McChrystal and his staff, the self-dubbed "Team America" was far from the battlefields of Afghanistan, but rather in relaxed settings - a Paris hotel suite and an Irish pub nearby named Kitty O'Shea's.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: McChrystal remarks sad but not surprising

Olivier O'Mahony, bureau chief of the popular French magazine Paris Match, said he hasn't been able to get his editors interested in big, splashy features on the U.S. presidential primary.

WSJ: The Boys on Le Bus: Foreign Press Mines Local Angles in U.S. Primary

One example was the way she responded to Alfredo's late plea that they leave Paris together so she could regain her health: "Parigi, o caro, " she echoed, but her subdued, wistful tone told us she knew it was a vain hope.

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O'BRIEN: The first lady's main mission in Paris is to deliver the keynote address to a meeting of UNESCO -- the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

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Reddan has one international appearance to his name, when he came on as a late replacement for Brian O'Driscoll during last season's high-scoring defeat by France in Paris.

BBC: SPORT | Rugby Union | Ireland keep faith with same team