Sarkozy admits France made mistakes over Tunisia

During weeks of protests which were met with violence by Tunisian security forces, French ministers made comments in favour of the authoritarian regime. As human rights groups condemned murders carried out by Tunisian police, the French foreign minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie, said France would lend its own police "knowhow" to help Ben Ali's forces maintain order. The French culture minister, Frédé

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But the French president fell short of a full mea culpa. When asked why France had stayed silent as the number of protester deaths mounted, Sarkozy looked riled and said that was an "exaggeration".