By Prensa Latina
Paris : Although the leaders of Israel and France exchanged praises Monday at the arrival of Israeli President Shimon Peres, their presence at the opening of the Paris Book Hall was met with protests.
Peres and President Nicolas Sarkozy made separate statements declaring that French-Israeli relations cannot be better, and Sarkozy declared himself a friend of Israel.
Meanwhile, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Palestinian Writers Union and Algerian, Moroccan, and Egyptian editors protested Pere”s presence at the opening ceremony of the Book Hall of Paris, this time dedicated to Israel.
Arabian and Muslim countries objected in view of the wave of death for the aggressions of Tel Aviv in the Gaza Strip.
Peres will stay five days in Paris, in which he wants to consolidate bilateral links, despite disagreements because of the Israeli government”s attitude regarding civilians in Gaza.
The French government has condemned continuing colonization in the West Bank, saying it is a clear attack against feasibility of the future Palestinian state.
However, Tel Aviv and Paris do agree regarding the development of the Iranian nuclear industry, which will be in the center of the conversations between Peres and Sarkozy.