[The following summary translation of an article in French was prepared by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.] On Thursday, the French State Secretary for Human Rights, Rama Yade, defended the fact that France has not demanded Total’s withdrawal from Burma... The oil company confirmed on Thursday that it had not invested in Burma for about ten years... Jean François Lassalle, Total’s director of external relations for exploration and production, stated that “it is difficult to condemn the ongoing repression because Total is not a moral or political authority. Simply put, we hope that solutions that comply with human rights will be found, that discussions and negotiations” will be held so that “no violence will occur,” said Lassalle... [The] Prime Minister of the Burmese opposition in exile, Sein Win, accused Total of profiting, at least indirectly, from forced labour provided by Burma’s ruling military junta.