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Nature 422, 551 (10 April 2003) | doi:10.1038/422551b

French minister breaks diplomatic ice with visit to US

Geoff Brumfiel

It is now ten weeks since US and French presidents George Bush and Jacques Chirac last spoke on the telephone. But as a deep freeze descends on relations between the two former allies, France's science minister, fearless former astronaut Claudie Haigneré, ventured into Washington last week to discuss scientific ties with her US counterparts.