| Up until now, the French president,
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| | Commenting for the first time on those
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| Nicolas Sarkozy, has remained pretty
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| | protests, Sarkozy said that although the
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| reticent about whether he's planning to
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| | sight of the athletes and the torch being
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| attend the opening ceremony of the
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| | whistled and jeered had saddened him, it
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| Olympic games in Beijing in August. But
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| | was normal in a democracy that people
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| on Tuesday, he finally broke his silence
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| | should be allowed to express their
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| and tentatively called on the Chinese
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| | opinions. The solidarity shown with the
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| authorities to reopen discussions with
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| | Dalai Lama and Tibet was understandable
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| Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the
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| | and that was proof, as far as he was
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| Dalai Lama.
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| | concerned, of the need to call on China
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| "France will do everything to encourage
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| | to reopen discussions with the Dalai Lama
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| such talks," he said. " There are still
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| | to "find a political solution."
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| several months to go (before the opening
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| | While Sarkozy played down the impact
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| of the games) and there's no time to
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| | Monday's demonstrations might have
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| lose.'
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| | diplomatically and above all economically
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| "It'll be in light of the resumption of
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| | on relations between Paris and Beijing,
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| such a dialogue that I'll decide what
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| | his sentiments were not necessarily being
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| will be the conditions for our
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| | shared elsewhere.
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| participation."
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| | The French foreign minister, Bernard
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| By explicitly linking his presence at the
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| | Kouchner, said the protests had made
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| ceremony with the reopening of talks,
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| | diplomatic relations between the two
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| Sarkozy has moved on from the only
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| | countries a little more complicated. A
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| statement he had made on the matter so
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| | somewhat extraordinary declaration for
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| far a couple of weeks ago, when he said
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| | some of Kouchner's critics, who view it
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| that "all options were open."
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| | as rather at odds with his track record
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| That's a slight change in rhetoric
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| | as a man who has always been a firm
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| perhaps, but not exactly encouraging to
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| | supporter of Tibetan rights and counts
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| those who have been urging a boycott in
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| | himself as a friend of the Dalai Lama.
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| protest over China's security clampdown
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| | Besides, who ever said diplomacy was
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| in Tibet.
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| | easy?
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| Sarkozy remained silent over the weekend
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| | There was also some anxiety from within
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| as his junior minister for human rights,
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| | the business community over potential
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| Rama Yade, said in a newspaper interview
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| | fallout from Monday's incidents. French
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| that the president had set three
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| | industrial giants such as Airbus, Alstom
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| indispensable "conditions" for Chinese
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| | and Areva all have billion-euro contracts
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| authorities to meet before he would
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| | lined up with the Chinese, but know that
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| confirm his attendance. Yade later
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| | Beijing can always take its custom
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| backtracked, maintaining she had been
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| | elsewhere.
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| misquoted.
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| | Sarkozy has given himself some breathing
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| And there was not a peep from his office
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| | space, upped the ante just a tad and,
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| at the Elysée palace on Monday after
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| | without promising anything, not excluded
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| demonstrators cut short the journey of
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| | the possibility of boycotting the opening
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| the Olympic flame as it chaotically
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| | ceremony.
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| passed through the streets of Paris.
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