February 1, 1996
Web posted at: 2:30 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac got a
warm reception Thursday from President Clinton but a cold
shoulder from dozens of Democrats who planned to boycott the
French leader's address before Congress later in the day.
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The Democrats are upset that Chirac waited until this week to halt French nuclear testing in the South Pacific.
The two presidents and their wives greeted one another on the South Lawn of the White House as hundreds of guests looked on. After a 21-gun welcoming salute, Clinton escorted Chirac as he reviewed U.S. troops. A fife and drum band played, and children waved small U.S. and French flags.
In his welcoming remarks, Clinton praised France's decision
to participate once again in NATO's military structure, 30
years after General Charles de Gaulle withdrew from the
alliance's U.S.-dominated military command. In his talks
with Clinton, Chirac is expected to seek reforms to give the
European allies more power in NATO.
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Clinton also hailed France's role in helping bring peace to former Yugoslavia. Chirac noted that that U.S. and French troops are serving side by side to enforce a peace agreement in Bosnia.
"Let us work together to shape the security architecture of the new Europe and adapt our Atlantic Alliance," Chirac said.
"Let us organize for the 21st century the necessary partnership between the United States that the world needs more than ever, and a European Union that is building itself up and asserting itself more and more as one of the pillars of tomorrow's world. Let us organize a real global partnership," the French president added.
On Monday, just two days before arriving in Washington,
Chirac announced he was ending a series of South Pacific
nuclear tests he resumed after taking office last year. The
last of the six blasts was Saturday.
But about an hour before Chirac's official welcome, house Democrats who called the tests an "outrage" urged their colleagues to boycott Chirac's address to a joint session of Congress. Conducting the tests was "an unconscionable violation of the commitments made by (Chirac's) government," said Democratic Representative Patsy Mink of Hawaii.
France said it carried out the nuclear tests to ensure the
reliability of its nuclear arsenal and to help it develop a
computer simulation program that will make future actual
tests unnecessary. "None of the nuclear powers" has any
justification for additional tests to protect their arsenals,
Mink said.
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"Europe is no longer the center of the universe"
-- House Delegate Eni Faleomaveaga of American Samoa
Eni Faleomaveaga, a non-voting House delegate from American Samoa, said it was "unfortunate that the leaders of our country casually look the other way and allow Chirac to pull this outrage." (217K AIFF sound or 217K WAV sound)
He charged, "200,000 people who live in the vicinity where these nuclear testings have taken place for the last 30 years" are being ignored. "Europe is no longer the center of the universe."
Robert Underwood, a non-voting House delegate from Guam, said the Pacific region was "tired of being the (world's) nuclear playground."
On Wednesday, House Republican leaders blocked an effort by Asian-American, black and Pacific members to withdraw Chirac's invitation to speak. Mink estimated that up to 100 members of Congress would boycott the speech, but she said it may not be obvious because empty seats may be filled by congressional staff.
Chirac arrived in Washington Wednesday afternoon. It is the first Washington visit by a French head of state since 1984. Chirac is expected to warn Congress not to become isolated from world affairs. He and Clinton plan to hold a news conference later Thursday.
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