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After meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at the Elysée palace, President Sarkozy proceeded to Trocadero Square at the foot of the Eiffel Tower where the minister was to address a gathering of around 20,000 people marking the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel. According to Le Figaro newspaper, Sarkozy wanted to show his friendship toward Israel ahead of his state visit to Jerusalem on June 22.
Photo: Alain Azria
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PARIS (EJP)--- French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Israel’s Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that France will not hold any talks with Hamas, according to a statement issued by the Israeli foreign ministry after their one-hour meeting at the Elysée palace in Paris on Sunday.
The statement came a week after French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed a report published in Le Figaro newspaper that a retired French ambassador held contacts last month with Hamas leaders in Gaza.
During the meeting, Livni updated the French president on the peace process with the Palestinians, the situation in Gaza and the Iranian issue.
The meeting was particularly important as President Sarkozy will make a state visit to Israel from 22-24 June and as France will take over from Slovenia the six-monthly rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1.
From the Elysée meeting, Sarkozy and Livni proceeded to Trocadero Square at the foot of the Eiffel Tower where the Israeli Foreign Minister addressed a gathering of around 20,000 people marking the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Israel.
Livni paid homage to Sarkozy who, since his election in May 2007, has overtly shown his friendship toward Israel.
"Let us share the happiness of the rediscovered friendship between our two countries," she told a crowd waiving Israeli flags.
She praised President Sarkozy "who represents with such a courage the values of the free world."
She added: "I have come here to tell you that we share the same values and the same hopes. We face the same threats. Together we will fight anti-Semitism and racism. Together we will overcome terror. Together we will achieve peace. I promise you that we will do everything to achieve peace with our Arab neighbors, in order to transform the Middle East into a tranquil and flourishing region."
Speaking on behalf of the French government, Rama Yade, French State Secretary for Human Rights, whose husband is Jewish, stressed what she called the “indestructible relation” between France and Israel.
Paris’s Mayor Bertrand Delanoë announced the future inauguration of a square in the French capital bearing the names of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, and of Theodor Herzl, the Austro-Hungarian journalist who founded the Zionist ideal.
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