Virginia Tech
Condolence letter from President Chirac to President Bush
Mr. President,
I was horrified to learn of the tragedy that occurred yesterday morning on the campus of Virginia Tech. The killing frenzy that was unleashed upon the university community of Blacksburg, Virginia, has deeply distressed France and the French.
At this time of sorrow and mourning, our thoughts go out to the victims and their families.
Both personally and on behalf of the French people, I would like to offer you, as well as the families of the victims and the American people, my deepest condolences and my total solidarity.
Please accept, Mr. President, the expression of my highest consideration [handwritten:] and my heartfelt solidarity during this ordeal.
Sudan/Darfur
Press briefing given by Foreign Ministry spokesperson – April 17, 2007
Do you have any comment about the latest developments concerning Darfur?
France welcomes the Sudanese authorities’ agreement to the UN ‘heavy support package’ for AMIS. It applauds the perseverance of the UN secretary-general, who took the decisive initiative for direct dialogue with Sudan’s president on the sidelines of the recent Arab League summit, together with the unity and firmness of the international community.
The UN must now begin the deployment of these reinforcements.
France is counting on the Sudanese authorities to support without reservation the various stages of the deployment of assets and personnel provided for under the heavy support package.
France hopes that the continuing consultations with the Sudanese authorities will lead quickly to an agreement on the deployment of the third stage in the plan agreed at Addis Ababa in November.
Q: What commitments did the Sudanese authorities make?
Let me remind you that three phases were agreed. What was confirmed yesterday is the agreement of the Sudanese authorities to phase two, that is, the UN heavy support package to the African force. The heavy package comprises a number of measures--the deployment of about 3,000 additional personnel, police support and also air support. As you know, one of the important points was Sudan’s acceptance of the deployment of helicopters. Their acceptance was confirmed. We’d like to see this agreement put into practice and the reinforcements actually deployed. It’s important not to forget the next stage, the third and last, which is the deployment of the hybrid force per se, that is, the UN/African Union force. At this time we do not have the agreement of the Sudanese authorities for phase three. We need to work on this.
Q: You’re talking about the 20,000 men?
That’s the resolution that was adopted by the Security Council. It’s about 20,000 for phase three.
Q: The 3,000 in phase two, that’s a land force, not a logistics force?
The 3,000 are to support the soldiers who are already on the ground since AMIS is already 7,000 strong. There will be various components in the 3,000. It’s not necessarily for me to give you the details, it’s a matter for the UN. There will be a civilian component, specifically in the political domain, a police component and a military component with air and engineering support.
Q: There won’t be a hybrid force on the ground? How are the new elements going to be integrated?
We’re not talking yet about the hybrid force, which is the third and last stage. We’re talking about phase two. There’s still work to be done so that things can be set up in practice. But the principles have been agreed. With regard to the command, the UN elements, which will be deployed as part of the heavy support package will be under the authorities of the military command of UNMIS, the UN force which is already in Sudan, which will delegate authority to use its forces to the AMIS commander. So arrangements have been found as far as the command goes.
Q: Will the UN be financing the force?
There will be a UN contribution for the heavy support package.
Q: Does France intend to make a contribution?
The decision hasn’t been taken at this time. As usual in circumstances like these, there’s a dialogue now between the UN and potential contributors. Remember that as far as men are concerned, the idea is still to use Africans for the most part, with the UN acting in a support capacity (…)
Q: How is France going to contribute to the package?
So far as I know, there’s been no decision. The UN will be holding consultations with various states to make up the heavy support package.
Q: What is France’s position on the composition of the force?
The force is primarily an African force. We have an African force—AMIS—which is going to be reinforced by elements within a UN framework.
Q: This reinforcement constitutes phase two. Has a timetable been put forward for its implementation?
We’re going to have to see how things work out in practice on the ground. According to the United Nations, the deployment should take place at the end of summer.
Q: But didn’t Khartoum already consent to the hybrid force at the end of last year and then withdraw its consent?
We welcome the agreement given by the Sudanese authorities yesterday, but we obviously wish to see it translated into practice. It is one thing to give one’s consent and another to then give concrete form to one’s commitments.
Q: How will the decision be made about each country’s contribution to this new package?
It is the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the UN which will analyze what is needed, go round the potential contributors and organize a conference to get up a force.
- Press briefing given by Foreign Ministry spokesperson – April 19, 2007
Q: Does France favor a new resolution on Darfur, including sanctions against Khartoum, as the United States and Britain want?
The commitments recently made by the Sudanese authorities allow for progress towards the establishment of a UN/AU hybrid force. But Khartoum has to give its full and entire cooperation to the deployment.
At the same time the priority is to support the mediation efforts so as to reach a political agreement guaranteeing a lasting solution which alone will allow humanitarian aid to be delivered.
But time is running out. The international community must continue to show firmness: if the Sudanese authorities do not keep to their commitments, it will be up to the Security Council, as President Chirac has said, to take other measures.
That is why we want to see a discussion on sanctions continue in the UN Security Council. (…)
Missile Defense
Press briefing given by Foreign Ministry spokesperson – April 20, 2007
Q: There was a NATO council meeting in Brussels yesterday. Can you tell us about the results? What is France’s opinion of the American missile shield in eastern Europe?
There was a NATO/Russia council meeting in Brussels in which France participated. I believe it was an interesting meeting because it was an opportunity for the Americans to make a detailed presentation of their project. They also reviewed the discussions they had had with both the Russians and the Europeans on the issue.
France repeated its position which is that it is a bilateral issue between the Americans and a number of European countries. NATO is not directly involved, nor is France. That is point one.
Second, it is usual to talk things over, especially with the Russians and especially in the context of NATO since there are implications for the Europeans’ security. We consider this type of exchange must now be continued in order to see exactly what the consequences and the implications of the US plan will be.
Our position is that it is an American bilateral project which does not involve us but which entails a number of discussions so the implications can be assessed.
Q: But these two countries are members of the EU, and France is too. It’s a question for these two countries but also for the EU.
We agree it should be discussed in NATO. We’ve no objection either to talking about it in the EU. But you see there’s a difference between talking about it and considering it a project that must encompass the EU and in which all the EU countries have to participate together. That’s something quite different.
On the French side, we’re not asking to take part in the project. Our principle is nuclear deterrence, which is our basic principle. We consider that missile defense can complement deterrence in certain situations, especially for the protection of forces in the field. But we have no wish to be part of the missile system for the defense of territories and populations proposed by the Americans.
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