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フランス、ドビルパン氏の安全保障理事会での演説2 月 14 日、国連安全保障理事会で、フランス外務大臣ドミニク・ド・ビルパン氏の演説には、異例の拍手が沸き起こりました。 出来れば原文で読みたいのですが、残念ながら、正確に理解することが困難です。 幸い、英国の "BBC" が同氏のプロフィールを掲載しましたので、この記事を英文で転載することにします。 世界は、この演説をきっかけにして「戦争回避」へ向けた流れに変りつつあるようです。 同時に、「2001 年 9 月 11 日」が、米国人の心の中に傷として残り、未だ癒えていないことを、改めて知らしめることにもなりました。 唯、その矛先が、どうして「イラク」にだけ向けられるのか、理解に苦しむところです。  Profile: Dominique de Villepin
Standing up to the United States over Iraq has made France's Dominique de Villepin something of a celebrity foreign minister. The UN Security Council gave him uncustomary applause last week when he pleaded for weapons inspectors to be given more time. In what was widely regarded as an electrifying performance, he told members "war is always the sanction of failure". Rebuffing an earlier remark by US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that France and Germany are "old Europe" he said his message came "from an old country... that has known war, occupation, barbarity". The US press has vilified the man who, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin proudly told parliament, put France "back on the international scene". One newspaper described him as "oily" while another editorialist said the 49-year-old "lacks seriousness" and is "diplomacy-lite". 'Diplomatic pin-up' But elsewhere Mr Villepin - who has also been a driving force in efforts to bring peace to Ivory Coast - has been heralded as a hero. Describing him as "dashing" and "eloquent" a British newspaper said "if there is such a thing as a diplomatic pin-up, then it is Dominique de Villepin". Mr Villepin has held his current post for 10 months, taking office after the right-wing general election victory in June. Some said he coveted the prime ministerial chair. Previously he was Secretary General of the Presidency; he took up the position in 1995 when President Jacques Chirac was first elected. But while he is a top adviser to and close friend of the French premier, he is widely held responsible for Mr Chirac's 1997 dissolution of parliament which brought a Socialist-led government to power and began five years of "cohabitation" with the left. More recently he has been criticised for hastily brokering the Ivory Coast's peace deal which now hangs in the balance. Mr Chirac however allegedly said "Villepin catches on with fantastic speed. It is rare to meet a man like him." Among members of parliament his arrogance has reportedly made him unpopular. Career diplomat A career diplomat, Mr Villepin graduated from the prestigious Ecole Nationale d'Administration and has served in Delhi and twice in Washington. The son of a French politician, he is also a self-published poet and author of several books about contemporary French culture and a biography of Napoleon. In The Cry of the Gargoyle, he warned France that it must not yield to "the temptation of resignation that threatens a nation as torpor overcomes it... For many abroad, the French funeral has already been held." In a recent interview with the Washington Post, he said "the absence of power is the problem in world affairs. Look at the Middle East. Or take Russia. We need a strong Russia on the world scene". BIOGRAPHY Born 14 November 1953 He said diplomacy and poetry could be combined because they "both rely on the alchemy of paradox". "We mix fear and hope, power and weakness, love and hate to find a way out of the impossible... Americans should understand that. They live in a country that has a dream, shaped by the Mayflower and Ellis Island." |
- BBC 2-16-03 -
