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Diana on prince's mind in Paris
PARIS, France -- The Prince of Wales has met France's President Jacques Chirac in his first engagement in Paris since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The two men shook hands on the steps of the Elysee Palace on Thursday before Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, was ushered inside for private talks with the French leader. It was the prince's first visit to the French capital since he flew out in August 1997 to bring his former wife's body back to Britain after she and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed suffered fatal injuries in a car crash in a Paris underpass. A St. James's Palace spokesman told the UK's Press Association: "That will be very much in his thoughts. "Grief is a very private thing, particularly when it relates to a member of your family." The prince is expected to discuss a variety of topics, but top of his agenda will be an attempt to try and promote British beef sales in a country which has only just recently lifted its import ban following the outbreak of BSE in Britain. His trip was also due to include lunch at the British Ambassador's residence. There have been no commercial exports to France since it lifted its ban on British beef in October last year, following the threat of £100,000-a-day fines if it failed to do so. Charles will sample beef from the St. Merryn's abattoir in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, which is currently the only abattoir approved to export British beef.
His gesture follows a similar lunch in Rome last year when he told Italians that family farms in both Britain and Italy were struggling to make a living and should be supported. France was Britain's biggest beef export market before the BSE, or so-called mad cow, scare and was worth an estimate £175 million a year. The prince was also due to meet young French students studying English at the British Council before receiving a prestigious international environment award from the Societe de Geographie at the Sorbonne. Charles was receiving the society's Grande Medaille in recognition of his "untiring service in pursuit of harmony between man and his environment," including his long-standing commitment to sustainable architecture and organic farming. The prince's meeting with Chirac came just two days after the French leader warned that France and Britain had "differences" over the future of Iraq. Chirac also caused controversy recently with his decision to invite the Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe to a summit later this month, the day after an existing EU travel ban expires. Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair has opposed the invitation.
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