SYDNEY -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Friday that France had been "very foolish" in permitting Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to attend a summit in Paris last week.

French President Jacques Chirac invited Mugabe to the two-day Franco-African Summit despite international sanctions imposed on the Zimbabwe ruler following tainted elections in his country a year ago. Howard, who has been fighting to extend Zimbabwe's suspension from the 54-member commonwealth due to the election-rigging, said France's willingness to host Mugabe had "made most people angry."

"He stole the last election ... he is starving people who didn't vote for him and he's expropriating people's farms without proper compensation," Howard said of Mugabe in a radio interview. "It's a tragedy and I think what the French did was very foolish."

Howard's remarks came just a day after France's outgoing ambassador to Australia, Pierre Viaux, criticized the Canberra government for following the United States too closely in its foreign and trade policies. They also came as Australia prepares to host a visit by Chirac in July. (AFP)