3,000 French troops in Afghanistan

French troops operating in Afghanistan will number about 3,000, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Friday.
Kouchner is due to meet President Hamid Karzai and officials including his counterpart, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta on Saturday. He will also hold meetings with non-governmental organizations and visit a hospital in Kabul. He will then go to Kandahar, in the south of the country, with Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier, despite Canada's disappointed at France's decision to send reinforcements to the east rather than help it fight the Taliban in the south. More...