French Communist Party Calls for End of Bombing in Afghanistan

CPF's First Female Leader

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The French Communist Party on Sunday demanded an end of the United-Stated led military strike on Afghanistan at the closing ceremony of the party's three-day congress.

"The end of the bombing is a necessity," said Robert Hue, long- time leading figure and newly elected president of the party, while commenting on the military strikes in Afghanistan.

In her speech, Marie-George Buffet, National Secretary of the party and Minister of Sports of the Socialist-led government, said: "The escalation threatens. It is enough. The bombing must be ended. "

The congress, with the participation of 822 delegates of the party, issued a resolution reaffirming: "We demand the end of bombing against Afghanistan. We refuse the war."

French Communists Nominate Presidential Candidate

French Communists on Sunday ended a three-day party congress with documents approved for reform and for the nomination of their long-time, leader Robert Hue, as candidate for next May's presidential election.

A majority of the 822 delegates attending the meeting voted for the establishment of a national executive committee to replace the former executive arm of the French communist party's national council. Hue was re-elected President while Marie-George Buffet, Minister of Sport in the current Socialist-led government, was elected the party's National Secretary.

Hue, 54, France's most prominent communist has launched a series of structural reforms within his party in recent years. He said at the closing ceremony he would soon start his election campaign.

"I will not be a candidate of witness that serves only to assure the election of the socialist candidate in the second round, " said Hue, who got 78 percent support in a party poll earlier in October.

"The presidential election has never been easy for our party," he added.

The Communist Party of France was created in the 1920s and now has 139,000 members, compared to 800,000 in 1946 when it was France's biggest political group.