Is a Ransom for Florence Aubenas Imminent?

Remember Florence Aubenas? She's the French journalist who was reported to have been abducted on January 5. A videotape surfaced a month later, showing Aubenas with tousled hair begging the French government in English to put her case in the hands of French Deputy Didier Julia, who is already under investigation for his actions in another hostage crisis.

From The New Zealand Herald:

PARIS - The French government has "reassuring" news about a French reporter kidnapped in Iraq in January, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told parliament on Tuesday. He gave no details.

"We now have contacts which seem to have stabilised, allowing us to have some hope," Raffarin said.

Red Chinese news organ Xinhua adds:

PARIS, March 29 (Xinhuanet) -- French Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin announced Tuesday that the French government has steady contacts with the Iraqi kidnappers of missing French journalist Florence Aubenas.

"Since the appeal we launched for the kidnappers to communicate only with official French services, those services now have reassuring information" about the missing journalist

All that seems to remain is to announce how juicy the ransom will be, and thus how much it will encourage further abductions. Thank you Giuliana Sgrena, for making the world a much more dangerous place.