A French blast in the UN against the US and USSR

In a surprising statement to the General Assembly here, French Foreign Minister Claude Cheysson lashed out at both the Soviet Union and the United States, saying, ''In the West, one superpower uses the chaos of the international monetary system to benefit its own national interests, without concern for the effect of its policies on its allies.''

''In the East,'' he continued, ''the other superpower continues to use direct or indirect military force to keep the people from disposing of their own fate, '' Monitor contributor Louis Wiznitzer reports.