Word: mitterrand
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Mitterrand answers his critics...
...toHabré or indeed to many other African leaders. Just as the U.S. and France were finally managing to show unity in their response to Libya's actions in Chad, an article in the French newspaper Le Monde sowed new discord. The article, based on an interview with Mitterrand, described the French President as irritated over the Reagan Administration's interference in Chadian affairs. It said that Mitterrand was angry about Washington's constant harping on Franco-American "cooperation," which left France open to Soviet charges of being a "tool of American imperialism." In fact, Mitterrand asserted...
...French President's criticism drew a quick retort. White House Spokesman Speakes noted "that Reagan and Mitterrand had exchanged letters twice before the U.S. dispatched its AWACS and F-15 aircraft, though consultation about specific details took place between French and American military officials. Speakes denied that the U.S. had applied "pressure" to France, and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger insisted that the U.S. had sent the AWACS planes only because "the French indicated that they wanted them...
...Mitterrand's statements reflect the sensitivity of the Chad issue in France. The Socialists have usually opposed military interventions in Africa, and they now find it awkward to have changed their position. French rightists also find themselves in a paradoxical position, reluctant to condemn an intervention that is in line with their own past policies. The three main opposition leaders, former President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, former Premier Raymond Barre and Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac, have all kept silent on the subject. Yvon Blot, spokesman for the neo-Gaullist party, speculated that Mitterrand's "bizarre...
Some U.S. diplomats are convinced that Mitterrand's strategy is to give himself some negotiating flexibility by decrying the American "pressure" even as he sends in troops to check the Libyan advance. It is altogether possible that the tactic is working. Gaddafi last week gave Mitterrand the benefit of the doubt, saying that France "was drawn into that conflict in spite of itself." This, as well as his repeated assertions that Libya is not directly involved in the conflict, may be Gaddafi's way of preserving a little room to maneuver in future negotiations...