PARIS - France -- which bitterly opposed the US-led war in Iraq -- said it hoped the death of Al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would lead to a fall in the violence wracking the country.
The French foreign ministry said it had "taken note" of the announcement by Iraqi and US authorities that Zarqawi -- one of the world's most wanted men -- had been killed in an airstrike near Baghdad.
Paris hopes that "violence will diminish in Iraq and hopes for a return of stability and security in the country, within the framework of full sovereignty," said ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei.
"France is fully committed to the fight against terrorism," he said.
06/08/2006 11:26 GMT