PARIS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday that six-year old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez, caught in a tug-of-war between Havana and anti-Castro groups in Miami, should be returned to his father in Cuba.

``This child should naturally be with his father,'' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne Gazeau-Secret said in a comment on last week's visit to Paris by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

She repeated a statement made earlier by Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine that the boy's fate should not be exploited by the media and for political aims.

Elian, who survived a shipwreck in which his mother died trying to reach the United States, is at the centre of an international custody battle.

Gazeau-Secret said the detention of two leading Cuban dissidents on Tuesday confirmed France's concern over a fresh crackdown on opposition on the communist-ruled island.

Both dissidents have been released.

17:46 01-26-00

Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited

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