French Leader to Attend Olympics Opener

FONT SIZE

EMAIL

PRINT

SHARE

RSS

French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to snub China but then backed down with barely a whimper.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaks at a press conference in Toyako, Japan, Tuesday, July 8,...

French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaks at a press conference in Toyako, Japan, Tuesday, July 8, 2008. Sarkozy, who is participating in the G8 summit on the Japanese northern main island of Hokkaido, says emerging economies including China and India will play a bigger role at the next Group of Eight meeting. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

(AP)

His decision to attend the opening of the Beijing Olympics, having previously suggested he might boycott the event, reflects how China is increasingly getting its way as it grows into a major power.

Sarkozy realized it was risky to anger the Asian giant — especially if you want to keep selling it planes, power plants and other goods. Last month, as his position started to shift, Sarkozy cautioned that a boycott could "push a population of 1.3 billion people into wounded nationalism."

The way the usually media-hungry Sarkozy announced his intention to attend the Aug. 8 ceremony — via a brief statement Wednesday, away from TV cameras — spoke volumes about French desires to cool Chinese passions, following tensions centered on the Olympics and Tibet.

Related

1 Month Left, Unfinished Olympic Business

China: Sarkozy Not Welcome at Olympics

WATCH: Algae Threatens China Olympics?

Sarkozy had been the first world leader to raise the possibility of skipping the ceremony to protest China's crackdown in Tibet after riots and protests there in March. That would have been a slap in the face to China's communist leadership, eager to use the Games to show off the country's power and clout.

But the statement Wednesday from Sarkozy's office, issued after he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit of industrialized powers in Japan, made no mention of Tibet, human rights or the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. It said France wants to "deepen its strategic partnership with China" — which is a major client for European plane manufacturer Airbus, as well as French companies from nuclear giant Areva to transport and engineering company Alstom.

Critics of China's human rights failings decried Sarkozy's climb-down. Robert Menard, head of media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, who has played a vocal role in protesting torch relays for the Beijing Games, accused Sarkozy of "betraying values of democracy."