Negotiations on reforming EU institutions prior to enlargement are expected to go into overtime at noon today. President Jacques Chirac may then hold fellow heads of state and government hostage until they reach agreement.
Mr Chirac already surprised EU leaders when he told them they would be allowed to speak no longer than five minutes each, after which he would ring a little bell.
The only victim of this humiliation was the longwinded President of the Commission, Mr Romano Prodi, whose speech on food safety was cut short by the bell.
Mr Chirac, it seems, is not subject to his own rules. Acutely sensitive to public opinion, the French President indulged in a long tirade against the "rubbish ships" that ply European waters. Within the past year, an oil tanker and a chemical ship have sunk off the French coast.
The windowless room where this talking has taken place is at present the most exclusive in Europe. Only the prime ministers and foreign ministers (and, in the case of France and Finland, the presidents) of the 15 countries are allowed to enter, along with Mr Prodi. Eleven glass interpreters' booths surround the long, rectangular table. In a betting game shared by journalists and officials, whoever guesses the closing time of the summit wins the kitty of 10-franc pieces. Most are placing odds on the early hours of tomorrow morning, but the French presidency has pointedly warned delegations to keep their hotel rooms until Monday.
Mr Chirac and the French Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert Vedrine, have invented another torment for their EU guests - the negotiating tactic they call "the confessional". Last night, the French called all 14 delegations in, one by one, to take stock of their demands and willingness to give in. