves , appeared to doze off about 7 25 a.m . two separate teams of french police burst into the classroom . one team headed for a corner of the class to secure the children who were asleep on mattresses and covered with blankets , while the other team moved toward the sleeping gunman . when he stirred , they shot him in the head with guns equipped with silencers . children did not see shooting the six little girls , whom he said he would use as a shield during his getaway , were insulated from the brief burst of violence , having been kept in a corner of the room separated by a desk and other furniture . " the girls saw absolutely nothing , " capt . lambert said . " it all took a few seconds . " some french journalists were allowed to look at the classroom , which was decorated in bright , happy colors . mr . schmitt , whose highly organized siege included prepared printouts of instructions for the police , had mapped out an entire escape plan in which the police would have to fake his " elimination . " the authorities said the flaw in his planning was counting on too much physical stamina . parents wait in school the children 's parents , who spent the anxious wait in the school complex , were visibly wary and made no statements . ms . dreyfus visited the parents several times during the ordeal . the school complex , nestled in an elegant tree lined street , had as many as 1 , 000 students on thursday morning . it was emptied to be surrounded by police barricades and sharpshooters hidden around the leafy villas and luxury buildings of this suburb just a 15 minute drive from the center of paris . throughout much of the day thursday and friday , scores of french volunteers presented themselves at the schools offering to substitute for the children as hostages . a tiny chapel near the school was kept open all night thursday and friday for many ordinary citizens who streamed in to light candles and pray silently as round the clock television vigils kept the whole nation informed of every development .	has a location of france
high_school students flooded the streets of france again today to campaign for more teachers and better schools , but the march in paris turned violent when troublemakers looted stores , burned cars and clashed with riot_police . the police arrested at least 110 youths . five people , including two policemen , were injured . today was the largest demonstration and the most violent day in a campaign that has gathered strength over the last two weeks . student leaders disassociated themselves from the violence , which they blamed on unemployed youths . with about 500 , 000 students mobilized throughout france , according to police estimates , the growing strength of the movement has shaken and embarrassed the socialist government of prime_minister lionel_jospin , which has felt obliged to express sympathy for the student demands . in contrast to the violence in paris , the demonstrations in a score of other french cities went off peacefully . the education minister , claude allegre , who met with student leaders in paris this afternoon , said he was ' 'shocked that a peaceful demonstration has been distorted and disrupted by these acts of violence which have nothing to do with the young people 's democratic protest . '' after the meeting , the students pledged to continue their movement , which began with a sit down strike by just a few hundred students in southwest france and quickly spread across the country . claiming that their demands for new funds to improve their overcrowded high_schools had not been met , the students scheduled another nationwide mobilization for next tuesday . the violence erupted around the place de la nation in the east of the city today , and was traced to unemployed youths from outlying suburbs who are nicknamed ''casseurs , '' literally ' 'smashers , '' and who in the past have taken advantage of student demonstrations to cause trouble . the student complaints , echoed in marches in cities from bordeaux to rennes today , are relatively straightforward and remarkably consistent they say that many french high_schools , or lycees , suffer from a chronic shortage of teachers and classrooms as well as growing violence and that the burden of courses required for the final baccalaureat examinations is far too heavy . ''this is our third day on strike , and we really want to make a difference , '' said laetitia wildebrand , 17 , a student from a high_school outside paris who joined today 's demonstration here , which involved an estimated 28 , 000 students and sympathizers . ''we need more teachers , more material and more classrooms . we have classes in the school cafeteria because of overcrowding . '' as early as wednesday , the police urged shopkeepers to close their shutters along the planned route of today 's march . after the violence began around noon today , with glass telephone booths shattered , several stores and cafes looted and a dozen cars set on fire by about 100 casseurs , some students immediately left the demonstration . ''i 'm disgusted with the violence , disgusted and saddened , '' said marius turlet , 18 , the leader of a