France seeks unity on Algeria

Paris - President Francois Mitterrand reaffirmed his support for "political dialogue" to end the civil war in Algeria and said he hoped the European Union would be associated with efforts in that direction, writes Mary Dejevsky.

But he did not repeat his call for an EU-sponsored conference.The watering-down of the initiative followed a meeting between the President and the Prime Minister, Edouard Balladur, which appeared to be an attempt to present a united front on Algeria.