France shuns Dalai Lama

PARIS - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, was kept at arms' length here yesterday as French officials feared creating…

PARIS - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, was kept at arms' length here yesterday as French officials feared creating a row with Beijing before an official visit to China by President Chirac.

The French foreign ministry described the three-day visit by the 1989 Nobel peace prizewinner as "pastoral," calling instead for "constructive dialogue" between China and Tibet.

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