Today's Date:

THE MINISTER – I found a man who is indisputably suffering from the situation in which he is being kept. As you said, he can't leave Al Moqatta, he can't leave Ramallah, frankly, I didn't find the situation he's in very dignified for someone who is, and indisputably remains, the recognized, legitimate leader of all the Palestinians and whom we need to conduct the negotiations, sign agreements again and put an end to this spiral of bloodshed and terror which is inflaming the Middle East and hitting indiscriminately the children of Israel and the children of Palestine.

THE MINISTER – The Europeans are very clear on this issue. We consider, and France in particular – Jacques Chirac reiterated this in Istanbul – that Yasser Arafat is the Palestinians' legitimate recognized elected leader. So there's no agreement without Yasser Arafat and still less possibility of getting one if he's against it.

THE MINISTER – No, I think first all that there is, of necessity, agreement on getting Israelis and Palestinians back round the table and talking to each other again. And our policy remains the same. What's the objective? It's to succeed, as moreover the two parties have pledged, in achieving two States: a State of Israel living in security – and as far as France is concerned, we shall never compromise on Israel's security – and a viable Palestinian State. These two States must live side by side in peace and security. How can this be achieved. That's been agreed. We have a Roadmap which sets out the stages. Moreover, the withdrawal from Gaza, which Mr Sharon has promised, is one of the elements, one of the stages of this Roadmap. So we must now resume the negotiations, get Israelis and Palestinians back round the table, and the purpose of a visit like this one is to say very frankly that peace can't be made without the Palestinians, or by ignoring them. So I went to say this to the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, asking him also to make efforts: to pursue the reforms with his government, particularly in the security sphere.

THE MINISTER – No, that's not true. I planned this visit to the Middle East so that I can understand things before acting. Understand and listen. In a series of meetings. Last week I went to Jordan and Egypt, who are partners and very involved in the effort to resolve this conflict and very active, especially Egypt. Yesterday and the day before yesterday I went to see Yasser Arafat. And in a few weeks' time, I shall be paying a bilateral visit to that great country with whom we have, with the Israeli people, longstanding friendly relations.

THE MINISTER – People are wrong to turn the expression of political positions, and sometimes of differences, into a personal problem between two people, that's not what it's about.

THE MINISTER – No, I don't think so. Having seen them a lot over the past few weeks, particularly during the anniversary of D-Day, I have noted very cordial and frank relations between George Bush and Jacques Chirac. Our membership of the Alliance – the Alliance whose summit has just been held in Istanbul – doesn't mean allegiance. So we are permanent allies of the Americans. Neither of our two countries has ever failed the other when the security of one of them was at stake. We saw this during the fight against Nazism when the Americans were at our side, and we're at their side in the fight against terrorism, especially since 11 September. But once again, alliance doesn't mean allegiance, and when people disagree it's better for them to tell each other so.

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THE MINISTER – First of all of course, after the choice made by the heads of State and government, the MEPs have, in a few days' time, to say what they feel. It's good news for the European Union that the heads of State and government have unanimously agreed on the name of Josι Manuel Barroso, who is a man I know well, who has a lot of qualities, who is a man with authority...

THE MINISTER – ...and experience. He isn't the only one to have had on that issue, in which the Europeans were divided, a different opinion from France and Germany. But let's look ahead. He's a man who has the skills and experience to be president of the European Commission. And there's another interesting thing: he's from a small country, a pro-European country which has received a great deal from the European Union and hasn't forgotten anything. And a small country which produces a lot of high-calibre politicians. The President of the Republic of Portugal today, Jorge Sampaio, is a man of very high calibre. The former Prime minister, my former colleague Vitorino, is a man of high calibre, and so is Josι Manuel Barroso. And moreover, Portugal is producing some great footballers at the moment (...)./.