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Chirac returns to the world stage and makes the fur fly
Three years after failing to block the US invasion of Iraq, France has returned to the diplomatic world stage to  President Chirac, returning to his favourite role of world statesman, has taken a bold line at the United Nations that conflicts with Washington and London. He is capitalising on the discredit that Iraq caused les Anglo-Saxons and drawing on Frances past as the governing power of Lebanon.The strategy is risky because France was targeted by Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors over its intervention in Beirut in the 1980s. One bomb attack in 1983 killed 41 French paratroops in the city. M Chirac is worried that a false step could feed unrest in Frances Muslim-dominated housing estates. But aides to M Chirac are confident that the US will accept the resolution tabled by France at the UN Security Council. It seeks a ceasefire, a political agreement involving Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah and the deployment of a peacekeeping force. Washington and London have resisted the demand for an immediate ceasefire and want a military force to compel the disarmament of the Shia Muslim militia. France refused yesterday to take part in a US-inspired meeting to prepare a UN force, saying that it was premature. But Paris expects to contribute thousands of troops and possibly lead the contingent. If a UN force is agreed, the first French forces would be dispatched from marines aboard a naval flotilla of four ships off Lebanon and Cyprus. French officials say that the dispatch of any French forces must follow a phased timetable. It has to be a real ceasefire, not just a halt in shelling, the Defence Ministry said. France is also insisting that Iran and Syria be involved in the diplomacy. Posted by: ryuge 2006-08-03 |
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