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Libya-France

France calls for EU sanctions against Libya

France has called for “swift and concrete sanctions” to be taken against Libya in response to the Kadhafi regime's crackdown on protesters. French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants the European Union to consider the suspension of economic, financial and trade links.

(Photo : Reuters)
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"I call on the foreign ministry to propose to our European Union partners the swift adoption of concrete sanctions so that all those involved in the ongoing violence know that they must assume the consequences of their actions," Sarkozy told a cabinet meeting.

Libyan authorities say 300 people, including many soldiers have died, while human rights groups say up to 400 have died.

Sarkozy's diplomatic advisor, Jean-David Lafitte, called on the Libyan army to stop shooting at protesters and said those responsible for “ongoing massacres” should be held to account.

The call for sanctions comes as a group of French diplomats criticise the president’s approach to diplomacy. A column published anonymously in the daily Le Monde accuses Sarkozy of scorning French diplomats and of not taking their advice into account.

The diplomats, dubbed the Marly group, say the president’s approach to Mediterranean politics pivoted around former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Tunisian leder Zine-El Abidine Ben Ali despite advice from French diplomats.

Meanwhile the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur saysSarkozy’s official website has removed photos of the French president meeting Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

In July 2007, Kadhafi visited France and met Sarkozy during a five-day official trip that sparked a wave of protests from human rights groups.

On Wednesday two military planes carrying some 500 French citizens landed at the Paris airport Charles-de-Gaulle.

Passengers say Tripoli's airport was choked with expatriates waiting to be flown home.
 

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