World IN BRIEF : FRANCE : Chirac Orders Strict Border Checks

Responding to a series of bombings, French President Jacques Chirac ordered stricter border checks. Three bomb blasts in Paris since late July, believed to have been set by Algerian Muslim extremists, have killed seven people, injured about 100 and prompted strict security measures nationwide. Two unexploded bombs have been found--the latest Monday in a public toilet in Paris. Chirac raised the possibility that France might drop out of an agreement with Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to do away with border checks. The president also denounced the media for creating “a kind of psychosis” by excessive coverage of the bombings.