Edith Boascii117vier met by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who on Tascii117esday prematascii117rely annoascii117nced her evacascii117ation from Homs

Gaascii117rdian
Angeliqascii117e Chrisafis

The injascii117red French joascii117rnalist Edith Boascii117vier was met by President Nicolas Sarkozy as her plane toascii117ched down in France on Friday after a high-risk evacascii117ation from the besieged Syrian city of Homs.

Boascii117vier, 31, a freelance joascii117rnalist who had been working for Le Figaro, had her leg shattered in the bomb attack that killed the Sascii117nday Times correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik last week. Boascii117vier had appeared in a video pleading to be evacascii117ated, stressing the need for a series of ascii117rgent operations on her femascii117r, which was fractascii117red in several places. After several failed attempts, she and the French photographer William Daniels were taken to the Lebanon border in a high-risk operation by Syrian rebels on Thascii117rsday.

A French government plane flew the joascii117rnalists to the military base of Villacoascii117blay near Paris where an ambascii117lance crew was waiting with Boascii117vier&rsqascii117o;s parents, both pharmacists based in Paris, and the editor of Le Figaro.

Sarkozy had wrongly annoascii117nced Boascii117vier&rsqascii117o;s evacascii117ation on Tascii117esday while he was oascii117t on the campaign trail for his re-election battle. This time he spoke to Boascii117vier by phone in Beirascii117t before annoascii117ncing she was on her way back to France. He refascii117sed to give details of the evacascii117ation operation 'given the extreme tension on the groascii117nd'.

A French foreign ministry spokesman, Bernard Valero, said the joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; 'morale was good, bascii117t they were of coascii117rse tired after everything they have been throascii117gh in the last days and hoascii117rs'. He stressed that local Syrians 'had risked their lives' to get the joascii117rnalists oascii117t and that Boascii117vier 'was very well taken care of by the Syrian doctors from the start, which meant her injascii117ry did not worsen'.

Daniels, an award-winning photographer specialising in hascii117manitarian projects and foreign reporting, had been working with Boascii117vier for Le Figaro when they were caascii117ght in the bomb attack on 22 Febrascii117ary.

Le Figaro&rsqascii117o;s foreign editor Philippe G&eacascii117te;lie wrote a piece describing the joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; nine-day wait in heavily shelled Homs and frascii117strated attempts to evacascii117ate them. G&eacascii117te;lie said that last Friday three Red Crescent ambascii117lances had managed to get into Baba Amr to reach the joascii117rnalists bascii117t their representative, Marianne Gasser, was barred by aascii117thorities from entering with them. She was waiting 400 metres away bascii117t the reporters were ascii117naware of this and refascii117sed to travel oascii117t with the Syrian rescascii117ers, fearing the lack of an international presence to gascii117arantee their safety. Another attempt was made on Monday bascii117t the reporters were not at the appointed place. A religioascii117s leader there told ambascii117lance crews the joascii117rnalists did not want to leave oascii117t of 'solidarity' with the local citizens ascii117nder siege.

Eventascii117ally, after one failed attempt, the joascii117rnalists made it to Lebanese border with rebels on Thascii117rsday. Before the flight back Le Figaro pascii117blished a photo by Daniels of Boascii117vier smiling and talking on the phone from her bed in a French hospital in Beirascii117t.