400 French troops to leave Afghanistan this year

France is pulling 400 troops out of Afghanistan this year as part of its plan to withdraw all of its forces by the end of 2013.President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday that 200 troops left in October. Another 200 will leave before the end of the year. His was speaking at a ceremony to commemorate Frances war dead on the anniversary of the end of fighting in World War I.France has 4,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, primarily in the east.Sarkozy has said he will steadily draw down those forces but refused opposition calls for the calendar to be sped up.The international coalition plans to withdraw all combat troops from the country by the end of 2014.