France in crisis as Iraqis threaten to kill hostages over headscarf ban

1.00pm - By JOHN LICHFIELD in Paris

A threat by a militant Islamic group in Iraq to murder two French hostages unless Paris abandons a law banning muslim headscarves in schools was being treated as a national crisis by the French government last night.

After two emergency sessions of the government, the Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, met with President Jacques Chirac in the Elysee Palace last night. The President also sent his Foreign Minister, Michel Barnier, to the Middle East to help gain the hostages' release.

All French political parties and the main Islamic groups rejected with horror a threat by a group calling themselves the Islamic Army in Iraq to murder the two journalists unless the law banning the hajib and other religious symbols in state schools is revoked.

Georges Malbrunot, 41, and Christian Chesnot, 37, vanished a week ago while travelling from Baghdad to the besieged city of Najaf. Al-Jazeera television broadcast two short videotapes on Saturday night in which the journalists said they had been captured by the same group which murdered an Italian correspondent last week.

The Islamic Army in Iraq, believed to be a radical Sunni muslim group, possibly linked with al Qaeda, said it would murder the French journalists within 48 hours.

Although France has a history of negotiating with terror groups and paying ransom demands for hostages, the country's political leaders were united yesterday in condemning the political "blackmail".

Officials said the linking of the kidnapping to the headscarf law, which takes effect with the start of the new school year this week, was almost certainly opportunistic.

However, the threat to kill the correspondents was being taken seriously, not only as a threat against the lives of the captives but as a threat against France.

The interior minister, Dominique de Villepin, called an emergency meeting of France's muslim consultative committee yesterday morning. Afterwards, they called on "anyone with a share of responsibility for the fate" of the journalists to free them immediately.

Mohamed Bechari, president of the national muslim federation of France, said "the situation is very grave." He called on all French muslims to distance themselves from "such actions which are contrary to the Islamic faith".

Islamic leaders urged muslims in other countries not to attempt to interfere in French-Islamic internal relations.

Mr Malbrunot and Mr Chesnot are Middle East experts who have collaborated on three books about Iraq and the region. Mr Malbrunot has covered the Iraqi crisis for Le Figaro and Ouest-France. Mr Chesnot freelances from Amman for Radio France Internationale and Radio France. Both were described by colleagues yesterday as experienced Middle East and war correspondents who did not take unnecessary risks.

The group which captured them claimed responsibility last week for the murder of an Italian journalist, Enzo Baldoni, and has also killed two Pakistani hostages.

The law banning the wearing of religious symbols in state schools is intended to defend the principle that France is a secular state and neither encourages nor persecutes any religion. The law was introduced following disputes over the wearing of headscarves by muslim girls.

Meanwhile in Iraq, tribal leaders, Shia politicians, government officials and US military officers agreed yesterday to a one-day truce amid peace talks aimed at ending violence in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, a day after clashes killed 10 people there.

Further clashes between US forces and insurgents in Mosul left two dead and 34 injured, according to the US military. Saboteurs in southern Iraq blew up more oil pipelines. Sadr City has been the scene of clashes between Shia militants and US forces.

Despite the apparent resolution of the Najaf crisis on Friday, the fighting continued in Baghdad. Iyad Allawi, the interim Prime Minister, blamed the violence on renegades.


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Herald Feature: Iraq