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.