PARIS (AP) — Socialist Francois Hollande assumed France’s presidency Tuesday, inheriting a country fearful for its financial future and jetting off immediately to Berlin to tackle his most pressing problem: Europe’s debt crisis.
A flash of lightning nearly derailed Hollande’s blitz diplomatic foray, striking his plane and sending him briefly back to a Paris area military airbase.
But Hollande quickly switched Falcon jets, flew to Berlin, and took steps toward bridging differences with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over how to reinvigorate Europe’s economy and its global influence. Right before leaving for Berlin, Hollande named a moderate, German-friendly ally, Jean-Marc Ayrault, as his prime minister.
During a day packed with pomp-filled inaugural traditions, Hollande promised to be less flashy than his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy and bring a more human touch to the Elysee Palace. But he won’t have much time to play Mr. Nice Guy as he faces a barrage of challenges, from creating jobs to getting thousands of French troops out of Afghanistan ahead of schedule.
Europe’s financial troubles are Hollande’s No. 1 priority. He and Merkel have opposing views on whether spending or saving is the best approach.
Hollande said Tuesday investment in growth is crucial to reduce debt and cut deficits, saying he envisions “a balanced and respectful relationship” with Germany.
Merkel, who has argued that indebted European countries need to clean up their budgets before launching new spending sprees, said that her differences with Hollande have been overplayed. And asked whether she was afraid of Hollande’s campaign pledges, she replied: “I am seldom afraid.”
The two stressed that they want to keep Greece in the 17-nation eurozone that shares the euro currency, and looked ahead to a European Union summit in Brussels next week for further decisions.
The lightning strike marked a startling beginning for Hollande, who promised to be a more “normal” president after five years under Sarkozy, ousted by voters after a single term for his handling of a stagnant economy.
Hollande took off in a Falcon 7X aircraft for Berlin after rain-drenched inaugural events. The plane was hit by lightning just minutes afterward, according to Hollande aides. Warning lights turned red, they said, but Hollande wanted to continue on.
Instead the pilot returned to the Villacoublay air base outside Paris as a precaution, Defense Ministry spokesman Gerard Gachet said. The president and his entourage were transferred to another aircraft, a Falcon 900, and left.
It’s not unusual for planes to be struck by lightning when traveling through thunderstorms; often pilots will fly at higher altitudes to go “above the weather” and in most cases land without difficulty. In March, four planes were struck by lightning the same night during heavy storms near Houston, but all landed without incident.
Hollande’s trip was a postwar custom for new French leaders to reach out to German counterparts to solidify European unity. While new figures Tuesday showed the eurozone has avoided a new recession, thanks largely to Germany, political turmoil in Greece was reviving fears about the fate of the euro.
Hollande, elected May 6 as France’s first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995, rode to the presidency on a wave of resurgent leftist sentiment amid Europe’s debt woes and protests against capitalism around the world.
The 57-year-old displayed his populist touch in between Tuesday’s ceremonies, stopping for handshakes — and even a kiss — with adoring fans.
Hollande was greeted by Sarkozy Tuesday on the red-carpeted steps of the 18th-century Elysee Palace, the traditional residence of French presidents. The two held a 40-minute private meeting when the outgoing president handed over the codes to France’s nuclear arsenal.
The new president immediately acknowledged the challenges he inherits: “a massive debt, weak growth, high unemployment, degraded competitiveness, and a Europe that is struggling to come out of crisis.”
Hollande promised to fight financial speculation and “open a new path” in Europe. He has pushed back against a European budget-cutting pact championed by Merkel and Sarkozy.
“To overcome the crisis that is hitting it, Europe needs plans. It needs solidarity. It needs growth. To our partners, I will propose a new pact that will tie the necessary reduction of public debt with the indispensable stimulus of the economy,” he said.
Hollande also pledged to bring “dignity and simplicity” to the presidential role — something voters felt that Sarkozy did not always do.
The French mood is glum. Many voters looked to the inauguration as a rare moment of national pride and to Hollande’s presidency as a new opportunity to make things better.
Earlier Tuesday, the state statistics agency released figures showing that the French economy had failed to grow in the first quarter. Some economists predict a contraction ahead, which would complicate Hollande’s promises to rein in the deficit.
World markets and other European leaders will watch closely to see whether Hollande follows through on campaign promises, such as pulling French troops out of Afghanistan by year’s end, freezing gasoline prices and hiking taxes on the rich.
