Tibet: Dalai Lama to visit France
Dalai Lama will stop in his return from Canada for his 20th visit to France, Tibet's government-in-exile announced
DHARAMSALA, India, May 5 (AFP) - The Dalai Lama will spend
three days in France from Friday as the guest of a festival on Tibetan culture
and religion, Tibet's government-in-exile announced.
The 68-year-old Buddhist monk will deliver a speech on spiritual values at the festival in the western town of Niort.
He will stop in France on his return from Canada where on April 22 he met Prime Minister Paul Martin, who defied appeals from China to call off the meeting, the first between a Canadian premier and the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since 1959 when he fled a Chinese crackdown on an abortive uprising in Tibet.
It will be the Dalai Lama's 20th visit to France. He has met an array of French leaders including President Jacques Chirac in 1998 and his predecessor Francois Mitterrand in 1993.
Source: Expatica
