THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                         (Birmingham, England)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                       May 15, 1998

                        REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
              BEFORE WORKING LUNCHEON WITH PRESIDENT CHIRAC     

                             Swallow Hotel
                          Birmingham, England     

2:00 P.M. (L)

PRESIDENT CLINTON: I was playing on a basketball team in Oxford, and I can remember playing the University of Birmingham. But it's changed very much. I learned today, Birmingham has more meters of canals than Venice. I didn't know that, either. And I went walking -- it's amazing -- you should take a little time to go for a walk on the canal. It's beautiful.

Mostly it's new development, mostly in the last 10 years, new pubs, new stores. But they have a lot of the old hooks lifting things off the barges. Factories, heavy industry.

But it's very, very beautiful. It's amazing. I now see why Tony wanted us to come. It's a real symbol of -- in a new direction. Even if you just have a few minutes, I think, to walk along the canals and have some local person explain how it works, because I was fascinated.

So we have to go to work, everyone. (Laughter.)

They have to work, too. They work hard. When we go on these walks, they have to carry all this heavy equipment. I feel so badly for them. You didn't even get a beer, did you, when we were done? (Laughter.)

THE PRESS: Thank you.

END 2:02 P.M. (L)