President Nicolas Sarkozy will represent France and the European Union at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, his office said today, but the announcement failed to avert a new spat with China.
The decision was meant to improve French-Chinese relations after a bad spell, but hours later French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner summoned the Chinese ambassador in Paris to explain comments warning Mr Sarkozy not to meet the Dalai Lama.
Ambassador Kong Quan was quoted in the French press as saying there would be "serious consequences" if Mr Sarkozy met the Tibetan spiritual leader, who is due to visit Paris in August.
"His position ... seemed difficult to accept from France's point of view," Mr Kouchner said.
After the meeting, the ambassador told reporters China was firmly against any Sarkozy-Dalai Lama encounter and reiterated the Chinese view that Tibet is an internal affair.
Rights activists have called for world leaders to boycott the Olympics opening ceremony to protest against China's civil rights record, especially in Tibet. China's crackdown on Tibet after deadly riots in March sparked worldwide protests.
Mr Sarkozy had maintained the suspense for months over whether he would attend the Olympics opening ceremony on August 8th, until he met Chinese President Hu Jintao at a G8 summit in northern Japan on Wednesday and told him he would be there.
His decision has extra impact because France currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
Ties between Beijing and Paris were strained in April when pro-Tibet demonstrators disrupted the passage of the Olympic torch through the French capital, triggering anti-French protests in China and calls for a boycott of French goods.
A statement from Mr Sarkozy's office said other EU leaders agreed with his decision to go to Beijing, but at the European parliament on Wednesday some lawmakers accused the French president of letting down EU efforts to pressure China on Tibet.
"Europe has capitulated ... Europe should keep Mr Sarkozy away from Beijing," parliament vice-president Edward McMillan-Scott told the assembly in Strasbourg.
The head of the parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, said he refused to go to the ceremony because of a "lack of progress" in talks between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
In France, critics accused Mr Sarkozy of putting commercial ties before human rights.
"I have a different view of what a head of state should be. He is not a door-to-door salesman," said Robert Menard, head of the Reporters without Borders watchdog, based in Paris.
Mr Sarkozy had said his presence at the Olympics depended on China's willingness to talk to the Dalai Lama, comments that irritated China.
Two meetings between envoys of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and the Chinese government have taken place, and another one is scheduled for October, a French official said.
Mr Sarkozy has agreed with Hu not to make a public statement regarding Tibet before the October meeting, the official said.