Bernard Kouchner

Stories

11 Stories

June 2008
- Irish Vote Could Make Stew of European Unity
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Jun 10, 08 11:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - European Union reformers are aghast at the possibility that Irish voters could derail years of negotiations Thursday with a rejection of the constitution-like Lisbon Treaty, the Financial Times reports. Ireland is alone among the EU's 27 members in offering citizens a referendum on the treaty, which streamlines and consolidates EU power. The treaty must be ratified unanimously to take effect. More »
April 2008
- France Bails on Hostage Rescue Mission
  
  BBC | Apr 9, 08 5:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A French humanitarian team is leaving Colombia after being frustrated in its mission to aid failing hostage Ingrid Betancourt, reports the BBC. The leadership of the FARC rebels, who have held the French-Colombian presidential candidate hostage for six years, refused to allow the team to provide Betancourt with emergency medical aid. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had sent the aid workers after reports that Betancourt was seriously ill. More »
March 2008
- 'Magic Is Over' for US: French Foreign Minister
  
  International Herald Tribune | Mar 13, 08 10:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - For Bernard Kouchner, the outspoken French foreign minister, George W. Bush's successor might be able to restore some of America's lost global prestige, but after 8 years "the magic is over." In a conversation with the International Herald Tribune , Kouchner—one of France's most staunchly pro-American politicians—offered a blunt assessment of the US's battered reputation, lamenting, "It will never be as it was before." More »
February 2008
- Meet the Man Putting Paris in Motion
  
  New York Times | Feb 3, 08 4:31 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Bernard Kouchner was once a card-carrying socialist hurling red ink at the American Embassy in Paris. Now, as France’s foreign minister, he’s President Nicolas Sarkozy’s right-hand man, helping to rebuild long-strained ties with the US. He also may be France’s most popular politician. The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the man who is redefining France’s place in the world. More »
January 2008
- Tutu 'Hopeful' About Kenya Mediation
  
  Reuters | Jan 4, 08 8:35 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has said he is open to the possibility of a coalition government—if the opposition consents to his terms, Reuters reports. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said after a meeting with Kibaki that "there is a great deal of hope" in ongoing talks and that both sides appear willing to negotiate. More »
December 2007
- Sarko, New Squeeze Hit Egypt
  
  BBC | Dec 26, 07 9:58 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy has flown to Egypt, where the French president will meet with his counterpart Hosni Mubarak after spending a few days on the Nile with new girlfriend Carla Bruni. Paparazzi staked out the airport before the arrival of the divorcé and the supermodel-turned-singer, who flew in on a private jet owned by a French billionaire. More »
September 2007
- French Minister Backs Off Iran War Threat
  
  New York Times | Sep 18, 07 3:18 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday backpedaled on comments he'd made threatening war with Iran if it didn't drop development of its nuclear program. "The worst situation would be war, and to avoid the worst, the French position is very clear: negotiate, negotiate, negotiate," he said after criticism from his own government and stinging blasts from Iran. More »
- French Lefty Makes an Unlikely Hawk
  
  CNN | Sep 17, 07 4:52 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The founder of Doctors Without Borders might seem a peculiar mouthpiece for the new law-and-order regime of Nicolas Sarkozy, but Bernard Kouchner actually fits right in with France’s more muscular foreign policy tone. The surprise choice for foreign minister, Kouchner is an anomaly, a Socialist who supports the Iraq war, CNN reports in a profile of the man Boutros Boutros-Ghali once called "an unguided missile." More »
- France Warns of War with Iran
  
  BBC | Sep 17, 07 4:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday threatened war with Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program. France favors negotiations and sanctions but the world should prepare for military action if all else fails, he said in an interview on French TV. Iranian nuclear weapons would pose "a real danger for the whole world," he warned. More »
August 2007
- France Eyes Diplomatic Role in Iraq
  
  International Herald Tribune | Aug 22, 07 7:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - "Everyone knows the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone," the new French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, told a French radio station on his way out of Iraq yesterday. Kouchner 's 3-day visit confirmed that the French see a role for themselves in mediating a political resolution in Iraq. One possibility is a peace conference that would bring Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds together in France. More »
- French Minister Visits Iraq, Forges US Bond
  
  BBC | Aug 19, 07 5:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - France tipped a symbolic hat to the US today by sending its foreign minister on a visit to Baghdad. Bernard Kouchner is the first French minister to visit Iraq since the US invasion of 2003 and comes at a time when analysts say that US-French relations are warming. Kouchner, who refused to condemn the US at the war’s outset, called the trip a “message of solidarity” with the struggling Iraqis. More »