Jospin outburst divides ministers

Jospin finds himself under fire from flood victims

PARIS, France -- French ministers are divided over the health of their prime minister after Lionel Jospin's outburst against two reporters.

Britain's Tony Blair could sympathise with his French counterpart having put in a torrid parliamentary performance shortly after the birth of his fourth child Leo last year.

Environment minister Dominique Voynet advised 63-year-old Jospin to take a week off.

She noted in a morning radio interview that he was "not a superman" and probably needed a rest after a trying few months.

But other ministers emerging from a weekly cabinet meeting unanimously pronounced him fit for the job.

"I didn't find him tired and I'm qualified to tell you that," said Health Minister Bernard Kouchner, a medical doctor.

The fracas centred around a dressing down of two French media journalists on the flight back from Brazi, one of whom was left in tears.

Jospin, under pressure after several political setbacks in recent weeks, exploded on Sunday insulting the two French journalists because they had not focussed on a speech about globalisation he had given.

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The journalists, who were summoned to the front of the official plane to be dressed down by Jospin, had instead dwelt on his unusual admission that the right-wing opposition had won last month's local elections in France.

The journalists' union at Agence France-Presse, whose correspondent returned from the confrontation in tears, issued a statement on Tuesday condemning what it called the "intolerable pressure" Jospin had exerted on her.

The other journalist was from state-owned France 2 television.

"The prime minister must be tired," said Voynet, a trained anaesthesiologist who plans to leave the cabinet this summer to focus full-time on her job as head of the Greens Party.

"I think a week of vacation would be very useful," she said.

"Lionel Jospin is not a superman and I think this outburst should be interpreted as a symptom inviting him to take a bit of distance and rest."

But Jean-Luc Melanchon, junior minister for professional training, said: "I think she would do better to take a vacation herself."

Jospin laughed heartily but said nothing when journalists asked him about his health.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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February 26, 2001
Dominique Voynet: 'Jospin's loosest cannon'
November 28, 2000
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October 18, 2000

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