Dalai Lama arrives in France

[WhiteTara]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080811/wl_afp/francetibetchinaoly2008diplomacyarrive

PARIS, (AFP) - The Dalai Lama arrived in France on Monday, a member of his entourage said, ahead of a high-profile 12-day visit during which the Tibetan spiritual guide will not meet President Nicolas Sarkozy.

He was welcomed by religious leaders at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport shortly around 6 am (0400 GMT) after arriving from New Delhi.

The visit officially kicks off on Tuesday with the inauguration of a Buddhist temple south of Paris.

The Dalai Lama, 73, will meet with French lawmakers, but instead of Sarkozy his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will attend the inauguration of a temple in southern France on August 22.
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On Saturday, the Dalai Lama's French interpreter, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, told AFP a visit during the Olympics would be seen as a "provocation" by Beijing and "would only have led to a toughening of the Chinese position."

Ricard also highlighted the "stunning contrast between the sumptuous celebrations and the splendour of the Olympics, and the terror that continues to reign... across historic Tibet."