Who Gets Treated Most Fairly, Uncle Sam or China?

Le Monde has two full pages on the CIA's hidden activities in Europe, including not one but several maps, Natalie Nougayrède's story of a hapless German "kidnapped 'by mistake'", and her interview with Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, an MSF jurist who seems to stutter with indigation as she recounts all the international laws and all the trust that Uncle Sam has broken.

International solidarity cannot be deaf or blind neither in the case of the objectives in the war of terror nor in its details of implementation

she lectures, but the photo shows a happy, smiling woman in a red party dress. She almost seems to be laughing at a joke, but that can't be, because everybody knows how seriously France takes human rights.

This is from the newspaper that could barely print a filler on the cases of torture in China. The articles appeared as China's Prime minister ended a fruitful visit to Paris.

During Wen Jiabao's visit, France's master of pacifism (aka French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, the guy who is determined, as he reminded his "American friends", that friends should be allowed to speak their minds) signalled efforts on strategic business-making were unflagging and emphasised their countries' cooperation, reiterating France's view that an EU arms embargo imposed on China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre was "anachronistic" and should be ended. Meanwhile, the Epoch Times (merci a RV) pointed out that

Protesters will neither be seen nor heard during the visit of Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao to France this week, according to an order given by the French government.

The order, given last week, is seen by critics as the latest in an attempt to hide embarassing human rights violations through censoring overseas protest.

… The French government seems equally anxious to hide human rights protesters from Communist officials this time around.

Despite the extent of China's human rights violations becoming increasingly apparent the French government have appeared to even openly support the regime.

In a visit to China last April, the French Premier, Jean-Pierre Raffarin expressed support for China's anti-secession law on Taiwan which threatens the use of military force should Taiwan declare independence.

The French government is also one of the most vocal supporters of a lifting of the arms embargo imposed in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre.