Chirac snub stokes US-France tensions

FRENCH President Jacques Chirac has delivered a double blow to the US at the NATO summit in Turkey.

Mr Chirac blocked a bid to deploy NATO's new strike force to safeguard Afghanistan's elections and told US President George W Bush to butt out of EU affairs after Mr Bush again called for Turkey to be allowed join the union.

The French stance has stoked tensions between the two allies, who fell out over the Iraq war, diplomats said yesterday.