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Tibet: all options open, says France

Paris: French President Nicolas Sarkozy, criticised here for his long silence over the protests in Tibet, on Tuesday said “all options were open” regarding a possible boycott of the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony.

“All options are open and I appeal to the Chinese leaders’ sense of responsibility,” the President said.

His aides said France had not shut the door on the opening ceremony on August 8, though it still opposed any call to stay away from the games.

“I want a dialogue to start and I will step up my response according to the response given by the Chinese authorities,” said Mr. Sarkozy.

France has joined the U.S. and other Western governments to call for a dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama to resolve the unrest in Tibet.

France has so far refused to follow in the footsteps of Germany and officially receive the Dalai Lama. Mr. Sarkozy addressed a message to Chinese President Hu Jintao and called for restraint, Elysée sources said.

French swimmer Alain Bernard, who has just broken two world records at the European Championships, called on world leaders to boycott the opening ceremony but said athletes should not do so.

Two opinion polls in France showed that a majority of the French were for the boycott of the opening ceremony of the games but were against a boycott by athletes.

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