I dug up an intriguing article in 'The Australian', this morning:


FRANCE suffered a humiliating blow when President Jacques Chirac was forced to order home from the Arabian Sea the asbestos-laden former flagship of the French navy after environmentalists scuppered its planned break-up in an Indian scrapyard.


Mr Chirac ordered the recall of Le Clemenceau, a former aircraft carrier, after France's highest court ordered it to stay out of Indian waters pending legal action by environmentalists.


An Indian court had already banned the 27,000-tonne warship from entering port while deciding whether its asbestos was a hazard to shipyard workers.
The decision was a triumph for environmental pressure groups, led by Greenpeace, which mounted a vocal campaign against the practice of industrialised nations exporting waste to Southeast Asia.


Greenpeace claimed Le Clemenceau, the pride of France from the days of the late Charles deGaulle to the 1990s, was full of asbestos that would not be properly disposed of in India.


The recall has dealt a further blow to French pride at a time when the nation feels its international influence is greatly diminished. The timing could not have been worse for Mr Chirac, who casts himself as an environmental champion and is due in India on a state visit on Sunday.

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