French opposition insist on fresh debate on Turkey

UDF parliamentary group leader Herve Morin demanded in a letter sent to Parliament Speaker Jean-Louis Debre that a special session convenes to discuss and vote on Turkey’s bid to join the EU, the Anatolia news agency said.

The UDF, headed by Francois Bayrou, is a lead opponent of Turkish membership in the EU but is a junior partner in the coalition behind Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and is not part of the Cabinet.

The French Parliament held a debate on Turkey’s membership in a special session last month but avoided a vote.

A vote against Turkish membership would embarrass President Jacques Chirac, who supports the opening of accession talks with Turkey ahead of a Dec. 17 summit of EU leaders, which will make the final decision on the start of the long-delayed talks.

The letter to the Parliament speaker is the latest attempt on the part of the UDF to force a parliamentary debate on Turkey. Earlier this week, the French Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission rejected a UDF proposal once again calling for a "privileged partnership" status for Turkey instead of full membership.

Chirac, under mounting pressure from both the opposition and his own party — the Union for Popular Movement (UMP) — has promised a referendum on Turkey’s entry after the talks are concluded, a process expected to last a decade at least.

French media comments said French Prime Minister Raffarin’s government was set to work to prevent a vote in order not to embarrass Chirac at the Dec. 17 summit.

Bayrou had earlier said repeatedly that they would bring up their proposal of a "privileged partnership" on every occasion — both Parliament and the Senate