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Mon 07 Jul 2008Sarkozy sets upbeat tone at Mediterranean talks in Paris
MEDITERRANEAN SUMMIT:PRESIDENT NICOLAS Sarkozy walked down the steps of the Élysée Palace, grasped the Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert by one hand and the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas by the other. Against the backdrop of the Republican Guard, the three men beamed for the cameras. As if they'd just won a Nobel Peace Prize, writes Lara Marlowein Paris.
In the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Israeli and Palestinian security agents - who in the past were inclined to shoot each other - took turns posing in front of the Élysée portal, to the amusement of French gendarmes. The mood was cheerful, even playful.
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