The job of Director of Verification has gone to Major General Jean-Louis Roland who previously served as the chief of the Arms Control Division of France's Defense Staff.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

Between 2004 when the European Union lifted its arms embargo against Libya and 2011, Tripoli has purchased approximately half a billion dollars worth of arms from France, more than from any other country in Europe.

FORBES: Connect

More than 90 countries, including big arms suppliers such as Britain, France and Germany, issued a joint statement at the end of the conference reiterating their commitment to getting a treaty in place as soon as possible.

ECONOMIST: Regulating the arms trade: One more heave | The

The belief that Mr Assad's men are getting a sharper military edge over the armed opposition is one of the reasons why Britain and France are pressing their European Union partners to lift their arms embargo to Syria, says our editor.

BBC: Syria crisis: March was 'conflict's deadliest month'

France's game shots, for example, are almost literally up in arms over the shortening of the period to conform belatedly with European Union law in which they can blast away at migrating birds.

ECONOMIST: The battleground of France

To be fair, the first years of his presidency did witness achievements: bold plans to end conscription and streamline the armed forces, to overhaul France's sickly public-health system, revamp the arms industry, sell off or deregulate swathes of the public sector.

ECONOMIST: The cracks in Jacques Chirac��s presidency

Another factor propelling Sprint into the arms of a suitor is the seemingly inevitable dissolution of Global One, the firm's ill-fated alliance with France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom that was supposed to offer a one-stop communications shop for big corporate customers.

ECONOMIST: The telecoms end-game