Surprised i'm not....
"French President Jacques Chirac hailed late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday as a man of courage and conviction who embodied the Palestinian struggle for a state.
"It is with emotion that I have just learnt of the death of President Yasser Arafat, the first elected president of the Palestinian Authority," Chirac said in a written statement. "I offer my very sincere condolences to his family and to people close to him.""
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/500406.html
Hoepoe