A French Backbone

A rare find...

French Presidential candidate Francois Bayrou, has called for boycotting the upcoming Olympics to be held in China. This is somewhat of pleasant surprise, considering France and China have been increasingly strengthening their relations.

And what is this boycott over? Darfur. Which is good, because it is another example of China blocking UN sanctions against rogue regimes.

From the AP:

French Olympic officials expressed surprise at Francois Bayrou's boycott call at a pro-Darfur rally late Tuesday. At the same rally, the two leading presidential candidates joined Bayrou in pledging not to host any members of the Sudanese government in France.

That would mark a change in policy: President Jacques Chirac hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on the French Riviera at a summit of African leaders last month.

The Sudanese government is accused of funding militias and allowing its military to brutalize civilians in a conflict that has killed some 200,000 people and left 2.5 million homeless since 2003.

China - a U.N. Security Council permanent member with veto power - opposes any sanctions against Sudan, where it is the biggest foreign investor.

"If this drama does not stop, France would do itself credit by not coming to the Olympic Games," Bayrou told the rally, his office said Wednesday.

"There is nothing easier than stopping this tragedy, this genocide," said Bayrou, who visited Darfur on a private trip in 2005. "This is a political issue because China decided to bring its protection to the Khartoum regime."