The Ask blog wrote last night Ask.com France: A Fresh Alternative. That post shows that they have updated the look of http://fr.ask.com/ to be consistent of the Ask.com brand. They also noted that the ranking algorithm used at the French engine is "unique." Finally they have many of the same features at Ask France and will be adding "news feeds, maps and itineraries, online shopping, downloads, etc."
Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.
