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| Europe | |
| France left out | |
| 2003-12-23 | |
| Not EFL, its all good France congratulated Britain and America yesterday for persuading Libya to surrender its weapons of mass destruction and admitted it had been kept in the dark throughout the talks. Dominique de Villepin, the foreign minister, took his hat off to London and Washington’s "exemplary" diplomatic efforts over the past few months that led to the Libyan leader Col Gaddafi’s surprise announcement on Friday, calling it a victory for "the entire international community". But he was forced to admit in Le Figaro that France knew nothing of the nine months of secret negotiations. "We were not kept informed," M de Villepin said. His disclosure underlined the continuing mistrust in relations between the English-speaking powers and France, which made much of its opposition to war in Iraq. M de Villepin sought to gloss over the differences, describing the relationship as one of "extremely active and fertile co-operation".
M de Villepin rejected suggestions that France lost face by being kept out of the diplomatic loop, arguing that it was a perfect example of his vision of an interdependent, multi-polar world at work. "It is only natural that those who are best placed at a given moment to use their capabilities to the common good do so, as long as their action is of an unquestionably multilateral nature." He cited the recent diplomatic success of France, Britain and Germany in helping to persuade Iran to open its nuclear facilities to inspection. He faced much the same difficulty as domestic critics of George W Bush and Tony Blair in seeking to explain away the apparent link between the effect of the allied invasion of Iraq and Col Gaddafi’s sudden surrender. Even the normally pro-government Le Figaro described the Libyan deal as a In a further sign that France is still paying the price of its anti-war stance in Iraq, one of President Chirac’s closest aides yesterday accused certain members of the American administration of seeking to "isolate" Paris on the international scene. France is acutely sensitive to hints that it is being punished for its stance on Iraq. The latest target is the French aim to host an international experimental thermo-nuclear reactor in Cadarache. Pierre Lellouche, the French representative at the talks, said: "If at the end of the day the difficulties turn out not to be technical but political, we’ll all have to draw our own conclusions." He added: "I know very well that within the American administration some people intend to pursue a deliberate strategy of isolating France." Negotiations ended without agreement after America, along with South Korea, threw its weight behind Japan’s bid to host the reactor. Russia and China voted for France. Commentators also agreed that the deal has weakened France’s hand in compensation talks over the 1989 bombing of a French passenger plane that killed 170. What did they expect? | |
| Posted by:JerseyMike |
| #11 The latest target is the French aim to host an international experimental thermo-nuclear reactor in Cadarache. Pierre Lellouche, the French representative at the talks, said: "If at the end of the day the difficulties turn out not to be technical but political, we’ll all have to draw our own conclusions." So if the damn thing fizzles, it's Bush's fault? |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-12-23 9:56:21 PM |
| #10 wwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! French whine. AHHH. The taste that refreshes. |
| Posted by: alaskasoldier 2003-12-23 6:58:04 PM |
| #9 But he was forced to admit in Le Figaro that France knew nothing of the nine months of secret negotiations. "We were not kept informed," Goddamn straight. If the French would of been informed Everyfreaking body would of known about it |
| Posted by: Cheddarhead 2003-12-23 5:35:26 PM |
| #8 I was watching French News last night and they were practically crying over Libya. The could not understand why Mumar would suddenly (and unilaterally) give up WMDs. France didn't get a chance to threaten them with their new Aircraft Carrier. Le besoin pour jouer notre jeu? Jouer avec notre balle et nos règles ou vous recevrez envoyé aux douches. France still thinks it is relevant, don't tell them the truth! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-12-23 5:08:49 PM |
| #7 Actually, several months ago Powell said France would pay a price. See, Dom and Jacques, Moamar was able to figure out that the AOW comprised sissies. How else do you explain that France initially accepted $34 million for UTA and we got 2.7 billion? You can bet Moamar had to chuckle over that. And then the French screaming that they wanted comparable money? Or they'd scuttle the US/Brit-Libya agreement in the UN? AOW talked the talk in Iraq, but were Saddam and cronies saved? Moamar sure doesn't like us, but at least he respects us. He likes France but disrespects them. If you're Bush, how do you want to be considered? |
| Posted by: Michael 2003-12-23 5:04:28 PM |
| #6 Annick Lepetit, the Socialist party spokesman Great name, what a scream.... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-12-23 4:32:45 PM |
| #5 Beautiful. Please welcome Jacko and Little Nicky to the Wrong Side Of History©, ladies and gentlemen. Crow will be the main course, accompanied by a bitter cup of whine. This should also be a stark reminder to the DNC about how a policy of "NON!" is usually doomed to failure. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-23 3:37:09 PM |
| #4 They're not being " punished for its stance on Iraq", they're being excluded from sensetive negotiations because they're a bunch of loud-mouths who're obviously on the OTHER side. We didn't tell the freakin' Syrians or Iranians or Norks either. Figure it out, Dominique... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-12-23 3:11:19 PM |
| #3 Hell, this sounds so weird that maybe the Frogs did something right... NAW. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-23 3:04:14 PM |
| #2 Den Beste's article on this is, as usual, worth a look. |
| Posted by: BH 2003-12-23 3:02:35 PM |
| #1 When I saw the title of this post, I thought it meant there had been regime change in France. Alas, it was not to be. |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-12-23 2:55:57 PM |