Top-level French visits to Tunisia in the run-up to the revolution routinely ignored human rights concerns for the sake of security and commercial interests, a fresh cache of US cables hows.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his first trip to Tunisia after being elected in 2007 confined all his remarks on human rights to a private chat with the recently-ousted Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and declined to meet with civil society. "Ben Ali and his cohorts ... were probably relieved to have g...
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Already a member? Login hereAndrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.