TEHRAN A strong team of 150 artists and journalists from France are currently visiting Iran `in order to detect realities' in the Islamic Republic. The French delegation's visit has been sponsored by France's prestigious daily Le Monde that arranges similar visits every year, a French diplomat told the TEHRAN TIMES. The diplomat Bruno Foucher said, A total of 150 artists and journalists are here to detect the realities of this country and they are satisfied with what they saw here and experienced.

Liberal-indepedent Le Monde edited by Jean-Marie Colombani prints 368,856 copies a day in French language. Le Monde earlier had orginized similar trips for Russia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Foucher said the Iranian Embassy in Paris helped Le Monde in organizing the visit of French artists and journalists who arrived here Friday for a week-long visit. He said the members of the French delegation will visit Isfahan and Shiraz, two internationally famed historical cities of Iran. French Ambassador to Iran Jean-Pierre Masset invited the artists and journalists at his residence Saturday at a reception and Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Ataollah Mohajerani hosted a dinner for them the same evening.

They have visited the newspaper offices of Persian dailies, Resalat, Jameh, Salam, Ettela'at and Kar-o-Kargar. They are due to meet Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi in the holy city of Qom and female activist and Majlis Deputy Faezeh Hashemi during their stay here.