PARIS - FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy is to attend the August 8 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, which he threatened to boycott over China's recent crackdown in Tibet, Le Monde newspaper reported on Friday.

The French newspaper of reference reported in its Saturday issue that Mr Sarkozy would announce his participation to Chinese President Hu Jintao during next week's Group of Eight summit in Japan.

'Nicolas Sarkozy will travel to Beijing to attend the August 8 opening ceremony of the Olympic Games,' wrote the paper, quoting sources in the French presidency.

Asked to comment on the report, the presidency repeated on Friday that Mr Sarkozy would announce his decision during the G8 summit.

Mr Sarkozy said on Monday that he would say next week whether he planned to attend the ceremony and that the decision hinged on progress in talks between China and the Dalai Lama.

China and the Dalai Lama's representatives held an informal round of talks on May 4 after deadly anti-China riots broke out on March 14 in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Another round of talks is now under way in Beijing.

The resulting Chinese crackdown triggered international criticism of Beijing's policies in Tibet, as well as protests in Paris and other Western cities that disrupted April's international Olympic torch relay.

The protests and Mr Sarkozy's stance have made France a particular target of an anti-Western backlash in China, with hundreds of people staging protests in May at Chinese outlets of French retail giant Carrefour.

According to an online survey published this week, nearly 90 per cent of Chinese are against Mr Sarkozy's participation, saying they viewed his stance toward China as 'extremely unfriendly'. -- AFP