New French cabinet rejects Gatt deal

Alain Juppe, the French Foreign Minister, indicated yesterday that France's new conservative government would be as firm in its rejection of the Gatt compromise on agriculture as its Socialist predecessor, Julian Nundy reports from Paris. Mr Juppe said of the Washington compromise, which was negotiated by the European Commission, that France wanted a complete agreement covering all areas of international trade in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) talks. Aside from agriculture, 'the negotiations are not advanced enough in other sectors to judge', he said. Mr Juppe was speaking after talks with Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary.