The French navy, for example, has been sending sailors to protect the country's tuna-fishing ships in waters around the Seychelles.

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But the new station, which is based in a former French navy club, has been promoted by Breton militant Patrick Le Lay, head of France's popular TF1 channel.

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Offer a roll-on, roll-off Merchant Navy ferry to help transport equipment to the French force in Mali.

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At 70, the French billionaire looks more like 50--trim and fit in a navy suit tailored to his compact frame.

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When we met one afternoon at the Mandarin Oriental, she wore that French grace of dressing simply but in the best clothing: a smart navy suit jacket, crisp white shirt, good shoes.

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But this week, French and Chinese destroyers staged joint manoeuvres off the Chinese coast, the Chinese navy's biggest ever with a foreign country, according to the Chinese press.

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