FRENCH President Jacques Chirac sent a message to Moammar Gadaffi praising the Libyan leader for his efforts to bring peace to Africa, Libyan state television said on Thursday. Chirac said “France supports Colonel Gadaffi’s efforts to establish peace and stability in Africa,” the television station said. “Libya plays an important role in the Mediterranean area, in Africa and in the world,” Chirac was quoted by the television as saying. French-Libyan ties have been tense since a French passenger plane was blown up over Niger in 1989, killing 170 people. Six Libyan government employees were sentenced in absentia in March in Paris to life imprisonment for the attack. The French foreign ministry mentioned at the time that Libya had made commitments to punish the guilty and compensate the victims.