President Nicolas Sarkozy of France sent a letter to President Shim'on Peres on the occasion of Israel's 64th birthday as a modern state.

In his letter, Sarkozy expressed France's committment to Israel and its security and to the fight against Anti-Semitism. Referring to the recent murders of Jews and non-Jews in the southern French city of Toulouse, he said, "In the wake of the tragedy in Toulouse, which hit both peoples with such great cruelty, I want to promise that our authorities are determined to wage an all-out war against hatred."