Today's Date:

THE MINISTER – There is an escalation of violence today in Iraq. We've been seeing this over the past few hours. I think the situation has to be appraised and we're convinced that, when they do this, people will accept the fact that, to be effective today, we must move towards recognition of Iraqi sovereignty. It is essential for the Iraqis themselves, through a provisional government, to be really in charge of their destiny. We can't dictate to them the path which can lead to greater stability. This, for France, provides new evidence of this necessity. Quite obviously, you can imagine the huge shock at seeing the headquarters of the Red Cross hit and all of these victims; it's a shock, it's causing immense pain and grief to the international community. It is our duty to find solutions which will allow the reconstruction really to get under way and, for France, this has to mean respecting Iraqi sovereignty and an Iraqi provisional government./.