Observers expect that once he settles into the presidency, he’s likely to fall back into the moderate consensus-building that has characterized his career.
Hollande’s relationship with Merkel, the German chancellor, will be crucial to his presidency and the appointment of Ayrault (ay-ROW) as prime minister may well prove an advantage for this relationship. Ayrault, who leads the Socialists in Parliament, is a German speaker and a former teacher of the language of Goethe.
Ayrault is expected to announce a government Wednesday or Thursday. But its future will depend on the outcome of parliamentary elections next month, and whether leftists take control of the National Assembly.
In Tuesday’s ceremony, Hollande received the insignia of the Grand Croix of the Legion of Honor and the necklace of the Great Master of the Order of the Legion of Honor. Each linked medallion of the necklace bears the name of a president, with Hollande’s name recently added.
Hollande shook hands with many of the hundreds at the ceremony then reviewed troops in the palace gardens. Following tradition, 21 shots were fired from cannons at the Invalides, a domed complex on the opposite side of the Seine that holds Napoleon’s tomb.
Rain started pouring down on the famed Champs-Elysees avenue as Hollande rode up its center, standing in the sunroof of his hybrid Citroen DS5, trailed by dozens of Republican Guardsmen on horseback and motorcycle. His suit was visibly drenched within moments. He then headed for the Arc de Triomphe, and its monument to the unknown soldier.
His second presidential speech of the day focused on education, as he pledged to create 60,000 new teaching jobs in the aftermath of cuts Sarkozy had made.
Hollande, who has never been married, was joined for the ceremonies and in his motorcade Tuesday by his poised girlfriend, journalist Valerie Trierweiler. She wore a black dress with translucent sleeves and a white tunic jacket by French label Apostrophe.
Hollande’s former partner and the mother of his four children, Segolene Royal, joined him later Tuesday in a ceremony at Paris City Hall. Royal, a prominent Socialist politician, was runner-up to Sarkozy in 2007; she is angling for a top political job under Hollande’s presidency.
Hollande’s first presidential meal reflected relative modesty, at least by French culinary standards: lobster and citrus terrine, cote de boeuf, and strawberry macaron cookies for dessert.
Sarkozy left the palace hand-in-hand with wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, had a last handshake on the palace steps with Hollande, then was driven away. Former staff members gathered in the palace courtyard applauded loudly as Sarkozy left, and fans at the Elysee gates waved signs reading “Nicolas, merci!”
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Geir Moulson in Berlin, Cecile Brisson, Jamey Keaten and Thomas Adamson in Paris and Joan Lowy in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
PARIS (AP) — France voted in a presidential run-off election on Sunday that could see Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy by capitalizing on public anger over the government’s austerity policies.
The election outcome will impact efforts to fight France’s debt crisis, how long the nation’s troops stay in Afghanistan and how France exercises its military and diplomatic muscle around the world.
Under Sarkozy, France pledged to rein in its spending while the rest of 17 countries that use the euro embark on a strict period of belt-tightening. In France, that has included programs designed to reduce government employment.
Sarkozy, disliked by many voters for his handling of the economy and brash personality, promised he could produce a surprise victory on Sunday. Speaking on Europe-1 radio Friday, he said much will depend on whether French voters bother to cast ballots in an election that polls have always predicted Hollande would win.
Hollande was benefiting from anti-Sarkozy fervor, with some voters saying their choice was more a vote against him than one for Hollande.
“We’ve had enough of Sarkozy, the way he takes decisions without consulting anyone,” said Stephane Thomas, 24, after voting in Paris’ 10th arrondissement.
In a sign of the attention the campaign has attracted, Google’s home page in France was redesigned with one of its ever-changing “doodles” devoted to the election.
In Hollande’s town of Tulle, residents who got up early to vote offered mixed messages about him. He has been a local official and lawmaker for years in the town and its surrounding Correze region.
“I don’t know if he’s capable of being president. I just don’t know because here we just bump into him on the street. With us, he’s like that,” said Lydia Sobieniak, 65, a former factory worker, outside the polling station where Hollande was voting shortly after it opened.
“It’s going to be hard. Whoever it is (who wins) … there will be no miracles,” said Sobieniak, who added that Hollande helped her get a contract job in education in 2004 after she left her private sector job.
Hollande beat Sarkozy by about half a million votes in the first round of voting on April 22, which saw 10 candidates competing for the job of running this nuclear-armed country with a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council for the next five years.
The first round turnout of around 80 percent was higher than expected and is being closely watched again, with polls suggesting Sarkozy’s best chance of an upset comes from even greater voter turnout Sunday.
Asked Friday what he would do if he loses, Sarkozy said simply: “There will be a handover of power.”
“The nation follows its course. The nation is stronger than the destiny of the men who serve it,” he said. “The fact that the campaign is ending is more of a relief than a worry.”
Hollande urged his followers against complacency. “Victory is within our grasp!” he said in a rousing rally in the southern city of Toulouse on Thursday night.
Polls released Friday and Thursday show the gap between the candidates shrinking but results still solidly in Hollande’s favor.
A poll by the BVA agency shows 52.5 percent support for Hollande and 47.5 percent for Sarkozy. A poll by the agency CSA shows 53 percent for Hollande and 47 percent for Sarkozy.
For both polling agencies, that was the smallest spread registered in the campaign, which a few months ago saw polls predicting Hollande winning by a crushing 60 percent to Sarkozy’s 40.
The margin of error on each poll was plus or minus 2-3 percent. BVA questioned 2,161 people by telephone Thursday. CSA questioned 1,123 people by telephone Thursday.
The polls were carried out after the candidates’ only debate Wednesday night, which Sarkozy had hoped would be the knockout blow he needed.
Hollande has received the support of a prominent centrist who won 9 percent of the vote in the first round of presidential elections, Francois Bayrou. Bayrou said Thursday night he would not give his voters specific guidance for Sunday’s vote — but that he will cast a ballot for Hollande.
Bayrou criticized Sarkozy’s campaign rhetoric as too violent. Sarkozy has sought to lure far-right voters who supported anti-immigrant candidate Marine Le Pen in the first round.
Sarkozy kept it up anyway Thursday at a big campaign rally in Toulon.
“We don’t want different tribes, we don’t want ethnic communities to turn in on themselves, we don’t want (non-citizen) immigrants to vote,” he said.
Critics of Sarkozy have often faulted him for his brash style, alleged chumminess with the rich, and inability to reverse France’s tough economic fortunes and nearly double-digit jobless rate.
Hollande has promised more government spending and higher taxes — including a 75-percent income tax on the rich — and wants to re-negotiate a European treaty on trimming budgets to avoid more debt crises of the kind facing Greece.
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Jamey Keaten in Tulle, France, contributed to this report.
PARIS (AP) — French presidential front-runner Francois Hollande says that if he’s elected, he would immediately ask other European leaders to renegotiate the fiscal treaty aimed at reducing debts to include measures to encourage growth.
Hollande also shrugged off worries that his election May 6 would send markets into panic, called for a more active role by the European Central Bank and said he’d move swiftly to get French troops out of Afghanistan.
Polls suggest Hollande will win the election, unseating conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been blamed for losing touch with French voters and failing to create jobs in a five-year term marked by financial crisis.
In a wide-ranging news conference Wednesday, Hollande said he would focus first on Europe.
If elected, he said he would send a letter the next day to the leaders of the other 26 European Union members proposing a “growth pact” to add to the existing treaty, which was signed earlier this year and focuses on tightening budgets as a way to restore market confidence in the 17-country eurozone.
Hollande wants the growth pact to include a financial transaction tax and “eurobonds” — government bonds jointly issued by all 17 countries that use the euro — to finance infrastructure projects.
“The main risk right now to the European economy is that we remain in recession because we haven’t freed up enough financing for companies,” Hollande said, adding that he’d also seek to open “a dialogue” between EU leaders and the Europe’s central bank on the issue.
Hollande’s proposals could set him on a collision course with Germany, whose economy is the engine of Europe and whose Chancellor, Angela Merkel, led the push for the tough fiscal agreement.
“I am ready to open this discussion … with Madame Merkel,” Hollande said.
He dismissed concerns that investors would turn against France if he won the election, saying that despite his first-place showing in Sunday’s first round of voting, “I haven’t had communication of information putting our nation in danger.”
Beyond Europe’s borders, Hollande acknowledged that he doesn’t have much diplomatic experience and said he’d chart a cautious course. He said he’d stick to France’s firm policies against Syria and Iran.
He reiterated his pledge to pull all French troops out of Afghanistan by the end of this year.
“I don’t want to make a mistake. I want to make judicious decisions from the beginning,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday, Hollande pressed his leftist platform, playing to public fears about jobs and anger at bankers and ratings agencies who are widely blamed in France for the financial and economic crisis.
In his final campaign brochure, released Wednesday, he vowed to resist “the power of money” if elected and said his priorities would include “bringing finance to heel.”
Some economists say the only way for France to calm jittery investors is to pare down its debts and boost growth prospects by changing laws to make it easier to hire and fire workers and open and close companies.
Sarkozy’s finance minister shot back at Hollande’s spending plans Wednesday, warning that countries across Europe have to do more to cut costs.
French media have reported that Sarkozy’s advisers are pressing company executives to avoid announcing big layoffs during the presidential campaign, and predict a wave of job losses after the election.
Responding to these fears, Hollande told France-2 television on Wednesday that “before any irreparable decisions are made, I should intervene.”
He said he would try to avoid a parade of layoff announcements and that company executives would have “responsibilities to take.”
He didn’t elaborate on how he would avoid job losses or name any particular companies.
Polls show that jobs are the leading concern of French voters. Both candidates have made pledges during the campaign to save jobs at a ferry operator on the English Channel and a steel plant in northern France.
BEIRUT (AP) — A French TV cameraman became the first Western journalist killed in the 10-month-old Syrian uprising Wednesday, dying in a barrage of grenades during a government-sponsored trip to the restive city of Homs, officials and a witness said.
The violence came just hours after President Bashar Assad made a surprise appearance at a rally in the capital, Damascus, joining thousands of supporters in a show of confidence as the conflict enters a dangerous and violent new phase.
The killing of Gilles Jacquier, who worked for France-2 Television, was likely to become a rallying cry for both sides, as the regime and the opposition blame each other for a recent spate of mysterious attacks.
The government blamed “terrorists” for Wednesday’s attack, which it said also killed eight Syrians.
About 15 journalists were on the government trip when they were hit by several grenades, according to Jens Franssen, who was on the tour. “At some point, three or four (grenade) shells hit, very close to us,” Franssen told the Belgian VRT network.
Video footage posted on Youtube appeared to show the aftermath of the attack, with people frantically loading the injured into cars. There were pools of blood on the ground. The authenticity of the footage, however, could not be independently verified.
A Dutch freelance journalist was also wounded in Homs Wednesday, although it wasn’t immediately clear if he was part of the trip.
Jacquier, 43, was the first foreign journalist to be slain, Reporters Without Borders said. He had reported over the years from Afghanistan, Gaza, Congo, Iraq and Yemen, most recently for the investigative program Special Envoy, his network said.
“It’s up to Syrian authorities to ensure the security of international journalists on their territory, and to protect this fundamental liberty which is the freedom of information,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.
During the uprising, several Syrian journalists have been killed or tortured as they tried to cover the revolt, which has proven the most serious challenge to the Assad family’s 40-year dynasty. With the U.N. estimate of more than 5,000 dead since March, it is among the bloodiest uprisings of the Arab Spring.
The revolt has become increasingly violent in recent months, but appears far from over. Some 400 people have been reported killed in the last three weeks alone.
At the start of the uprising, much of the violence involved Syrian security forces firing on unarmed, peaceful protesters. In recent months, an increasing number of army defectors and members of the opposition are taking up arms against the government.
Three recent blasts in Damascus, which the government said were suicide attacks, added a new and ominous dimension to a conflict that has brought the country to the brink of civil war.
The government said the explosions supported its claim that the uprising was the work of terrorists and conspirators. The opposition demanded an independent investigation, saying the regime is likely behind the blasts and using them to tarnish the uprising and scare people into submission.
Neither side has offered evidence for their claims, and it is all but impossible to operate independently in Syria. Syria has banned most foreign journalists except for those on government-escorted trips. Local reporters work under heavy restrictions.
As the conflict grinds on, largely outside the world’s gaze, Assad has appeared determined to show strength and confidence. He has made two public appearances in as many days this week — highly unusual for a leader who has stayed largely behind the scenes since March.
He showed up unexpectedly at the rally Wednesday, telling supporters that the “conspiracy” against his country is in its final stage.
Dressed more casually than usual in a jacket but no tie, the president told the cheering crowd that he wanted to draw strength from them. Television footage showed his smiling wife, Asma, and their two young children in the crowd in Umayyad Square.
