France makes offer for hostages
Colombia said that France would be willing to receive former guerrilla fighters as part of a possible deal to free scores of rebel hostages, including ailing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.
The proposal is part of a package of offers President Alvaro Uribe has made to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in an effort to prompt rebels to free kidnapping victims held for as long as 10 years in secret jungle camps.
Uribe last week urged FARC fighters to accept offers of cash rewards and reduced jail terms for abandoning rebel ranks and handing over hostages.
Betancourt was kidnapped in February 2002 while campaigning for the Colombian presidency.
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