The good news is that Mr Sarkozy says he will not budge on retirement at 62.
But Mr Sarkozy says he has spoken to the Emir of Qatar, and the cleric will not be allowed to leave for France.
Although Mr. Sarkozy says he has succeeded in avoiding the pitfalls of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, which had to seek international help, he has failed to deliver on his electoral promises: Unemployment is at a 13-year high of nearly 10% and public debt is nearly 90% of the country's annual output, up from 64% in 2007.
Voters must now choose between Mr. Sarkozy, the incumbent who says he has the experience and energy to steer France clear of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, and Mr. Hollande, an affable career politician who promises a more regal, conciliatory air.
Mr Babacan says France's President Nicolas Sarkozy tried to push Turkey into accepting an alternative to EU membership by launching his plan for a "Mediterranean Union" of EU and neighbouring states.
Yet the strongest candidate on the right to replace him is Mr Sarkozy, a pragmatic 49-year-old who, says one aide, considers the primacy of the Franco-German relationship to be outdated.
The BBC's Europe editor Gavin Hewitt, at the summit in Brussels, says he has been told it is likely that Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel will sit down for brief talks with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who is seen as the chief objector.
The BBC's Bethany Bell in Damascus says that both parties have talked about a new era in relations but that Mr Sarkozy will be under pressure from his Western allies to show that engagement with Syria can work.
The BBC's Christian Fraser, in Paris, says investigators suspect Mr Tapie was granted a deal in return for his support of President Sarkozy in the 2007 election.
BBC: French court summons IMF chief over Bernard Tapie probe
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