Before committing troops to the Lebanon ceasefire they championed at the United Nations, France wants safety guarantees.

I’m not making this up.

Despite expectations that France would provide the bulk of a planned 15,000 strong UN force, Paris said Thursday it would send 200 troops to reinforce the UN mission in Lebanon.

While it said France was prepared to command the enlarged force, it also called for safety guarantees for its soldiers before making further commitments.

UPDATE at 8/18/06 10:29:45 am:

Another jawdropper from French defense minister Michele Alliot-Marie:

Alliot-Marie said troop contributions to the expanded UNIFIL force should come from a great number of countries, both in Europe and the Muslim world.

“What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,” she said.