By Lisa Bryant
Paris
Former Colombian Hostage Betancourt Arrives in France
Ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt received a joyful welcome in France, where she arrived Friday after spending more than six
years as a hostage of Colombian rebels. Lisa Bryant has more on a homecoming of sorts for Betancourt, who has dual
French-Colombian citizenship.
Ingrid Betancourt, 46, returned to a France that never forgot her during her years as hostage in the Colombian jungle,
and which received the Franco-Colombian as a returning hero. Standing next to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his
wife on the tarmac of the Villacoublay air base outside Paris, and surrounded by her family, Betancourt's reaction to
returning to her second home was emotional.
"Betancourt said she had dreamed of this moment of returning for seven years. Breathing the air of France, she said, and
being back with the French people was a very moving moment," she said.
Paying tribute to the country she grew up in, Betancourt said she owed France everything. She described Sarkozy as an
extraorinary man, and she thanked the French people for sharing her despair, and for battling and protesting and not
giving up on her.
The French government had made Betancourt's plight a cause celebre, both under Sarkozy and his predecessor, Jacques
Chirac. A picture of her taken as hostage, sick and frail, hangs in front of many French city halls. Since she was
rescued Wednesday in a daring Colombian military operation, a white strip has been tacked to those banners saying,
"released."
The French presidency said that Betancourt was scheduled to undergo medical exams. But she appeared joyful and upbeat
Friday, and laced her remarks about her captivity with sometimes humorous comments. From Rome, Pope Benedict XVI said he
would be happy to meet with her.
ENDS