MEDITERRANEAN SUMMIT:PRESIDENT NICOLAS Sarkozy walked down the steps of the Élysée Palace, grasped the Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert by one hand and the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas by the other. Against the backdrop of the Republican Guard, the three men beamed for the cameras. As if they'd just won a Nobel Peace Prize, writes Lara Marlowein Paris.
In the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Israeli and Palestinian security agents - who in the past were inclined to shoot each other - took turns posing in front of the Élysée portal, to the amusement of French gendarmes. The mood was cheerful, even playful.
"Of course, there are obstacles, there are problems . . . But I think we've never been so close to the possibility of reaching agreement as we are today," Mr Olmert told journalists.
"We must achieve peace, for our two peoples, for the people of the Middle East and for the world, because peace in the Middle East is the basis of peace in the world," Mr Abbas said.
Mr Sarkozy reiterated his desire for "a modern, democratic and viable Palestinian state", promising economic and political initiatives as well as "military guarantees for the security of both sides". The problem was "first of all one of confidence", he said repeatedly.
Under the Barcelona process, since 1995, "Europe gave a lot of money", Mr Sarkozy noted. "Was it sufficiently politically present? No, we weren't."
The creation of the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterraneanhere yesterday has refocused European attention on its southern shores.
It also enabled Mr Sarkozy to carve out a role for himself in a peace process hitherto dominated by the US. Washington congratulated Mr Sarkozy for the agreement he brokered between the Lebanese and Syrian presidents on Saturday, and the US presidential candidate Barack Obama will meet Mr Sarkozy at the Élysée on July 25th.
The troublesome Irish referendum was all but forgotten in the exhilarating high of Mr Sarkozy's new role as peacemaker. But where had we seen those grins and hand clasps before?
On the White House lawn in September 1993, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Bill Clinton thought they laid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to rest. Thousands of dead later, yesterday's remake rang hollow. Mr Olmert is mired in corruption scandals. There isn't an accord, and even if there were, Mr Abbas, whose Fatah movement was overtaken by Hamas in the January 2006 elections, might not be able to enforce it.
The real winner at yesterday's summit was the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. After the assassination of the Lebanese leader Rafik al-Hariri and 21 other people on February 14th, 2005, Mr Assad was treated as a pariah. He has given only the vaguest commitment to recognise Lebanese sovereignty by establishing diplomatic relations with the "sister country" to the east. In exchange, he received international rehabilitation, Mr Sarkozy's promise to work for an agreement of association with the EU and a Sarkozy visit to Damascus by mid-September.
The courtesies lavished on Mr Assad were a measure of Mr Sarkozy's recent embrace of realpolitik.
In January 2007, Mr Sarkozy said: "I do not believe in realpolitik, in which values are ignored in order to make deals. I do not accept . . . the fate of dissidents . . . the suppression of journalists. To be silent is to be an accomplice. I do not want to be the accomplice of any dictator in the world."
At a dinner organised by the French Jewish organisation CRIF last February, Mr Sarkozy swore he would not shake hands with anyone who refused to recognise the state of Israel.
At least three of the guests at yesterday's summit - Mr Assad, the Lebanese president Michel Suleiman and the Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika - head states that do not recognise Israel. Arab leaders refused to be photographed with Mr Olmert.
Mr Sarkozy was ill paid for his trouble. Mr Assad said he would not commence direct negotiations with Israel - Mr Sarkozy's dream - until the next US administration is formed.
The Syrian president was conveniently seated between the leaders of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. He got up and left the room before Mr Olmert's speech, and did not return until it was over.
In his closing press conference, Mr Sarkozy seemed unaware of the slight, though Mr Mubarak acknowledged it.
"It doesn't matter if someone attends from the beginning to the end," said the Egyptian president. "If someone has things to do outside, what is the problem? Mahmoud Abbas was not there either."
Turkey's presence at the summit was low-key. Ankara did not respond to the French invitation until the very last minute.
"We had to reassure them that the Union for the Mediterranean has nothing to do with their accession negotiations," said a French diplomat.
In a speech last year, Mr Sarkozy said Turkey had no place in Europe but should play a major role in the Mediterranean organisation. It was long perceived as a substitute to admitting Turkey to the EU.