The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, has alarmed Thursday, January 13 for "the disproportionate use of violence" in Tunisia. He urged "all parties to exercise restraint and to choose the path of dialogue." The statement came after the death of a Franco-Tunisian university, the first French victim of the riots that shook Tunisia for four weeks.Juqu'à far, France has remained rather silent on events in Tunisia. "We are extremely concerned about this situation, the violence that has developed over the past few days," said Fillon, in response to a question during a press conference after a meeting in London with his British counterpart David Cameron.
"Beyond the issues of domestic policy, there is a problem of economic development, and there we have an action that we can drive at European level to make development aid more effective," he said. On Thursday, government spokesman, Francois Baroin, had assured him that France was "extremely vigilant" about the situation.
But at the same time he affirmed that France did not "interfere in the affairs" of Tunis. The European Union has also responded to the violent repression of demonstrations in Tunisia from several options, it plans to suspend negotiations with Tunisia, according to a diplomatic source. Negotiations which were to strengthen relations between the EU and Tunisia.
"This may be an option" for the EU, stressed the source. For its part, the head of European diplomacy, Catherine Ashton, has not explicitly mentioned this possibility but said that Europeans pondered the consequences of the current unrest. "We are closely monitoring the situation and reflect on the implications of recent events on the relations between the EU and Tunisia and are considering several options," she said at a press briefing.
The EU, she added, would first like to "promote the reforms" in Tunisia, "the democratic opening, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law." MEPs have called for a suspension of ongoing negotiations between the EU and Tunisia with a view to strengthening bilateral relations. Since May 2010, the European Union, already linked to Tunisia by an association agreement dating from 1995, is negotiating to award him an "advanced status", similar to that already enjoyed by Morocco.
Tunis requests since November 2008. This status includes intensified trade relations. Tunisia is already receiving substantial funding under the European Neighbourhood Policy of the EU. Wednesday, Ashton, still speaking through his spokesman, condemned the use of disproportionate force by the police in Tunisia and spoke of an "unacceptable violence".
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