French Government sources indicated today that France has no intention of lifting its arms embargo against Israel, despite its impending sale of 100 fighting and training planes to Libya. The Government’s stand was reiterated against a rising clamor of French opinion opposed to the arms deal with Libya and France’s one-sided application of the embargo against Israel. The newspaper Combat accused the government of prolonging the Mideast conflict by selling weapons to Libya. The paper said editorially, “This is another step on the road of treason and crime and all members of the (Premier) Chaban-Delmas Government are accomplices.”
The newspaper Le Monde said it was “odious” the way the Government tries to make people believe that the arms sale to Libya will not in the least affect its impartiality in the Middle East conflict. The Libyan arms deal and the embargo against Israel were bitterly denounced at a rally last night of the French-Israeli Friendship Association, headed by the veteran resistance leader, Gen. Pierre Koenig. Nearly 5,000 persons packed the Sports Palace for the rally while several thousand more jammed the streets outside to listen to the speeches over loudspeakers. One speaker was Jean Lacanuet, president of the Democratic Center faction. (Reports from London today said that Britain and Libya have opened talks on defense cooperation involving a contract to sell Libya 188 Chieftain tanks, regarded as the world’s finest armored weapon. Britain has refused to sell Chieftains to Israel.)
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