UNITED NATIONS - In a stinging attack on unilateral U.S. action in Iraq, French President Jacques Chirac said on Tuesday the war had put the United Nations through one of the most severe crises in its history.

Speaking after President Bush called for world support for the U.S.-led occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, Chirac said: "No one can act alone in the name of all and no one can accept the anarchy of a society without rules."

"The war, launched without the authorization of the Security Council, shook the multilateral system," he said. "The United Nations has just been through one of the most grave crises in its history."

He called for an early transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and proposed a Security Council summit to draft an action plan to fight the spread of weapons of mass destruction and create a permanent corps of U.N. arms inspectors.

© 2003 Reuters Ltd

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