Paris - The most burning question in France on Monday appeared to be who Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner would vote for in next month's EU parliamentary elections.

In an interview published at the weekend in the daily Le Parisien, the former Socialist Party member refused to commit himself, saying he was waiting "to see the platforms" of the two major parties, the left-wing Socialists and the conservative UMP of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Kouchner's fence-sitting provoked a great deal of commentary Monday, with the conservative mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppe, declaring, "When you are a member of a government, there is a fundamental principle of governmental solidarity."

Socialist Party Euro-deputy Harlem Desire saw Kouchner's indecision as a "scathing rebuke of the European policies of Nicolas Sarkozy and the UMP," noting that Kouchner was like "a salesman who hesitates to accompany you in the car he has sold you."

UMP spokesman Frederic Lefebvre also saw a "scathing rebuke" in Kouchner's lack of commitment, but of the Socialist Party.

Kouchner's decision to join Sarkozy's government in May 2007 was bitterly criticized by his Socialist Party colleagues and viewed as a triumph for the president, who has badly weakened the opposition by offering a number of jobs to its members.

On Monday, Kouchner released a statement on the controversy saying that, since accepting the post, he has worked in support of one policy, "that of the president and the prime minister."

But he still did not say who he would vote for. (dpa)