Word: mitterrand
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...leaders even charged that it was part of a conspiracy to hurt Depardieu's chances for an Oscar. Minister of Culture Jack Lang, a frequent critic of American "cultural imperialism," lambasted the "low blow against one of our great actors." Raged Jacques Attali, a former aide to President Francois Mitterrand: "This is a vile defamation with a high financial payout...
With each week of war, French approval of Mitterrand's stand deepened, despite perceptible unease about the ultimate objectives of the conflict. The conservative opposition backed him; the only sniping came from the far right, the Communists, and pacifists within his own Socialist Party. But as a member of the so-called Munich generation, which witnessed the West's failure in 1938 to nip Hitler's deadly ambitions in the bud, Mitterrand stood firmly against appeasement. Elysee Palace aides noticed a deep anger taking hold of him as he watched Saddam's cynical maneuvering, his wanton destruction and his contempt...
Frequent telephone contact with President Bush brought the two leaders closer and helped reinforce their resolve. Differences emerged mainly in the kind of language they used. A master of innuendo, Mitterrand never called, as did Bush, for Saddam's "overthrow," but described the Iraqi's "political, moral and military authority" as "seriously weakened"; privately, Mitterrand is known to believe Saddam has little chance to survive as head of state. Nor did Mitterrand reject Mikhail Gorbachev's belated peace plan outright: Foreign Minister Roland Dumas called it a step in the right direction -- and then sliced it to shreds with diplomatic...
With victory in hand, France may become a more difficult ally once again. There is a national consensus in the country that a homeland for the Palestinians must be part of any new order in the Middle East; thus Mitterrand will push not for one but several international conferences on the Middle East. "We will spell out the objectives we consider just, and no one will give us orders," he declared a few days before the fighting stopped. Having done his part in the war, the President clearly expects France's voice to be heard -- and heeded -- now that...
...needing perhaps years of reconstruction. Then come the broader difficulties: trying to forge a stable regional balance of power -- or balance of weakness, as some commentators suggest -- and defuse the hatreds that have made the Middle East the world's most prolific breeding ground for war. French President Francois Mitterrand ticks off a laundry list of regional troubles that must be addressed: "The Arab-Israeli conflict, the Palestinian problem, the problem of Lebanon, the control of weapons sales, disarmament, redistribution of resources, reconstruction of countries...