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A federal lawsuit against the former cyclist will proceed to a jury trialArmstrong accused of fraud against government under False Claims Act  Lance Armstrong is on course for a trial in a 2010 case stemming from his performance-enhancing drug use. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters A federal judge on Monday refused to block the government’s $100m lawsuit against  Lance Armstrong , putting the former cyclist on course for trial in a 2010 case stemming from his performance-enhancing drug use. The lawsuit was filed by Armstrong’s former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis. The federal government joined in 2013 after Armstrong publicly admitted he cheated to win the  Tour de France  seven times from 1999-2005. Armstrong was stripped of those titles and banned from competition. Timeline: Lance Armstrong’s journey from deity to disgrace Armstrong has also taken huge hits financially, losing all his major sponsors and being forced to pay more than $10m in  dam...

France's far-right party leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday told thousands of flag-waving supporters chanting "This is our country!" that she alone could protect them against Islamic fundamentalism and globalization if elected president in May. Buoyed by the election of President Donald Trump in the United States and by Britons' vote to leave the European Union, Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-EU National Front (FN) hopes for similar populist momentum in France. With hitherto favorite Francois Fillon, a conservative, embroiled in scandal over his wife's job, and rising centrist star Emmanuel Macron as yet untested, Le Pen's FN says it can thwart polls that see her losing in a second round run-off. "What is at stake in this election ... is whether France can still be a free nation," Le Pen told supporters at her campaign launch rally. "The divide is not between the left and right any more but between patriots and globalists." In 144 "...