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French Prime Minister François Fillon:“Together with the United States, France supports Israel in its arduous journey toward a just and lasting peace."
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WASHINGTON (EJP)---French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called for a “firm, united front” against Iran to prevent the country to acquires nuclear weapons.
Addressing the American Jewish Committee’s annual gala dinner in Washington, Fillon said: "Iran is a great nation governed by unsettling people. Their statements about Israel bear witness to their hostility and Israel shows its moral strength in not responding to these verbal provocations."
Speaking about French policy towards Iran, Fillon said: "Our strategy is straightforward. Either dialogue or growing isolation, diplomatic isolation, economic isolation, financial isolation."
"We want to avoid being confronted one day with a choice between the Iranian bomb and the bombing of Iran," he added.
He said the common approach of the US and France to Iran "is reflective of the shared interests of the two nations." "More than ever, disorder in the world calls for a solid alliance between our two nations.”
Before an audience of more than 1,500, including foreign dignitaries, members of the US Congress and Jewish leaders from around the world, the French Prime Minister spoke of his admiration for Israel which he called “our ally, our friend,” on the eve of the Jewish state’s 60th anniversary.
"Israel has a right to security, security is essential,” Fillon said, condemning the continuing Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and urging the release of kidnapped Israeli solider Gilad Shalit.
"Together with the United States, France supports Israel in its arduous journey toward a just and lasting peace," Fillon said.
"Despite the tensions, disappointment and fear, the Israelis and the Palestinians must find the courage to reach a historic compromise."
Stressing that France is to assume the six-month European Union presidency in July, Fillon said his country "ust take advantage of this presidency to reinforce the role and presence of Europe in the region.”
Fillon, who was accompanied in Washington by Richard Prasquier, head of the umbrella group of French Jewish organizations, said “our Jewish fellow citizens have given so much to France for so many centuries that any sign of hostility towards them is an affront to our entire national community.”
The French government policy is “zero tolerance” for acts of anti-Semitism, Fillon said, mentioning that as a result of law enforcement actions, anti-Semitic incidents in France have declined by 50 percent since 2004.
It was the first visit of a French Prime Minister to Washington in ten year
