[NYTr] France Welcomes Mandela; Sarkozy Panned for Cozying Up to US

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com


French President Welcomes Mandela

Paris, Aug 3 (Prensa Latina) French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave an
exceptional welcome at Orly Airport to prestigious South African
fighter Nelson Mandela, who arrived in Paris on Monday for a three-day
visit.

Mandela, 89, praised the gesture by Sarkozy, who wanted this to express
his personal affection for the South African former president, 1993
Nobel Peace Prizewinner, Eliseo Palace spokespersons said.

Called by Prince Albert of Monaco "a beacon for humanity," the man that
was jailed for 27 years in the apartheid prisons was honored with the
unveiling of a statue last week in London.

Prince Albert and Princess Caroline organized a gala dinner on the
occasion of his visit to Monaco to raise funds for humanitarian
projects headed by Mandela.

According to those closest to the South African leader, the founder of
the African National Congress was pleased to converse with US actor
Morgan Freeman, British singer Bono, and others.

He will attend several social events and will receive a decoration,
said the same sources, shortly before departing for the hotel at which
he will stay in Paris.

ef ccs iom ft

                          ***

Sarkozy Panned for Cozying Up to US

Paris, Sep 3 (Prensa Latina) The marked alignment of French President
Nicolas Sarkozy with the United States, and in particular with his
counterpart, George W. Bush, was fiercely criticized by a high-ranking
French politician and local celebrity on Monday.

Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, of the same
conservative party as Sarkozy, warned the head of State that supporting
the Bush administration in Iraq, "would be a monumental error."

De Villepin, right-hand man of former President Jacques Chirac, said on
radio Europe 1 that supporting Washington's war in Iraq might be highly
dangerous at this time.

The fierce political rival of Sarkozy, and a fervent opponent of the US
invasion of Iraq in 2003, summoned people to "stay alert and to be
clear on international policy matters."

ef ccs gdb ft