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France says it wants to engage in dialogue |
Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe, is due to arrive in Paris later on Wednesday, despite a ban on him travelling to the European Union.
France was given an exemption from the ban to allow Mr Mugabe to attend a summit of French and African leaders.
In return, Paris gave its backing to the renewal of EU sanctions against Mr Mugabe, his wife and other government officials.
But France's stance has provoked the fury of several other European countries, including the UK.
Direct confrontation
The French Government says other African countries had threatened to boycott the meeting unless Mr Mugabe was there.
And it says the summit is a chance to confront the Zimbabwean president directly over the situation in his country.
But the BBC's James Coomarasamy in Paris say many see this as a cynical trade-off at a time when France is trying to increase its sphere of influence in Africa.
Mr Mugabe has met with international condemnation for his land redistribution policy and for last year's elections in which he was accused of using violence and fraud.
Zimbabweans are currently suffering from the famine which has swept much of southern Africa and which some say has been exacerbated by the Mugabe regime's policies.
Threatened arrest
Security is tight for the Paris meeting as protests against Mr Mugabe's presence are expected.
British-based human rights activist, Peter Tatchell, has said he will apply to a French court for an arrest warrant against Mr Mugabe for breaching the UN Convention Against Torture.
Another summit, planned for Portugal in April has been postponed because most European countries had said they would boycott the summit if Mr Mugabe was invited.
African nations had indicated they would stay away unless Zimbabwe was included.
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