group of 200 students who had come in from the paris suburb of villiers . ''we 're leaving . '' the march eventually set off from the area , with students chanting and waving banners , but plans to walk several miles to the education ministry on the rue de grenelle in the 7th arrondissement were canceled . as the march dissipated in the afternoon , students said they hoped that the violence would not distract attention from their demands . ''our school is ugly , '' complained issam fadlhawi , 19 , who is completing his studies at the gustave ferre lycee in eastern paris . ''it looks like a factory . it 's unheated and there 's still asbestos that has to be removed . but the real problem is security . gangs come to our school with weapons . i 've spent four years fighting in this school . the other day , a friend of mine was thrown through the window of the cafeteria and had to have 52 stitches . '' four teen_age girls from the jean jacques rousseau high_school in the paris suburbs regretted the day 's violence , but said they were not surprised . ''we 're not being heard , '' said toure astrid , 16 . ''they 've been promising to renovate our school for 10 years and they have done nothing . there are 40 students in my class . my friend , who 's majoring in science , has no biology teacher . we 're also demonstrating for the students who will come after us . '' with next year 's education budget about to be debated in the national_assembly , mr . allegre , the education minister , has pledged to reduce the workload of lycee students and to make it easier to transfer teachers to cover critical shortages . but he has also indicated that some improvements can only be introduced in the next school year . significantly , some high_school teachers have joined the student protests to increase pressure on the government . franck palliot , 17 , said conditions at his st . louis high_school in the affluent 8th arrondissement were fine , but he joined today 's demonstration in solidarity with other students . ''new classrooms , more teachers , better supplies , they 'll all take time , '' he said . ''we ca n't expect these things to arrive tomorrow . '' education experts said that some of the most neglected high_schools are to be found in the suburbs of large cities where the concentration of immigrants is heaviest . the unrest among high_school students contrasts with the relative tranquillity in the country 's universities , which have steadily lost their reputation as hotbeds of political agitation since the student movement of may 1968 . ''students today are in too much of a panic about finding jobs to think about politics , '' one university professor said . ''no one is interested in demonstrating . ''	has a location of france
before the opening ceremonies , jean_claude_killy , the co president of these winter_olympics , spoke of how he wanted visitors to go home with " the feeling of having spent a fortnight of their lives on another planet the planet of the french olympics . " but by last night 's closing ceremonies , it had evolved into the planet of the french_alps olympics . with jagged snow capped peaks kissing a canopy of crystal blue sky , the views on the trips to the mountain venues will endure in the distant replays of the mind . on the up , up , uphill road to the ski events at val_d'isere , seeing the huge face of hercules on a dam . on the twisting turns to the bobsled at la_plagne and the ski_jump at courcheval , seeing clouds floating below . on the ski lift to meribel , seeing a hang glider suspended above the ice arena where the united_states hockey team flashed and floundered . in this land of potage and fromage , in a meribel chalet restaurant named yorky 's , the view for some wanderers even included a cheeseburger and fries . if it snowed in the mountains , it rained down here in albertville , which for the last 16 days has been the olympic capital at the wide mouth of the tarentaise valley . on a warm afternoon during the first week , people were walking around albertville in shirtsleeves . some were even playing playing tennis in shorts outside the figure_skating rink and across the street from the speed_skating oval . in the coolers at the centre principal de press in the valley town of la lechere , the most popular drinks were not coca_cola and sprite , but small plastic bottles of evian water and a liquid yogurt , yop , in lemon , strawberry and peach . " bonjour " was enough french to get you almost anywhere and almost anything . when a journalist 's luggage was finally recovered after 24 hours on a wayward bus , the french volunteers in their silver olympic parkas celebrated by opening a bottle of champagne . when a rented car with thousands of dollars of photographic equipment was stolen , the french gendarmes considered it a routine report until they were informed that the loot included hundreds of olympic pins . " mon dieu , " one of the gendarmes said , " we must get those pins back . " even more than most olympics , pins were in demand . in a la lechere restaurant one evening , a bashful 6 year old blond girl in a pink sweater and pearls walked over to a nearby table and spoke in french to four americans who were dining on filet de bouf . " parlez vous anglais ? " she was asked . with a smile and perfect english , she said , " do you have any piiiiins ? " they did , and moments later she did . as in any olympics , the events were sometimes dazzling , sometimes dull . instead of some of the goofy events , the international_olympic_committee ought to consider a snow and ice version of the track and field decathlon , a winter_games pentathlon . competitors would participate in five events over 10 or 12 days 1 , 000 meter speed skate , luge , slalom , ski_jump and 15 kilometer cross country ski . if the decathlon supposedly produces the world 's best athlete , the snow and ice pentathlon would produce the world 's best winter athlete . the collapse of the soviet_union and its transformation into the commonwealth_of_independent_states , and the formation of one germany , created in these winter_olympics a new common_market for olympic expertise . coaches from what was once east_germany are for hire . and when a unified team figure_skating coach was asked to divulge the secret to landing smoothly after a double_axel , she smiled . " certainly i will tell you , " she said , " for money . " some of the unified team hockey players , with gold medals in hand , will soon be for sale , notably aleksei_kovalev , the 18 year old right wing . his blistering blur of a shot produced the first goal in a 5 2 victory that ended the united_states team 's hope for a gold_medal . kovalev , whose national_hockey_league rights are held by the rangers , is more available than some unified team players . the members of the red_army team in moscow , for example , are literally in the army of the former soviet_union , which will make it more difficult for them to go elsewhere , especially a younger player . in contrast , kovalev , is on the dynamo team in moscow . " kovalev 's future depends on the leadership of his club and the federation , " a tass journalist said . " if the contract is good , he will be free to decide . " but when a french volunteer in an olympic parka overheard some americans talking about how kovalev would bolster the rangers in the drive for the franchise 's first stanley_cup since 1940 , he stared at them and smirked . " when the playoffs come , " the volunteer said , " the rangers lose like always . " even on the planet of the french_alps olympics , the rangers ca n't escape their haunting heritage . but there 's always the view .	has a location of france
the united_states , which has struggled to find the net in recent warmup matches , put away four goals against a french second division club yesterday in st . jean d'ardieres , france . brian_mcbride , cobi jones , brian maisonneuve and ernie stewart all scored in the 4 0 victory over gueugnon , which was played behind closed doors at the americans' training facility at trevoux , about 25 miles north of lyons . all but 2 of the 22 american world_cup players took part in the game , which was their first chance to gain match fitness since arriving in france last thursday . midfielder chad deering sat out with a slight ankle strain and defender marcelo balboa was unable to play because he has two infected toes and is on antibiotics , coach steve_sampson said . the three goalkeepers , kasey_keller , brad friedel and juergen sommer , shared duties , each playing for 30 minutes . most important for sampson was to see whether forward eric_wynalda and midfielder frankie hejduk would perform well enough to be considered for the united_states' opening game on monday against germany in paris . sampson told reporters he was delighted with the performances of both men , who each played just 45 minutes . ( reuters ) england england 's squad looked fresh and relaxed when it flew into nantes last night en_route to its training base at nearby la baule . the england players , none of whom has played in a world_cup_finals match before , must have felt very much at home as they arrived in a wet and windy nantes 30 minutes behind schedule after a behind closed doors friendly against the french second division side caen . manchester united 's paul scholes scored the only goal in the 1 0 victory , and coach glenn hoddle , asked if the game had been a worthwhile exercise , smiled_broadly and said yes . very good . ( agence france press ) fifa dream team pele , michel platini and franz_beckenbauer on the same team . with diego_maradona , garrincha and johan cruyff in support . a dream team for the century was unveiled yesterday when mastercard announced the fifa world football team . the group featured four brazilians , two argentines , a german , a frenchman , a russian , an englishman and a dutchman . the team was chosen by a worldwide panel of journalists . the team consisted of the brazilians pele , garrincha , nilton santos and carlos alberto the argentines maradona and alfredo di stefano beckenbauer of germany platini of france , the co chairman of the 1998 world_cup lev yashin of russia bobby moore of england , and cruyff of the netherlands . ( ap ) world_cup notebook united_states	has a location of france