France reiterates support to Libyan government on revolution anniversary

France has reiterated support for the Libyan government and its aims of completing a transition to democratic rule and building national institutions, the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.On the third anniversary of the Libyan revolution of 17 February 2011, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was in contact with Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan to offer full support for the democratisation process, the French statement said.Fabius told Zeidan of France's "attachment to the democratic legitimacy that emanated from the elections on July 7, 2012." Fabius called on all parties to "reject the use of violence" out of respect for those who fell in the revolution of 17 February and he called on all "to unite their efforts to complete properly the political transition in a spirit of dialogue and compromise and in conformity with democratic principles." Fabius also praised the work of UN envoy, Tareq Mitri, who has been working with all those concerned by the political process and has been seeking to get consensus on a single political project.The Foreign Minister said that France would continue to support Libya's "democratic aspirations." But separately from those contacts, France is also anxious to improve security in Libya, particularly border security where groups of terrorists, arms, drugs and contraband have been passing almost unchallenged since the revolution. France and several partner countries are currently undertaking training and funding programmes to help Libyan border security, while seeking to avoid the dangerous internal security rivalries in Libya today.