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France rejects U.S. plea

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS MARCH 24. In pursuance of its tough anti-war policies, France has rejected calls by Washington to expel Iraqi diplomats in Paris. It has also refused to freeze Iraqi assets in France. The French Foreign Ministry said these were questions of sovereignty that could be decided by France alone.

The French President, Jacques Chirac, also said France would oppose all efforts by the U.S. and Britain to legitimise the war post facto by introducing a new resolution in the United Nations. He said France would oppose any occupation of Iraq by the U.S. and British forces and said any reconstruction efforts should be undertaken through the United Nations.

Mr. Chirac has also told Pope John Paul II that their countries should work together to "defend the primacy of law, justice and dialogue between peoples." The message released on Monday was contained in a letter sent the day after the U.S.-led war in Iraq began.

Thanking the Pope for his `untiring efforts' for peace in the build-up to the war, begun early on Thursday, Mr. Chirac said he "deeply (regrets) the start of armed operations" in Iraq.

Both Mr. Chirac and the head of the Roman Catholic Church are adamantly opposed to the Washington's military campaign to disarm Iraq and oust President, Saddam Hussein.

The more Mr. Chirac defies the U. S., the more his popularity appears to soar. Latest polls indicate Mr Chirac's popularity has touched 80 per cent, up from 74 per cent last week. Eighty-five per cent of those questioned described him as `courageous' while 80 per cent said his actions were `fully justified."

More than 150,000 people filed through the streets of French cities on Saturday to denounce "the leaders who dare to bomb the world," organisers said, as U.S.-led forces drove deeper into Iraq on the third day of war. Alongside the main gathering in Paris — which drew 90,000 people according to police, 100,000 according to organisers — more than 50,000 people demonstrated in cities including Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Strasbourg.

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