“I have faith in the future and we will undoubtedly triumph over this conspiracy,” Assad said. “They are in the final stages of their conspiracy.”
Security guards surrounded him as supporters waved his portrait and shouted: “Shabiha forever, for the sake of your eyes, oh Assad.” The “shabiha” are feared pro-regime gunmen who have brutally suppressed anti-Assad protests.
Assad, 46, who inherited power from his father in 2000, on Tuesday gave his first speech since June, saying he would strike back with an “iron hand” at those who threaten his rule. Opponents say Assad is dangerously out of touch.
Meanwhile, the Arab League mission to assess whether the government is abiding by a Syrian-Arab agreement to end the crackdown came under fresh scrutiny after a former monitor said he quit in disgust because the regime was committing “war crimes” against its own people.
“The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled,” Anwer Malek told Al-Jazeera.
“The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab League from taking action against the regime,” Malek said, still wearing the orange vest used by monitors.
“The regime didn’t meet any of our requests. In fact, they were trying to deceive us and steer us away from what was really happening toward insignificant things,” he said. Since monitors started work Dec. 27, the violence only appears to have gotten worse.
There was no immediate comment from the Arab League. But Malek’s name was on a list of the observers who were sent to Syria last month, identified as working for the Paris-based Arab Committee for Human Rights.
An Arab official said the League has decided not to send any more monitors to Syria until the situation on the ground is clearer and Damascus can protect the monitors. The decision was made after two Kuwaiti monitors were lightly wounded Monday evening.
Opposition groups have been deeply critical of the Arab mission, saying it is giving Assad cover for his ongoing crackdown.
The observer mission’s Sudanese chief has raised particular concern because he served in key security positions under Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Critics also say the mission is far too small — and too dependent on government escorts — to be effective. The regime says the escorts are vital to the monitors’ personal safety.
___
Keller reported from Paris. AP writers Maggie Michael in Cairo, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.
BEIRUT (AP) — A French TV cameraman became the first Western journalist killed in the 10-month-old Syrian uprising Wednesday, dying in a barrage of grenades during a government-sponsored trip to the restive city of Homs, officials and a witness said.
The violence came just hours after President Bashar Assad made a surprise appearance at a rally in the capital, Damascus, joining thousands of supporters in a show of confidence as the conflict enters a dangerous and violent new phase.
The killing of Gilles Jacquier, who worked for France-2 Television, was likely to become a rallying cry for both sides, as the regime and the opposition blame each other for a recent spate of mysterious attacks.
The government blamed “terrorists” for Wednesday’s attack, which it said also killed eight Syrians.
About 15 journalists were on the government trip when they were hit by several grenades, according to Jens Franssen, who was on the tour. “At some point, three or four (grenade) shells hit, very close to us,” Franssen told the Belgian VRT network.
Video footage posted on Youtube appeared to show the aftermath of the attack, with people frantically loading the injured into cars. There were pools of blood on the ground. The authenticity of the footage, however, could not be independently verified.
A Dutch freelance journalist was also wounded in Homs Wednesday, although it wasn’t immediately clear if he was part of the trip.
Jacquier, 43, was the first foreign journalist to be slain, Reporters Without Borders said. He had reported over the years from Afghanistan, Gaza, Congo, Iraq and Yemen, most recently for the investigative program Special Envoy, his network said.
“It’s up to Syrian authorities to ensure the security of international journalists on their territory, and to protect this fundamental liberty which is the freedom of information,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.
During the uprising, several Syrian journalists have been killed or tortured as they tried to cover the revolt, which has proven the most serious challenge to the Assad family’s 40-year dynasty. With the U.N. estimate of more than 5,000 dead since March, it is among the bloodiest uprisings of the Arab Spring.
The revolt has become increasingly violent in recent months, but appears far from over. Some 400 people have been reported killed in the last three weeks alone.
At the start of the uprising, much of the violence involved Syrian security forces firing on unarmed, peaceful protesters. In recent months, an increasing number of army defectors and members of the opposition are taking up arms against the government.
Three recent blasts in Damascus, which the government said were suicide attacks, added a new and ominous dimension to a conflict that has brought the country to the brink of civil war.
The government said the explosions supported its claim that the uprising was the work of terrorists and conspirators. The opposition demanded an independent investigation, saying the regime is likely behind the blasts and using them to tarnish the uprising and scare people into submission.
Neither side has offered evidence for their claims, and it is all but impossible to operate independently in Syria. Syria has banned most foreign journalists except for those on government-escorted trips. Local reporters work under heavy restrictions.
As the conflict grinds on, largely outside the world’s gaze, Assad has appeared determined to show strength and confidence. He has made two public appearances in as many days this week — highly unusual for a leader who has stayed largely behind the scenes since March.
He showed up unexpectedly at the rally Wednesday, telling supporters that the “conspiracy” against his country is in its final stage.
Dressed more casually than usual in a jacket but no tie, the president told the cheering crowd that he wanted to draw strength from them. Television footage showed his smiling wife, Asma, and their two young children in the crowd in Umayyad Square.
“I have faith in the future and we will undoubtedly triumph over this conspiracy,” Assad said. “They are in the final stages of their conspiracy.”
Security guards surrounded him as supporters waved his portrait and shouted: “Shabiha forever, for the sake of your eyes, oh Assad.” The “shabiha” are feared pro-regime gunmen who have brutally suppressed anti-Assad protests.
Assad, 46, who inherited power from his father in 2000, on Tuesday gave his first speech since June, saying he would strike back with an “iron hand” at those who threaten his rule. Opponents say Assad is dangerously out of touch.
Meanwhile, the Arab League mission to assess whether the government is abiding by a Syrian-Arab agreement to end the crackdown came under fresh scrutiny after a former monitor said he quit in disgust because the regime was committing “war crimes” against its own people.
“The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled,” Anwer Malek told Al-Jazeera.
“The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab League from taking action against the regime,” Malek said, still wearing the orange vest used by monitors.
“The regime didn’t meet any of our requests. In fact, they were trying to deceive us and steer us away from what was really happening toward insignificant things,” he said. Since monitors started work Dec. 27, the violence only appears to have gotten worse.
There was no immediate comment from the Arab League. But Malek’s name was on a list of the observers who were sent to Syria last month, identified as working for the Paris-based Arab Committee for Human Rights.
An Arab official said the League has decided not to send any more monitors to Syria until the situation on the ground is clearer and Damascus can protect the monitors. The decision was made after two Kuwaiti monitors were lightly wounded Monday evening.
Opposition groups have been deeply critical of the Arab mission, saying it is giving Assad cover for his ongoing crackdown.
The observer mission’s Sudanese chief has raised particular concern because he served in key security positions under Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Critics also say the mission is far too small — and too dependent on government escorts — to be effective. The regime says the escorts are vital to the monitors’ personal safety.
___
Keller reported from Paris. AP writers Maggie Michael in Cairo, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.
BEIRUT (AP) — A French TV cameraman became the first Western journalist killed in the 10-month-old Syrian uprising Wednesday, dying in a barrage of grenades during a government-sponsored trip to the restive city of Homs, officials and a witness said.
The violence came just hours after President Bashar Assad made a surprise appearance at a rally in the capital, Damascus, joining thousands of supporters in a show of confidence as the conflict enters a dangerous and violent new phase.
The killing of Gilles Jacquier, who worked for France-2 Television, was likely to become a rallying cry for both sides, as the regime and the opposition blame each other for a recent spate of mysterious attacks.
The government blamed “terrorists” for Wednesday’s attack, which it said also killed eight Syrians.
About 15 journalists were on the government trip when they were hit by several grenades, according to Jens Franssen, who was on the tour. “At some point, three or four (grenade) shells hit, very close to us,” Franssen told the Belgian VRT network.
Video footage posted on Youtube appeared to show the aftermath of the attack, with people frantically loading the injured into cars. There were pools of blood on the ground. The authenticity of the footage, however, could not be independently verified.
A Dutch freelance journalist was also wounded in Homs Wednesday, although it wasn’t immediately clear if he was part of the trip.
Jacquier, 43, was the first foreign journalist to be slain, Reporters Without Borders said. He had reported over the years from Afghanistan, Gaza, Congo, Iraq and Yemen, most recently for the investigative program Special Envoy, his network said.
“It’s up to Syrian authorities to ensure the security of international journalists on their territory, and to protect this fundamental liberty which is the freedom of information,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.
During the uprising, several Syrian journalists have been killed or tortured as they tried to cover the revolt, which has proven the most serious challenge to the Assad family’s 40-year dynasty.
With the U.N. estimate of more than 5,000 dead since March, it is among the bloodiest uprisings of the Arab Spring.
The revolt has become increasingly violent in recent months, but appears far from over. Some 400 people have been reported killed in the last three weeks alone.
At the start of the uprising, much of the violence involved Syrian security forces firing on unarmed, peaceful protesters. In recent months, an increasing number of army defectors and members of the opposition are taking up arms against the government.
Three recent blasts in Damascus, which the government said were suicide attacks, added a new and ominous dimension to a conflict that has brought the country to the brink of civil war.
The government said the explosions backed up its claim that the uprising was the work of terrorists and conspirators. The opposition demanded an independent investigation, saying the regime is likely behind the blasts and using them to tarnish the uprising and scare people into submission.
Neither side has offered evidence for their claims, and it is all but impossible to operate independently in Syria. Syria has banned most foreign journalists except for those on government-escorted trips. Local reporters work under heavy restrictions.
As the conflict grinds on, largely outside the world’s gaze, Assad has appeared determined to show strength and confidence. He has made two public appearances in as many days this week — highly unusual for a leader who has stayed largely behind the scenes since March.
He showed up unexpectedly at the rally Wednesday, telling supporters that the “conspiracy” against his country is in its final stage.
Dressed more casually than usual in a jacket but no tie, the president told the cheering crowd that he wanted to draw strength from them. Television footage showed his smiling wife, Asma, and their two young children in the crowd in Umayyad Square.
“I have faith in the future and we will undoubtedly triumph over this conspiracy,” Assad said. “They are in the final stages of their conspiracy.”
Security guards surrounded him as supporters waved his portrait and shouted: “Shabiha forever, for the sake of your eyes, oh Assad.” The “shabiha” are feared pro-regime gunmen who have brutally suppressed anti-Assad protests.
Assad, 46, who inherited power from his father in 2000, on Tuesday gave his first speech since June, saying he would strike back with an “iron hand” at those who threaten his rule. Opponents say Assad is dangerously out of touch.
Meanwhile, the Arab League mission to assess whether the government is abiding by a Syrian-Arab agreement to end the crackdown came under fresh scrutiny after a former monitor said he quit in disgust because the regime was committing “war crimes” against its own people.
“The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled,” Anwer Malek told Al-Jazeera.
“The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab League from taking action against the regime,” Malek said, still wearing the orange vest used by monitors.
“The regime didn’t meet any of our requests. In fact, they were trying to deceive us and steer us away from what was really happening toward insignificant things,” he said. Since monitors started work Dec. 27, the violence only appears to have gotten worse.
There was no immediate comment from the Arab League. But Malek’s name was on a list of the observers who were sent to Syria last month, identified as working for the Paris-based Arab Committee for Human Rights.
An Arab official said the League has decided not to send any more monitors to Syria until the situation on the ground is clearer and Damascus can protect the monitors. The decision was made after two Kuwaiti monitors were lightly wounded Monday evening.
Opposition groups have been deeply critical of the Arab mission, saying it is giving Assad cover for his ongoing crackdown.
The observer mission’s Sudanese chief has raised particular concern because he served in key security positions under Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Critics also say the mission is far too small — and too dependent on government escorts — to be effective. The regime says the escorts are vital to the monitors’ personal safety.
___
Keller reported from Paris. AP writers Maggie Michael in Cairo, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.
New French President Francois Hollande, smiles from his car as he drives down the Champs Elysees avenue during a rain shower, Tuesday, May 15, 2012 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)(Credit: AP) 
Francois Hollande, Socialist Party candidate for the 2012 French presidential election, waves after his speech at a ceremony in Paris to mark the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 97 years ago Tuesday, April 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Philippe Wojazer/Pool)(Credit: AP) 
Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, addresses supporters during a rally at a central square in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. Assad joined thousands of his supporters Wednesday in an extremely rare public appearance at a rally in the capital Damascus, telling the crowd he wanted to draw strength from them. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)(Credit: AP) 
Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, addresses supporters during a rally at a central square in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. Assad joined thousands of his supporters Wednesday in an extremely rare public appearance at a rally in the capital Damascus, telling the crowd he wanted to draw strength from them. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)(Credit: AP) 
Syrian President Bashar Assad, center, addresses supporters during a rally at a central square in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. Assad joined thousands of his supporters Wednesday in an extremely rare public appearance at a rally in the capital Damascus, telling the crowd he wanted to draw strength from them. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman)(Credit: AP) 