eltonioni wrote:Does anyone recall what sanctions were placed on France when the Bolivian president was forced to land due to French government refusal to allow overflight? ...
France has 'form'; from a BBC correspondent with an evidently long memory:
"The hijacking of a passenger plane in Belarus' air space has shocked many around the world but it was not an unprecedented act in the history of civil aviation.
The first recorded air piracy was committed by French authorities in order to arrest the leaders of the Algerian independence movement, the FLN.
On 22 October 1956 five FLN leaders including Ahmed Ben Bella, the country's first president, were on a civilian flight from Rabat in Morocco to Tunis to take part in a conference on the future of the Maghreb hosted by then Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba.
The French secret service, who had intelligence about the flight, sent fighter jets to intercept the passenger plane and forced it to land on a military airport in Algeria, which was under French occupation.
The hijacking of the Moroccan aircraft and the arrest of the Algerian political leaders sparked anger in Morocco and Tunisia."
(mere guide at) Jet Age Museum, Gloucestershire Airport
http://www.jetagemuseum.org/TripAdvisor Excellence Award 2015
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction ... gland.html