FRANCE: President Jacques Chirac and Iraq's interim President Ghazi al- Yawar became friends at the G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, last June. Mr Chirac invited Mr al- Yawar to Paris, a courtesy he has not extended to Iraq's pro-American interim Prime Minister, Mr Ayad Allawi.
The Iraqi tribal leader finally came for lunch with Mr Chirac at the Élysée Palace yesterday. "We were in total agreement," Mr al- Yawar said as he left. "The elections must take place on the date foreseen. We must do everything in our power to encourage all Iraqis to participate." Only last week, Mr al-Yawar suggested that the United Nations should assess whether the election was feasible amid continuing violence.
Mr al-Yawar is a Sunni Muslim who amassed a fortune as a businessman in Saudi Arabia.
France's relations with Mr Allawi are more difficult. Mr Allawi is believed to have been expelled from France in the 1990s, while campaigning for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Since taking office last June, he has accused France of attempting to shelter itself from terrorism by staying on the sidelines and of suffering nostalgia for Saddam's regime.
Mr Chirac pointedly avoided meeting Mr Allawi at the EU summit last month.
Mr al-Yawar's visit was postponed in the autumn because France feared it might endanger the lives of former hostages Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, who were freed by the Islamic Army in Iraq on December 21st.
Another French journalist, Florence Aubenas of Libération newspaper, has been missing since January 5th, but no group has admitted her kidnapping. Mr al-Yawar yesterday became the first politician to acknowledge that she had been taken hostage. "I expressed our sadness in the name of the government and Iraqi people for the kidnapping of this innocent journalist," he said.
Mr al-Yawar opposed the first US offensive against Falluja last April and was allegedly bullied by the US Ambassador into accepting the second offensive in November.
Elsewhere, Mr al-Yawar has expressed impatience for the departure of US troops from Iraq. But yesterday, neither he nor Mr Chirac, who is anxious to repair France's poor relations with the US, in any way criticised Washington.