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Deutsche Welle

President Nicolas Sarkozy's office says the French leader will attend the opening ceremony of next month's Beijing Olympics. The announcement came after Sarkozy met Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of a G8 summit in northern Japan. A statement from his office said Sarkozy would represent the European Union, whose rotating presidency France currently holds, as well as his own country. Earlier, there was speculation that Sarkozy might not attend amid calls for world leaders to boycott the ceremony to protest China's violent clampdown on demonstrations in Tibet. Ties between Beijing and Paris were strained in April when pro-Tibet demonstrators disrupted the passage of the Olympic torch through the French capital.