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Show V nor a strong pacifist movement. We have the means to defend ourselves. It is thus obvious how differences, even occasional divergences, within an alliance, far from undermining its cohesion, are indispensable to its vitality. Indeed, these very differences distinguish the relationships among the democracies of our alliance from those among countries of the other bloc, where little autonomy is accorded individual members. To speak only of our alliance would give a very incomplete view of the world in 1984. 1 am fully aware how much the future of U.S. Soviet relations preoccupies you. We French live on the same continent as the Russians and harbor no hostility toward them. We have had friendly relations with them for several centuries. With the deployment of the Euromissiles, a stage was passed. It would be unwise to stop there. Given the confidence we have in ourselves, none of us should hesitate to enter into dialogue with the Soviet Union. Our firmness of word and deed need not preclude persistence in relations. In the political domain. I have long felt that the great nations of the world should always seek to establish dialogue, once a clear basis for such talks has been established. In the commercial domain, we have always favored maintaining trade relations. Your capacity to create, to adapt and to renew has manifested itself in many ways throughout your history. America has taken the lead in modernization and in the development of new technologies. Today, this creativity is being carried on also by your writers, painters, musicians and film directors, many of whom are well known to me. We too in France, though the context is different, are today absorbed in the virtually free medical care and education, retirement at 60 years old and maternity leave. We have also shortened the workweek to 39 hours, taken steps to eliminate discrimination between men and women, expanded workers' rights in companies and made a much greater effort to provide training and continuing education for young people and the unemployed. I hope this article has clarified some of the major problems that President Reagan and 1 will be discussing this week in Washington. All of them are important to us. to you. to the entire world. Above all, of course, is the most important issue, the most precious resource we share peace. SI -- tremendous task of modernization. France is not only a country of fine cooking, perfumes and fashion which is not so bad we are also the country d of the train. More generally. France is a leader in all means of transit: cars, subways, helicopters. We made the key contribution to the manufacture of the Airbus, and the Ariane rocket. We have developed a nuclear industry that handles everything from extraction to the production of electricity. More than 50 percent of Frances electricity is And as you know, there is a great French tradition of scientific research and invention. In 1981, France ranked fifth among the worlds nations in the promotion of research. Current efforts will soon put us in third position. Because of our determination to excel in the fields that will shape the future, we accept fully the rules of fair international competition. We are one of the countries whose economy is the most open to the outside world. Frances industrial modernization is being carried out in conjunction with an ambitious social policy translating into high-spee- BARCLAY nuclear-generate- PARADE MAGAZINE MARCH U, 18M PAGE U C 1LTR.A LOW TAR Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health. |
