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Sarkozy's Olympic Message

Up until now, the French president,Commenting for the first time on those
Nicolas Sarkozy, has remained prettyprotests, Sarkozy said that although the
reticent about whether he's planning tosight of the athletes and the torch
attend the opening ceremony of thebeing whistled and jeered had saddened
Olympic games in Beijing in August. Buthim, it was normal in a democracy that
on Tuesday, he finally broke his silencepeople should be allowed to express
and tentatively called on the Chinesetheir opinions. The solidarity shown
authorities to reopen discussions withwith the Dalai Lama and Tibet was
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, theunderstandable and that was proof, as
Dalai Lama.far as he was concerned, of the need to
"France will do everything to encouragecall on China to reopen discussions with
such talks," he said. " There are stillthe Dalai Lama to "find a political
several months to go (before the openingsolution."
of the games) and there's no time toWhile Sarkozy played down the impact
lose.'Monday's demonstrations might have
"It'll be in light of the resumption ofdiplomatically and above all
such a dialogue that I'll decide whateconomically on relations between Paris
will be the conditions for ourand Beijing, his sentiments were not
participation."necessarily being shared elsewhere.
By explicitly linking his presence atThe French foreign minister, Bernard
the ceremony with the reopening ofKouchner, said the protests had made
talks, Sarkozy has moved on from thediplomatic relations between the two
only statement he had made on the mattercountries a little more complicated. A
so far a couple of weeks ago, when hesomewhat extraordinary declaration for
said that "all options were open."some of Kouchner's critics, who view it
That's a slight change in rhetoricas rather at odds with his track record
perhaps, but not exactly encouraging toas a man who has always been a firm
those who have been urging a boycott insupporter of Tibetan rights and counts
protest over China's security clampdownhimself as a friend of the Dalai Lama.
in Tibet.Besides, who ever said diplomacy was
Sarkozy remained silent over the weekendeasy?
as his junior minister for human rights,There was also some anxiety from within
Rama Yade, said in a newspaper interviewthe business community over potential
that the president had set threefallout from Monday's incidents. French
indispensable "conditions" for Chineseindustrial giants such as Airbus, Alstom
authorities to meet before he wouldand Areva all have billion-euro
confirm his attendance. Yade latercontracts lined up with the Chinese, but
backtracked, maintaining she had beenknow that Beijing can always take its
misquoted.custom elsewhere.
And there was not a peep from his officeSarkozy has given himself some breathing
at the Elysée palace on Monday afterspace, upped the ante just a tad and,
demonstrators cut short the journey ofwithout promising anything, not excluded
the Olympic flame as it chaoticallythe possibility of boycotting the
passed through the streets of Paris.opening ceremony.



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