PARIS, Dec 22: The French press said on Wednesday that the release of journalists Christian Chesnot and George Malbrunot after four months of captivity in Iraq was surrounded by mystery and murky politics.

But the sense of joy and relief that swept the country on the news of the release was reflected in bold, one-word headlines - "Free!" and "At Last!" The left-of-center daily Liberation focused on what its front-page headline called "The 124-day mystery."

While stressing that "all's well that ends well," the newspaper said the affair had been surrounded by "diplomatic entanglement," "repeated blunders" and "a cacophony that cast doubt on the government's ability to untangle the crisis."

It said France's diplomatic service was open to criticism, because its traditional pro-Arab policy and its non-alignment in the "Bush crusade" in Iraq was no prevention against the worst happening, nor did it enable France to impose itself on the international scene.

Nevertheless, Liberation said France had "emerged with its head held high from an affair that came close to destroying its reputation on several occasions." The right-of-center Le Figaro, for whom Malbrunot worked, said France had played for high stakes in securing the journalists' release. "It gambled its influence in the Arab world and the prestige it has earned in opposing the policy of the United States in Iraq."

Le Figaro said "vast areas of shadow" remained over the conditions of the journalists' liberation, particularly concerning the role played by the pro-American authorities in Baghdad, the Syrians and the Iranians.

It said France's handling of the crisis had also aroused misgivings among some of its European allies that are militarily engaged in Iraq. The Communist daily Humanite said many details of the affair would doubtless become clearer in the coming days, including the motivation of the kidnappers.

The popular Le Parisien said that once the celebrations were over, the time for questions would arrive - particularly over whether a ransom was paid for the release. -AFP