The week at a glance...Europe

Paris

Halal meat drama: French President Nicolas Sarkozy, campaigning for re-election next month, has followed the lead of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and called for the labeling of halal meat. Le Pen said last month that Parisians were unwittingly eating meat from animals slaughtered in the ritual Muslim way, without being stunned first. French media looked into the claim and found that while most abattoirs around Paris do slaughter some animals using halal or kosher practices, mainstream supermarkets sell mostly non-halal meat. In calling for labels, Sarkozy cited consumers’ right to know. But Muslim and Jewish groups said that labeling would “lead to stigmatization.”

Reykjavík, Iceland

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Foreign currency? Iceland, which went bankrupt in 2008, is now considering adopting the Canadian dollar as its currency. Icelandic businessmen first floated the idea last year, and this week Canadian Ambassador Alan Bones told Icelandic radio that the governments were ready to talk about the possibility. Iceland has applied to join the European Union and could eventually adopt the euro, but some economists say that Canada’s economy is a better fit because it is resource-based, like Iceland’s. “I’m all in favor of discussing the alternatives we may have to the krona,” said Foreign Minister Össur Skarphédinsson.

Szczekociny, Poland

Head-on train wreck: Human error is being blamed for a head-on train collision that killed 16 people, including one American, and injured dozens. The signalman on duty at the time, who apparently guided the trains to the same track, was so distraught after the accident that he was placed in a psychiatric hospital for treatment. He could face criminal charges when he has recovered. “The evidence shows that he did not switch the devices properly,” said public prosecutor Tomasz Ozimek. Polish authorities declared two days of national mourning. It was the worst train crash in the country in decades.