French parliament dismisses impeachment call against Hollande

PARIS - France's President Francois Hollande will not face an impeachment process over comments he made to two journalists that revealed French secret services had conducted four targeted killings on his orders, a parliamentary committee ruled on Wednesday.

Earlier this month a conservative lawmaker, Pierre Lellouche, triggered a process to activate article 68 of France's constitution - that allows the National Assembly to impeach the president - on the grounds the Socialist leader had breached security protocols.

A cross-party steering committee voted 13 to eight in favor of halting the impeachment call in its tracks, the leader of the National Assembly, Clause Bartolone, said in a short statement.

There was no immediate reaction from the presidential Elysee palace.