A hero’s welcome for Betancourt in Paris

Arriving to a hero’s welcome in France, Ingrid Betancourt said Friday that she cried a lot “from pain and indignation” during her six years as a prisoner in the Colombian jungle, but now her tears are ones of joy.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife met the French-Colombian politician on the tarmac of an air base outside Paris, showering her with hugs, kisses and smiles.

Sarkozy made freeing Betancourt a priority when he was elected in May 2007. Former President Jacques Chirac also worked for her release.

Betancourt, 46, became a cause celebre in France after she was abducted by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2002 while campaigning for the presidency. Supporters held candlelight vigils and concerts to attract attention to her plight.

Her rescue Wednesday was greeted in France with a flood of enthusiasm. Hundreds of people, some waving Colombian or French flags, lined up around Paris’ presidential palace to catch a glimpse of her.

“France is my home and you are my family,” Betancourt said in an address from the air base that was televised live. She said the support of the French people “saved my life.”

Sarkozy praised Betancourt as a beacon of hope for people in dire situations.

“All those, like you, who suffer throughout the world should know that . . there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” said the French leader.

Speaking later at a reception, Betancourt urged Sarkozy to keep fighting for the liberation of the FARC’s remaining hostages, estimated by Colombia to number about 700.

“I’m sorry to ask you this like this, in public,” she told Sarkozy as hundreds cheered. “But we still need you.

“We cannot leave them [the hostages] where they are. They are suffering, they are alone.”