According to an Enterprise Ireland announcement, contracts worth _1.5 million have been signed by three Irish companies - AMCS, Cork Plastics and Anua - operating in the cleantech and manufacturing sectors, with three French firms operating in similar areas.

On Sunday, February 17, French daredevil Guerlain Chicherit - the world champion of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup - successfully executed the first ever 360-degree backflip in a car.

According to a top-level deal signed in Paris on Friday, Internet search giant Google will create a `Digital Publishing Innovation Fund' which will chiefly aim at offering help to the French media publishers in the direction of digital innovation, as well as for increasing revenue from advertisements.

In a announcement which apparently underscores the potential for small cars to deliver over 80 mpg sans batteries, French automaker Peugeot-Citroen has revealed that, in the coming three years, it intends producing compact hybrid cars which will capable of running on a combination of gasoline and compressed air.