Palestinians Assault French Premier Over Remarks

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin ran from a rock-throwing crowd of university students who chased him into his limousine Saturday and then jumped on its hood before the premier was whisked to safety.

The violence--triggered by Jospin’s condemnation of Lebanese guerrillas fighting Israel--deeply embarrassed Jospin’s host, Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian Authority president has been courting the international community ahead of a declaration of Palestinian independence, which he has said would take place by September.

Arafat apologized to Jospin, who was slightly injured in the attack at the West Bank’s Bir Zeit University, a stronghold of the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The Palestinian Legislative Council condemned the attack.

The French prime minister said he held no grudge.

But Jospin’s criticism of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah as “terrorists,” as well as Saturday’s rock-throwing incident in the West Bank, could harm France’s hopes of playing a major role in Mideast peacemaking.

French President Jacques Chirac said he was shocked by the attack. But he also asked the prime minister to contact him on his return to discuss the remarks about Hezbollah--a request that many in France saw as a reprimand.

Upon returning to Paris, Jospin told journalists that he had no plans to see Chirac before Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting. But he later was contacted by the French president.

“The president called the prime minister as soon as he returned from the Middle East,” Chirac’s spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said. “The head of state reaffirmed the constancy of French foreign policy and the balanced approach of our country in the Middle East.”

Syria’s government Saturday summoned the French ambassador to Damascus to protest Jospin’s remarks.

Saturday’s incident began when Jospin arrived at Bir Zeit to deliver a speech. He was greeted by about 2,000 students, some carrying banners reading “From Bir Zeit to Beirut, we are one people.”

Hecklers called Jospin a traitor and a collaborator with Israel.

When Jospin left the auditorium, a hail of stones rained down on him. Bodyguards quickly shielded the prime minister’s head and rushed him toward a limousine. Protesters jumped on the hood and smashed the back windshield with stones before the vehicle sped off.

Twelve Bir Zeit students were arrested. The university was shut down until Tuesday.