A poll showing one-third of the French want the United States to lose the Iraq war has spread concern in Paris, prompting politicians to warn opponents of war not to protest more strongly against Washington than Baghdad.
With anti-war President Jacques Chirac silent, Prime Minister Mr Jean-Pierre Raffarin has taken the lead in urging the French not to forget the US is an ally of long standing while Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a dictator.
Yesterday, his spokesman Mr Jean-Francois Cope issued the government's third clarifying statement in as many days, insisting Paris wanted to see Saddam defeated.
This new tone reflects growing official concern that France's staunch anti-war stand, which has badly strained relations with Washington, could be misinterpreted and cause even more tension among allies after the war ends.
"Just because we're against this war doesn't mean we want dictatorship to defeat democracy," Mr Raffarin said on Monday to kick off the series of public statements.
"We are in the democratic camp. The Americans are not enemies."
On Tuesday, he stressed the same message at a meeting with leaders of all parliamentary factions, saying it was crucial to be "vigilant against all forms of anti-Americanism".
Mr Raffarin is expected to raise the issue again this evening, when he is due to give a prime-time interview to France 3 television.
"We have no leniency towards the Iraqi regime," Mr Cope said after yesterday's weekly cabinet meeting. "Of course, we want to see Saddam Hussein's regime ended."
The Le Monde newspaper poll showed that while 78 per cent of the French opposed the war on Iraq, 53 per cent of them hoped the US and Britain would defeat Saddam. But 33 per cent did not want a US-British victory and 25 per cent said they were clearly on Iraq's side. - (Reuters)