Jean Bernard Ouvrieu, special aid to the French defense minister, expressed regret Tuesday regarding the Defense Security Command's search and seizure of the local public relations agency for Dassault, a French contender bidding for the ROK Air Force's next generation fighter F-X project, saying that Dassault is not involved in any suspicious action.

Visiting Seoul to attend the Korea-France Forum, Ouvrieu held an emergency press conference at the JW Marriott Hotel, and said that Dassault's Rafale has an outstanding capability compared to any other candidate models, and the French government will be disappointed if Dassault is not selected to participate in the F-X project. While Ouvrieu denied the rumor that France is considering boycotting the World Cup if not chosen as fighter provider, he left the possibility for diplomatic complaints open.

(Yu Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )