Tunis, 24/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - Paris is seeking to convince Tunis to present its candidature for the post of secretary general for the UfM (Union for the Mediterranean), the Tunisian press states, indicating that a French Elysée envoy, Gilles Mentré, has been in Tunis to press the point. Initially, at the Paris summit on 13 July, the Tunisian capital was - unofficially - designated as the seat of the secretariat general. Malta, Rabat, Marseilles and Barcelona had also put themselves forward and it was finally the Catalan capital that won the day. The decision was taken on 4 November in Marseilles by the Euro-Mediterranean minsters for foreign affairs. Bernard Kouchner had then regretted the fact that “we had been brutal” with Tunisia, which had taken its ousting very badly. Despite a candidature formally presented by Jordan, Tunis seems close to giving way to European solicitations and those from the large majority of the countries of the Arab group. (F.B./transl.jl)