Sarkozy narrowly wins Afghan backing

PARIS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy secured parliamentary backing for a continued military commitment in Afghanistan but critics warn of trouble ahead.

The French National Assembly voted 343-210 Monday to authorize Sarkozy to keep 3,000 troops committed to the NATO-led multinational force fighting militants in Afghanistan but the margin was short of a hoped-for consensus and opposition lawmakers roundly blasted the policy, The Washington Post reported.

"You give the French people the perspective of a limitless continuation of a failed strategy," Socialist Party parliamentary leader Jean-Marc Ayrault said. "We no longer accept the drift we see at work in Afghanistan. We are slipping into a war of occupation that has no limits, neither in duration nor in objectives."

The U.S. Bush administration hailed the vote as evidence that Sarkozy is more willing than predecessor Jacques Chirac to participate in the war against terrorism, the Post said.

But the newspaper said there seems to be little enthusiasm among the French public for the Afghan struggle. A survey taken last week indicated 62 percent of those asked opposed France's participation in the multinational force.