France: Lara Marlowe examines prospects for repairing Franco-USrelations at this weekend's G8 meeting in Evian
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at Évian, when the US and French Presidents finally meet en tête-à-tête, for the first time since the Iraq war, on the sidelines of the G-8 summit.
The meeting of the world's richest seven nations plus Russia starts tomorrow and will end on Tuesday. In the run-up to the summit, Jacques Chirac stressed the necessity for world leaders to send a message of confidence in economic growth and sustainable development, as well as their ability to fight terrorism and stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
But the question that obsesses French media is: what will Mr Bush and Mr Chirac say when they meet privately on Monday morning? Photographers will be on the lookout for body language: a handshake or a smile, or indications that the chill continues.
Franco-American relations plunged to an abysmal low after Paris deprived Washington of a UN mandate for the invasion of Iraq in March. The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, said there would be consequences, and his prediction created nervousness in business circles and among France's more Atlanticist politicians.
Asked whether Washington has forgiven France, President Bush told Le Figaro in an interview published yesterday: "On this trip, I'm determined to work with France and its leaders. But let me give you a realistic answer. The American people were disappointed and frustrated by the attitude of France on Iraq.
"My fellow citizens didn't understand why French leaders systematically worked against the efforts of the US and their allies to ensure the liberty and security of Iraq."
But does Washington intend to punish France? Le Figaro insisted. Mr Bush did not tell the French what they want to hear. "I repeat that I'll be glad to talk to Jacques Chirac. Vive la France!" he answered.
A successful G-8 summit is so important to Mr Chirac that France made concessions on the UN Security Council resolution on the occupation of Iraq in the third week of May, in the interests of smooth relations.
But any improvement was threatened when the Foreign Minister, Mr Dominique de Villepin, visited Israel and the West Bank this week, defying US and Israeli wishes by meeting Mr Yasser Arafat. Although France is pleased that Mr Bush is at last taking an interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr Chirac's desire to balance Washington's partiality to Israel will continue to be a source of tension.
There has not been a peep from French officials on the controversy this week over misleading US and British claims about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Amid rumours that Mr Bush might sleep across the border in Switzerland to snub France, the White House spokesman, Mr Ari Fleischer, confirmed in inaccurate French: "Le Président restera dans son chambre à la France."
Adding insult to injury, he added that Mr Bush would of course speak with "le premier ministre Chirac".
The White House has since announced that Mr Bush will attend only the first half of the G-8 summit, because he must move on to Sharm-el-Sheikh and Aqaba for meetings with Arab leaders and the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers. Were Mr Bush's stay in France cut short for any other reason, Paris would have been insulted.
Mr Chirac has spent months preparing for this summit, receiving non-governmental organisations and environmental groups like Greenpeace at the Élysée.
He insists that the G-8 "is not a directoire of the world" and has invited the heads of state of 12 developing countries, including the left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to the opening session devoted to development issues tomorrow.
Mr Chirac's showcase summit risks being upstaged; by festivities marking the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg this weekend, by Mr Bush's Middle East diplomacy, the possibility of violent anti-globalisation demonstrations, or merely the French transport strike which will coincide with the last day of the G-8 meeting.