African leaders began arriving in Paris today for a Franco-African summit amid protests from human rights campaigners opposed to the presence of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Mr Mugabe, whose invitation to the summit sparked a diplomatic row between Britain and France over European Union sanctions, made no comment as he arrived at his hotel.
He is under fire from Western countries who have imposed travel and economic sanctions since his re-election a year ago in what they say was a flawed poll.
Mr Mugabe accuses Britain and others of "neo-colonialism" in southern Africa when they criticize, among other issues, the forced transfer of land from white farmers to landless blacks.
France asked the EU to allow Mr Mugabe to travel to the two-day summit, which begins Thursday, and got its way despite objections from Britain, the former colonial power which has led international criticism of Mugabe's human rights record.
British rights activist Mr Peter Tatchell staged an anti-Mugabe protest in front of the French Justice Ministry, where demonstrators waved banners saying: "Arrest Mugabe for Torture."
"It's a disgrace," said Mr Tom Spicer of Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who said he was tortured by police last year.
"Mugabe should be ostracized from the international community," Mr Spicer said. "He disregards international pressure and I don't believe that dialogue at the moment is an effective way to bring about an end to the regime in Zimbabwe."
Mr Mugabe's presence threatens to overshadow the summit, which French President Jacques Chirac hopes will cement his reputation as a key player in diplomacy across the continent - not just in France's former African empire.
"The president wants to put Africa at the heart of France's priorities," said a source close to Chirac, adding that the French leader would use the summit to plead with the international community to devote more resources to Africa.
However, hopes the summit would tackle a five-month-old uprising in Ivory Coast dimmed after President Laurent Gbagbo declined to come in a clear snub to the former colonial master.
Mr Gbagbo's adviser in Paris, Toussaint Alain, said Ivorians were "shocked and outraged" at what he described as France's lack of clear commitment to Mr Gbagbo and a soft stance in dealing with rebels who now hold at least half the country.