France wants European Union to decide on Olympic boycott

By JENNY BARCHFIELD, Associated Press Writer 

PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday he will push for a European Union-wide agreement on whether to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
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Sarkozy has said he could boycott the ceremony in response to China’s crackdown on demonstrators in Tibet last month, but he has softened his tone since a rash of protests broke out last weekend in front of French-owned supermarkets throughout China.
 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a prime time television interview with journalists after a first year in office, at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday.  He admitted he had made “mistakes” during his tumultuous first year in power but insisted he would press on with reforms despite his collapse in popularity.  His Olympic stand will again test his popularity and ability to sway the EU.(AFP/Pool/Eric Feferberg)

If no progress is made before the Aug. 8-24 games, he said he would try to seek “a united position” among the EU’s 27 member states. France will hold the rotating EU presidency at that time.

“Everyone will assume their responsibilities,” he said in an interview broadcast live on French television Thursday night.

He also said France is trying “to create the conditions for a dialogue” between Chinese authorities and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Sarkozy said he was “shocked by what happened in Tibet” but insisted China should not be marginalized from the international scene. As an economic giant and a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, China is owed respect, he said.

Sarkozy’s boycott threat and raucous protests by pro-Tibet supporters during the Olympic torch relay in Paris on April 7 have rankled many in China and sparked a series of anti-French demonstrations.

Sarkozy has sought to soothe the tensions, sending a letter to a disabled Chinese athlete attacked during the Paris torch relay, and sending senior officials to China this week.

Tags: Beijing, boycott, European Union, human rights, Olympics