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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 03, 2004

France defends US security demand on flights

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday the United States had the right to demand an ally deploy elite gendarmes aboard certain US-bound flights for security concerns.


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French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday the United States had the right to demand an ally deploy elite gendarmes aboard certain US-bound flights for security concerns.

"When a friend country demands that we reinforce the security measures on our part, nobody could blame. I prefer that we blame for too much control instead of for insufficient control," said Sarkozy during a security inspection at the airport of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle in northeastern Paris.

"The Americans know what the competence the French services have and they know exactly what measures we are taking," said the minister when inspecting the baggage checking process.

"France will do what she should do," he said, adding that the elite security men aboard Air France flights carry a special weapon representing no risk to passengers.

The security aboard flights to the Untied States was highlighted during the Christmas and New Year festival season.

At Washington's request, the French government last week decided to cancel six Air France flights from Paris to Los Angeleson Dec. 24 and 25 because the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suspected some of the passengers were would-be terrorists.

However, the FBI confirmed Friday that it had made a mistake over the identities of their suspects.


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