Bağış met with Michel Barnier, a senior member of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and former foreign minister of France. He was also scheduled to have talks with Pierre Lellouche, the French secretary of state for European affairs; Claude Gueant, the general secretary of the French president; and the diplomatic adviser to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean-David Levitte.
Bağış discussed Turkey's negotiation process in talks with Barnier. France firmly opposes Turkey's full membership and calls for a privileged partnership instead. It has also blocked the opening of five of the 35 negotiating chapters, arguing that these chapters are directly related to Turkey's EU membership.
His visit comes a day after Lellouche was quoted as saying that ministers of 25 out of the 27 EU member states have told him that their countries shared France's opposition to Turkish membership.
Bağış will meet with representatives of Turkish associations in France on Saturday on the second day of his talks. He will also attend a concert by Turkish pop singer Sezen Aksu within the scope of the ongoing "Season of Turkey" activities in France on Saturday. Bağış will also meet with Henri de Castries, the president of AXA Group, the main sponsor of the activities in France before he leaves France on Sunday.
