NEW TERROR THREAT AGAINST FRANCE

“PARIS, March 16 (Reuters) - An Islamist group has threatened to stage attacks in France, a justice Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters on Tuesday.

The warning spoke of possible attacks within France and against foreign interests, she said.

No further information was immediately available.”

“March 16, 2004 France surrenders with Spain and becomes part of Al Qaeda.”

“It must of been for their evil socialists ways and how they didn't support the U.S. in the Iraq war.”

“Will Canada and Saudi Arabia be next?”

“PARIS (Reuters) - France has received threats of a possible attack against French interests from an Islamist group apparently named after a Chechen guerrilla killed in a Moscow hostage-taking in 2002, the Interior Ministry says.

The letter, sent to several newspapers on Tuesday, threatened "to plunge France into terror and remorse and spill blood outside its frontiers", Jacques Esperandieu, deputy editor of the daily Le Parisien which received a copy, quoted it as saying.

The ministry confirmed earlier Justice Ministry reports that the threat, which it said was sent "on behalf of the servants of Allah, the powerful and wise", mentioned possible attacks in France and against French interests abroad.

"These are threats articulated in such a way that they are being taken very seriously," a judicial source told Reuters.

The group called itself the Movsar Barayev Commando, an apparent reference to the miltant who organised the October 2002 Chechen raid at a Moscow theatre that ended with 129 dead. He died in the special forces raid on the theatre.

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said the government took Islamist threats seriously but warned against panic.

"We have to keep calm. We are in a country which must not be afraid," he told France 2 television.

Commenting on last week's Madrid train bombs that killed 201 people, President Jacques Chirac said on Tuesday France had not received any specific threats but was "not secure from terrorist acts".

France, which in contrast to Spain opposed the Iraq war, has interpreted the bloody attacks on Madrid trains as an attack on all European countries regardless of their positions on Iraq.

France's firm stand against the Iraq war was originally thought to have won it support in the Muslim world, but this evaporated when Paris banned Muslims from wearing headscarves in schools.

Summarising the letter, Esperandieu said: "They're basically saying 'you thought you were safe because of your stand on Iraq, but France is no longer safe at all since February 10."

The National Assembly passed the veil ban on February 10.”

“What's next? Stop eating pork or we'll blow up the world?”

“Al Qaeda wants the whole world to establish Taliban like governments.”

“Well if John Kerry is elected president they'll be real close to that dream here in the U.S.

8)”

“huh? how's that?”

“I guess France didn't sell enough missiles and bombs to the terrorists. Or the French way over-charged them.”