Suu Kyi leaves France at end of Europe tour

Myanmar's democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi left France Friday to return to her homeland at the end of a landmark five-nation European tour, the French foreign ministry said.

Suu Kyi, 67, visited Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and France, receiving rock star welcomes along the way and being lauded as a model of peaceful resistance to dictatorship.

The trip allowed her to finally give her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize speech in Oslo and to receive awards granted during the almost two decades she spent under house arrest.

Myanmar was for decades ruled by an iron-fisted junta, but a reformist government under ex-general President Thein Sein has freed political prisoners and allowed Suu Kyi's party back into mainstream politics.