Paris, Muharram 18, 1433, Dec 13, 2011, SPA - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was in Paris Tuesday to witness the historic raising of the Palestinian flag at the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO. The Palestinian President was also to hold talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA". The flag-raising ceremony at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization takes place at noon (1100 GMT). Abbas was scheduled to give a press conference afterwards. UNESCO members voted by an overwhelming majority to admit Palestine as the agency's 195th member state on October 31. The previous month Abbas had applied for the full UN membership. That application is still pending at the UN Security Council. --SPA 13:25 LOCAL TIME 10:25 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/952038