French Foreign Minister Maurice Schumann stated flatly today that his Government “will not deliver a single Mirage to Israel” and will do nothing “to endanger France’s newly won popularity with the Arab countries.” M. Schumann’s remarks, reportedly made at a closed door meeting with the parliamentary group of the governing Gaullist party, was regarded here as the most important and clearest statement of French policy made in recent months.
The Foreign Minister was summoned by the Gaullist deputies to explain the Government’s Middle East policy in light of France’s new arms deal with Libya at a time when it maintains a strict arms embargo against Israel. The Libyan deal will provide that country with 50 Mirage jets. M. Schumann reportedly told the Gaullists that the Government’s chief preoccupation was to do nothing that could endanger France’s popularity in the Arab world. He said France could not consider the delivery of any arms to Israel because that would jeopardize this policy.
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