Marseille, France // France and Turkey could be heading for a new period of tension after a declaration by the French president that he is committed to making the denial of Armenian genocide punishable in law.
François Hollande moved quickly to reassure a French Armenian group of his intentions after his foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, appeared to rule out any attempt to revive a law that was passed by parliament but then held to be unconstitutional.
After meeting his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, Mr Fabius hailed a "new era" in Franco-Turkish relations and said it would be impossible for France to revive the law if the outcome was likely to be the same.
French Armenians are satisfied that the president's commitment to them represents the true French position.
The bill, which was passed by both houses of the French parliament, provided for sentences of up to one year's imprisonment and a €45,000 (Dh202,775) fine for denial of genocides recognised by the state. Since the Holocaust was the subject of existing law, the measure effectively applied to the slaughter of Armenians in the dying stages of the Ottoman Empire.
Varying international studies have put the number of deaths, during and just after the First World War, at between 600,000 and 1,500,000. Modern Turkey indignantly rejects the term "genocide" and retaliated with sanctions against France after the parliamentary votes.
Economic, political and military cooperation was frozen but the sanctions were lifted after the ruling of France's constitutional court that the proposed law breached the French constitution's attachment to freedom of expression.
France is home to an Armenian community of up to 500,000 people, who are part of a worldwide diaspora estimated at more than seven million. Community leaders are highly vocal despite their relatively modest electoral influence and France formally recognised the massacres of nearly a century ago as genocide in 2001 without identifying the perpetrator.
Mr Davutoglu said in an interview with the French newspaper Libération that for a parliament to decide on historical questions "in accusing Turkey of genocide" was unacceptable.
"Turkey is ready to confront all aspects of its history," he said. However, he believed France's new socialist administration would "have the wisdom not to reopen this file".
The election of Mr Hollande, and his party's subsequent success in gaining an absolute majority in the national assembly to add to control of the senate, or upper house, led to an immediate improvement in relations between Paris and Ankara.
Turkey resented the policies of former president Nicolas Sarkozy. This animosity was inspired not only by his support for the genocide bill, which passed its final parliamentary hurdle in January before the constitutional hitch arose, but by his hostility to Turkish membership of the European Union.
Mr Hollande does not favour a French referendum on the issue during his first five-year term. But this is consistent with Ankara's own view of the appropriate timetable.
Mr Davutoglu told Libération he was optimistic, after positive meetings at presidential and ministerial levels, that the "turbulence" and "climate of crisis" of previous years and especially months were artificial.
He said Mr Sarkozy had considered growing Turkish influence in the Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe to be at France's expense. "I believe on the contrary that we are not adversaries but allies with obvious synergy," he added.
But any warm glow the Turkish minister may have felt after his meeting with Mr Fabius will have given way to cooler reflection after the president decided to reaffirm his position on the genocide bill.
Mr Hollande telephoned Franck Papazian, the co-president of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organisations in France (CCAF) following the Fabius-Davutoglu meeting after another of its leaders had denounced the French minister's comment as a "betrayal". The Elysée later confirmed that the president had given a promise to stand by his pre-election commitments.
The CCAF said in a statement: "Francois Hollande has again expressed his willingness to propose a bill to suppress the denial of the Armenian genocide, as he had said during his campaign and even before."
There remains room for manoeuvre. Following the constitutional court judgment, officials are conducting a study on whether action to penalise denial of genocide should take the form of a new law as previously proposed.
It is not clear what alternatives would then be available to reflect wide political support for genocide denial to be an offence. If little scope is found for legislation that does not contradict the constitutional right to free expression, Mr Hollande could be able to argue that his hands are tied - whatever level of anger felt by the Armenian lobby.
It may be at the back of the president's mind that amicable Franco-Turkish relations are mutually important. As well as military cooperation, there is significant trade interest. By 2010 figures, France is Turkey's fifth biggest export market and its sixth largest source of imports, with a surplus of €860 million in France's favour.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
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Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
MATCH INFO
Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs
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THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan