PARIS, May 10: “Al Qaeda has (at last) set its sight on France,” in any case that’s become the firm conviction of several influential French officials, who say that “if we’re being targeted by Al Qaeda, it’s because of our presence in Afghanistan,” said El Figaro, the influential newspaper of Friday.

Reporting on May 8 suicide attack in Karachi, it said: “Although late last year France was very hesitant about taking part in the allied force in Afghanistan, the situation has changed considerably in recent months.”

“It’s changed enormously,” say others.

According to Francois Rivadeau, the Quai d’Orsay spokesman,”with regard to our agreement to provide training for the new Afghan army, France has just authorised the formation of two light infantry battalions. The means the training will be imparted which is presently being finalized at several levels of the French government, notably by the ministries of defence, foreign affairs and finance, the latter to determine our budgetary responsibilities in the matter. We expect fully for the training of the two brigades to begin this month.”

Answering a question whether the French government was in agreement with a recent proposal made by European commissioner Chris Patten that European financing for Afghanistan be stopped, the spokesman replied: “We are not at all in agreement with such proposals, rather (we tend to agree with) the efforts by Afghan authorities that what was agreed during the Bonn accord on Afghanistan.”

He noted that the stepped-up French military assistance was being coordinated with the United States, this, added the Quai d’Orsay spokesman, to “provide Afghanistan with a true national military force. This is our primary objective, in any case. As to what will be the eventual mission of the Afghan army, that is a question that Afghanistan’s political authorities will have to determine for themselves.”