held north and government-controlled south in France's former colony, along with some 6,000 U.N. peacekeepers. Chirac said again on Thursday that French troops would not remain where they were not wanted. "These pre-positioned forces are only conceivable with the agreement of the host countries. We do not impose it, that goes without saying, because we have no desire to stay where we are not welcome," Chirac said. This is Chirac's first visit to Senegal in a decade and it is aimed at boosting ties with the former colony. Earlier on Thursday, Chirac and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade paid a lightning visit to the coastal town of Saint Louis, a run-down but picturesque city that was the capital of French Western Africa until 1902. --SP 2342 Local Time 2042 GMT
