Word: mitterrand
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...equipment in the 1970s. Yet no oil was ever found. In fact, there is no evidence that ' the expensive devices worked at all. A Belgian count who sold them to Elf has vanished, along with the money. As a result, the leftist government of President Francois Mitterrand is accusing its center-right predecessor of lying and incompetence, an investigation has been launched, and the French public is savoring the oddest political scandal in years...
...sniffer-planes affair leaped into public attention last month with an article in the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine. The Mitterrand government, under fire for its management of the limp French economy, suddenly found itself in a position to lambaste the previous administration, led by Valery Giscard d'Estaing. But even before Mitterrand could capitalize on the disclosure, Giscard went on national television to deny any wrongdoing. He implied that others, notably his Premier, Raymond Barre, were more directly involved. Barre, in response, insisted that the affair had to remain shrouded in secrecy "for defense reasons...
...still has not). At a Jan. 2 news conference, Premier Pierre Mauroy waved the document before the cameras while he accused the Giscard government of being duped and then trying to engineer a coverup. Since then, the war of words has escalated. In another TV broadside, Giscard declaimed: "Francois Mitterrand is no longer qualified to represent the country. The present government came to power through lies. It is trying to maintain itself by lies." Disdaining a reply, Mitterrand has preferred, as the pro-government daily Le Monde put it, "to preserve his virginity in this affair while encouraging the government...
France maintains the most visible presence, stationing troops and dispensing both military and economic aid to more than 20 countries. Some 300,000 French now live and work in Africa, more than twice the number during colonial times. Last summer, President Francois Mitterrand dispatched 2,000 soldiers and eight Mirage and Jaguar jets to forestall Soviet-and Libyan-backed insurgents intent on overthrowing the government of Chad's President Hisséne Habré. The U.S. provided AW ACS planes and antiaircraft missiles to Chad; it has also negotiated the use of port facilities and airstrips in Kenya...
...railway-station explosion occurred, perhaps not coincidentally, as President Francois Mitterrand delivered his annual New Year's address on national TV. But the President showed no signs of flinching. "In Lebanon, where we are doing our job," asserted Mitterrand, "they depend on us to save human lives. Once the mission is complete, our soldiers will come back here." That unequivocal affirmation apparently created more tension than it defused. On the following day, a bomb shattered the French Cultural Center in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli...