French Parliament members extend support to Turkey's EU memberhip bid

A large number of members of the National Assembly gathered earlier this week to join the French-Turkish Friendship dinner which was held at the French parliament and organized by the France Entrepreneurs and Managers Association (FEDIF) and the Parisian Intercultural Dialogue platform. Speaking at the event, Head of the French-Turkey Friendship Group in the French Parliament Christophe Bouillon said that it was a positive development that the word "join" with reference to Turkey, which has been absent for five years, has reentered the EU's vocabulary. Bouillon also said that France should remove its objections to four chapters it had vetoed talks on. Speaking for her part, French Parliament Deputy Speaker Laurence Dumont said that concrete steps were needed for the two countries to start working together one more time. Furthermore, Senator Bariza Khiari said that the Sarkozy era would remain as a bad memory in Turkey-France relations, but that they were opening a new page now. Catherine Lalumiere, who in the past served as the minister of consumption, also extended support for Turkey, saying that it was a big mistake for France to turn its back on Turkey and that it was impossible to imagine a Europe without Turkey.