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French ambassador addresses U.S. relations

After American and French politicians exchanged barbs over the war in Iraq, the French ambassador to the United States denounced the rivalry between the two countries to about 120 people in McKeldin Library yesterday.

France and the United States are improving a long friendship and joining forces on several international fronts, said Jean-David Levitte, French ambassador to the United States.

Meanwhile: The French know how to make a meal of it

When it comes to eating, the United States has a lesson to learn from France. I’m not talking about the kind of elaborate dinners Americans often associate with the French. Many of the meals the French eat are quick and simple. The difference is that the French eat together. They have managed to preserve a tradition that is good for everyone’s health – the family meal.

According to the French government’s Committee for Health Education, 75 percent of the French eat dinner together as a family and many French schoolchildren still go home for lunch.

French tourism down in 2003

Foreign tourists dropped by 2.6 percent to 75 million last year from 77 million in 2002 in what was a poor year for global tourism, said junior minister for tourism, Leon Bertrand.

U.S. visitors fell 18.3 percent to 2.4 million in 2003, when the dollar fell and relations between Paris and Washington soured over France’s opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

That was a big blow because U.S. tourists spend more and stay longer on average than people from other countries, according to a report detailing the figures.

France hunts for rail bombs after mystery threats

Ten thousand rail workers combed France’s sprawling train track network for bombs on Thursday and the government said it had heightened security for commuters alarmed by a shadowy group’s threats to blow up trains.

The conservative government, trying to reassure voters ahead of regional elections, vowed to identify and stop the previously unknown group which says it has planted 10 bombs and will explode them if it is not paid four million euros ($5 million).

The government said it is treating it as a criminal case and ruled out the involvement of radical Islamic groups. Crime specialists said that even a single dangerous crank could be behind the blackmail threats.

Bush Calls Chirac to Thank France on Haiti

President Bush telephoned French President Jacques Chirac Tuesday to hail their countries’ cooperation over the Haiti crisis, the latest sign of a gradual thaw in U.S.-French relations.

France and the United States, which fell out last year over Paris’s opposition to the U.S.-led Iraq war, led pressure on Haiti President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to step down and have sent troops to restore order after an armed rebellion.

Bush called “to hail the excellent U.S.-French cooperation on Haiti and thank France for its efforts,” Chirac spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said, adding that Chirac also expressed his satisfaction about the tight coordination of their diplomacy.

Paris and Washington find common ground in Haiti

One year after Washington and Paris quarrelled spectacularly over Iraq, US and French military and civilian peace-keeping forces will soon be patrolling beside one another on the streets and roads of Haiti.

The central role played by the French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, in the negotiations that led to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s relatively bloodless departure yesterday is the most visible sign so far of a thaw in Franco-American relations.

M. de Villepin ­ with America’s unspoken blessing ­ became the first foreign leader to urge Mr Aristide to stand down last Wednesday. His statement, which followed almost daily consultation with the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, helped to get Washington off a sharp diplomatic hook.