By Andrew L. Jaffee

There really has been a sea-change in France — the turning point being the 2005 riots. The Foreign Minister today saying France “could offer support to end sectarian violence” in Iraq? From the Beeb:

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad for a visit at the invitation of the country’s president.

The trip marks the first time a French minister has been to Iraq since France opposed the US-led invasion in 2003.

The election in May of Nicolas Sarkozy as French president brought an improvement in relations with the US.

Mr Kouchner said France could offer support to end sectarian violence, but the solution lay in Iraqi hands.

“I want to listen to the people… We have to understand this country, we have to understand what’s going on between the Shiites and the Sunnis, not only in Iraq,” he said in a joint news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. …