The President: I thank the representative of Switzerland for his statement and I now give the floor to the distinguished Ambassador of France, His Excellency, Ambassador Jean-Hugues Simon-Michel.
Mr. Simon-Michel (France) (spoke in French): Madam President, France aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union. France is pleased to see the Conference on Disarmament begin substantive discussions today on one of the items on the agenda. Naturally, these discussions cannot replace negotiations but they are useful and even essential for reaching a consensus and are becoming increasingly important in the Conference on Disarmament, that is to say, in the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum.