France Wants $2.16 Billion in Libya Assets Unblocked

France has asked the United Nations sanctions committee to unfreeze $2.16 billion of Libyan assets in France, a French government source said told Reuters this week.

The source told Reuters that Libya, where the ruling interim council is eager to free up frozen financial assets around the world following the overthrow of Muammar Gadhafi, has billions of dollars of assets parked in French banks.

The government source also said that Russia and China would send representatives to an international Friends of Libya conference in Paris to discuss support for the political and economic rebuilding of the North African state.