Paris keen to support Belt, Road Initiative, says ex-prime minister

France is willing to support the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, with the best way forward being to work together on a project-by-project basis, former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told China Daily.

In an exclusive interview ahead of the state visit of President Xi Jinping to France on Monday and Tuesday, Raffarin said it is in France's national interest to be part of the BRI.

"We also want our companies to propose projects which are good for the BRI, but also good for our enterprises," said Raffarin, who served as prime minister from 2002 to 2005.