French Leaders Criticize Anti-U.S. Acts

A poll by Le Monde newspaper and TF1 television station published on Monday said that only 34 percent of respondents considered themselves ``on the side'' of the U.S.-led forces, while 25 percent said they supported Iraq.

The telephone poll of 948 people conducted March 28 and 29 said that 31 percent supported neither side. The survey did not provide a margin of error, but polls of that size usually have margins of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

``France does not turn on its friends,'' declared Christian Poncelet, the president of the French Senate. ``They have taken a position that is not ours, but that in no way dents our good relations.''