France and Germany dig heels in

FRANCE and Germany stood firm over their opposition to war with Iraq last night saying Washington had yet to prove to the UN that Iraq possessed banned weapons of mass destruction.

France, one of three countries with the veto power to deny a US-British alliance the support of the 15-member UN Security Council, said the time was not ripe to discuss a new UN resolution clearing the way for war.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell presented “suspicions, clues and witness reports ... but no major surprises, no formal proofs,” French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told Europe 1 radio. He said UN arms inspections must go on.