Pompidou ends U.S. visit
New York (UPI) - French President Georges Pompidou, his resentment over demonstrations and snubs somewhat abated, spent his last evening in the United States Monday with President Nixon after a warm welcome at the United Nations.
Nixon made a surprise flight to New York Monday afternoon to personally offer his apologies to Pompidou for rough treatment by pro-Israel demonstrators in Chicago last weekend. Some 3,000 orderly pickets marched behind barricades manned by hundreds of police as Nixon arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to attend a gala banquet in Pompidou' honor.
UNI reporter, Claud Bourgeois of Paris, who has been traveling with Pompidou, reported "the storm is past." He said a phone call from Nixon to Pompidou Sunday night that expressed the "apologies and regrets of the American people" had gone a long way in mollishing the French chief of state. And Nixon's impulse visit helped even more.
Pompidou was asked twice during the day if he would make a return visit to the United States. His answers were, "Why not?" and "Willingly."
Nixon conferred with Pompidou in his Waldorf Towers suite a little more than an hour before they would meet again at a formal reception preceding a gala dinner sponsored by Franco-
16 KANSAN Mar. 3
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American organizations. Nixon was scheduled to return to the White House late Monday and President and Mrs. Pompidou will return to Paris Tuesday.
Pompidou, whose sale of 110 jet fighter planes to Libya was protested by Jews, caused resentment among seven top Jewish leaders representing 25 major organizations Monday when he canceled a meeting at the Waldorf that had been scheduled.
He told newsmen later that there was "no significance" in the cancellation which was made because "I had to go directly to the United Nations."
Since arriving in Washington Feb. 23, Pompidou has encountered a boycott by some congressmen of his address to a joint Congressional session, pickets everywhere he appeared in San Francisco, and surging mobs around his car at his hotel in Chicago New York presented a special challenge since it has the largest Jewish population of any city in the world.
France's first lady, Mme Claude Pompidou, cancelled all of her appointments in New York. She was reportedly "terribly frightened" by the 10,000 demonstrators in Chicago—one of the reasons for Pompidou's anger, according to sources close to the French entourage.
Police Commissioner Howard R. Leary, determined that the Chicago incidents would not be repeated, assigned 300 uniformed officers to Pompidou's party in addition to hundreds of plainclothesmen and detectives stationed at all vantage points along its route.
The Jewish delegation, which had sought to discuss France's sale of 110 jet fighter planes to Arab Libya, denounced the cancellation as an "affront" to American Jews and the "gracious traditions" of France. But a similar meeting by Pompidou with the Jewish leaders in Chicago was followed by noisy anti-French demonstrations, leading Pompidou to seriously consider canceling his Monday and Tuesday activities in New York.
Nixon telephoned Pompidou from Washington Sunday night to offer "his apologies and regrets and those of the American people," according to White House Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler.
Pompidou decided to finish out his 8-day state visit and keep a lunch appointment with U. N. Secretary General Thant at noon EST.
The French president avoided an orderly demonstration of 500 persons displaying Israeli flags in the U.N. Plaza by being driven through the U.N. garage to the entrance of the secretariat building. U.N. security guards were stationed 25 feet apart around the walled entrance courtyard, recalling the heavy security accorded Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's U.N. visits a decade ago.
Nixon's decision to attend the 7:30 p.m. EST reception and dinner tendered Pompidou by the city's Franco-American organizations was so sudden that the dinner chairman, former Ambassador to Belgium William A. M. Burden, was not informed in advance of a White House announcement shortly after noon EST.
"We thought Spiro Agnew was going to represent the President," said one of the dinner planners. "I guess Pompidou will be less insulted this way."
BOTH GOV. NELSON A. Rockefereller and Mayor John V. Lindsay had cold-shouldered the event and Lindsay was pointly out of town in Washington. But Michel Dumont, counselor to the French U.N. delegation, said Pompidou's warm welcome by a large turnout of U.N. staff members "compensates a bit" for the official chill Pompidou felt here.
"The president is very gratified," Dumont said, referring to the applause accorded Pompidou. "The atmosphere could not have been better."
The French president had notified Jewish leaders 10 days ago that he would would meet with them, and they had traveled from
all over the country for the 10:30 a.m. EST appointment at the Waldorf. At 10:15 a.m. a radio newsman told them the meeting was off, but they were not officially informed by the French Consulate until 15 minutes later.
Dr. William A. Wexler, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, said, "Without offering any reasons, he decides not to appear. We are appalled at this act of discourtesy which marks an affront not only to the American Jewish community but to the gracious traditions of the people of France."
The Jewish leaders said they had intended to ask Pompidou to lift the French arms embargo against Israel and "to deliver to Israel the 50 Mirage jets bought and paid for."
Jean Beliard, a spokesman for Pompidou, said he alopogized to the Jewish delegation because "circumstances" prevented Pompidou from seeing them. Asked by newsmen what circumstances, Beliard replied, "The circumstances."
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