[02:17.27]And because of her, many of us were inspired, inspired to be strong, inspired to follow her footsteps in leadership.”
[02:24.44]In France, reaction to Lady Thatcher’s death has been more guarded than in many other countries.
[02:28.98]Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.
[02:30.95]In France, in most circles, Thatcherism remains a bad word, the same as ultra-liberalism.
[02:36.83]So the country’s leaders have had to pick their way carefully through the tributes.
[02:40.53]President Hollande said that she’d been a great patriot, and that her relation to France had always been frank and loyal.
[02:46.73]But the Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault spoke for many when he said that the Thatcher years
[02:50.64]had caused much economic and social damage with liberalisation carried to excess and the undermining of public services whose consequences we see today.
[03:00.61]World News from the BBC
[03:03.23]In other news, the Syrian government says it will not allow a United Nations team of chemical weapons experts into the country.
[03:10.32]Last month Damascus asked the UN to investigate one alleged chemical weapons attack which it claimed was carried out by rebels.
[03:17.52]Today the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon suggested all reports about the use of such weapons should be examined
[03:24.25]and that a team of specialists was awaiting deployment.