French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Israel Sunday afternoon and said at the formal welcoming ceremony that "the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is vital for Israel's security."
Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni were welcomed at Ben Gurion Airport by President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Peres told Sarkozy: "You are the leader of a nation that is a leader in history, and which made a great contribution to human development in the fields of democracy, culture, art, science and liberty."