Chirac appeals to kidnappers holding journalists

President Jacques Chirac has vowed to spare no effort to free two French reporters held hostage in Iraq by militants reportedly demanding that France scrap its ban on Islamic headscarves in state schools.

Chirac sought to appeal to the kidnappers yesterday with an implicit reminder that France opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq. But he did not directly respond to their reported demand that the ban on headscarves and other religious clothing be overturned within 48 hours.

“France ensures equality, the respect and protection of the free practising of all religions,” a solemn-looking Chirac said in a televised address.

“These values of respect and tolerance inspire our actions everywhere in the world … They also inspired France’s policy in Iraq.”

The kidnapping proved false the notion that France’s opposition to the Iraq war might have, to some extent, protected it from Islamic terrorism.

The militants claiming to hold Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot described the headscarf law as “an aggression on the Islamic religion and personal freedoms”, according to Arab TV station Al-Jazeera.

It showed a brief tape on Saturday of the journalists saying they were in captivity – the first word on their fate since they disappeared more than a week ago. Chesnot works for Radio France-Internationale and Radio France and Malbrunot for RTL radio and the dailies Le Figaro and Ouest-France.

Chirac said foreign minister Michel Barnier was rushing to the Middle East “to develop the necessary contacts there and co-ordinate our representatives’ efforts” to win the reporters’ release. Barnier left last night for Cairo, Egypt, the government said.

“Everything is being done and everything will be done in the hours and days to come,” said Chirac. He said France has no fresh information about the reporters. He appealed for their release.

“The whole nation is gathered together, because what’s at stake is the lives of two French people, the defence of freedom of expression, and also the values of our republic,” the president said.

Yesterday, Chirac’s interior minister defended the no-headscarves law that will take effect when school resumes this week, following the summer break.

“It is not directed at anyone but aims on the contrary at preserving everybody’s freedom. It plays a role in the cohesion of our country,” said Dominique de Villepin, flanked by Muslim leaders he met to show a united front in the face of the kidnapping.

“We want everyone to know that secularism in our country does not divide the French but unites them.”

The law forbids pupils from wearing ”conspicuous” signs showing their religious affiliation. While that includes Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses, French authorities made clear that the measure was aimed at removing Islamic headscarves from classrooms.

The law, adopted in March, sparked protests by Muslims in France and abroad, with many saying Islam was being unfairly targeted.

But French Muslim leaders who opposed the law were strong in their condemnation of the kidnapping.

“We must not negotiate. It is blackmail which the Muslims of France reject. It is blackmail which does not serve the Muslim cause and which unfortunately holds the Muslim community hostage,” said Lhaj Thami Breze, president of the powerful Union of Islamic Organisations of France.

“The headscarf issue is a solely French affair and we do not accept foreign interference.”