The French armed forces are becoming leaner and more mobile, and aiming to take on lead-nation roles. J A C Lewis reports. France appears to be engaged in a drive to mend fences with the US concerning Iraq after experiencing the deepest rift in decades between the two nations. President Jacques Chirac held one-on-one talks with US President George Bush at a NATO summit in Brussels in February, French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie flew to Washington in early March and Condoleezza Rice won a decent hearing on her first trip to Paris as US Secretary of State.
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