WASHINGTON, May 31 (AFP) - The United States indicated Tuesday it wants to work with new French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, yet suggested France's opposition to the Iraq war when he was foreign minister had not been forgotten.  

"We look forward to working with the prime minister and his government, when it's named," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.  

Asked about de Villepin leading opposition to the war in Iraq, chiefly at the United Nations, Boucher suggested the United States had not yet turned a page on that strained phase in Franco-American relations.  

"We all know that when he was foreign minister, we had a variety of actions with him, and we know him from those days," Boucher said.  

"I'm not going to comment on the new French prime minister," he added. "It's up to the French government to decide who they want in their government. They're doing so now."