PARIS (AP) — Even before formally taking office, France's newly named foreign minister is out to rehabilitate French diplomacy after a series of crippling missteps during the Arab world uprisings that have embarrassed the country and its unpopular president.
Alain Juppe, a former prime minister and prominent conservative, said Monday that France should more vigorously support democratic movements and seize this "extraordinary chance."
He warned against the "considerable" risks that threaten the region after popular uprisings overthrew the longtime presidents in Tunisia and Egypt and have now gripped Libya.
Juppe officially takes over the French Foreign Ministry — and the world's second-largest diplomatic corps — on Tuesday morning.
In a Cabinet shakeup Sunday aimed at buffing his image ahead of presidential elections next year, President Nicolas Sarkozy named Juppe to replace embattled Michele Alliot-Marie, who came under fire over her handling of Tunisia's unrest.
Alliot-Marie offered Tunisian police French know-how amid its deadly violence against Tunisian demonstrators. She took a vacation in Tunisia as antigovernment protests gathered steam, including a free flight from a businessman with links to the autocratic president's family, who were forced into exile. Her parents also reportedly bought property from the magnate.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Monday that her actions were "dangerous" for France's image abroad and reduced its voice in international affairs. Fillon faced criticism of his own over his Christmas family holiday in Egypt, funded in part by the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Juppe said Alliot-Marie's missteps "handicapped French diplomacy."
"When one believes in democracy, one shouldn't hesitate, one should go along with this movement," Juppe told a news conference in his hometown of Bordeaux.
He insisted that France still has "considerable weight" in world diplomacy. "We must stick to our principles, but talk to those who don't respect them," he said.
Still, he noted, "No one could have anticipated the revolution that is unfolding around the Mediterranean, no other European country, the European Union or the United States."
Juppe gave few specifics about his immediate plans as foreign minister, but he's expected to be a vocal and active one.
His comments echoed those of Sarkozy the night before. The president has sought to build stronger ties across the Mediterranean since taking power in 2007, both with traditional Arab allies and with Israel.
Juppe comes to the job with plenty of experience in politics — including troubles of his own. He was barred from politics for a year and given a 14-month suspended prison sentence for a 2004 conviction for party financing irregularities.
He was foreign minister in 1993-1995, then prime minister under then-President Jacques Chirac. For the past three months he was defense minister under Sarkozy.
Sarkozy named a new defense minister and interior minister Sunday, and on Monday, he named stalwart economic adviser Xavier Musca as the new presidential chief of staff.
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