Paris hosts dueling rallies between leading presidential candidatesApril 15, 2012 - 18:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - France's two leading presidential candidates are holding dueling rallies in the capital a week before the country heads into the voting booth, The Associated Press reported. Polls show conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Socialist challenger, Francois Hollande, are neck-in-neck for the first round on April 22. Most polls have Hollande ahead in May 6 decisive runoff. Tens of thousands of supporters gathered at opposite ends of Paris, with those for Sarkozy at the iconic Place de la Concorde in Paris' posh west side. Hollande's followers rallied in the Bois de Vincennes, just outside the city's more working-class east. Both candidates have been encouraging voters not to wait for round two to come out in support of them, and are using Sunday April 15 rallies to build momentum. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |