Acting President Alain Poher, a leading candidate in the French Presidential elections, came out in an interview today against the de Gaulle embargo on the shipment of military equipment and supplies to Israel.
M. Poher, in an interview with the magazine Paris Match, stressed that French policy in the Middle East “must remain equitable and just toward the belligerents.” He declared that France “must avoid any decision or any move towards one of the belligerents which would seem unjust, especially in view of past commercial agreements or previous arrangements.” He said that “I cannot approve a discriminatory embargo” and called for the Big Powers to reach a speedy decision in their current talks in New York on a Middle East solution.
Gaston Defferre, the Socialist Presidential candidate, came out more explicitly against the anti-Israel embargo in an interview with Paris Match. He said he condemned it unless a way could be found so that the arms embargo was extended to all other belligerents in the area.
Friends of Israel said today they hoped M. Poher would make a stronger, more definite commitment on Israel. It was considered unlikely however that he would do so until after the first electoral round on June 1.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
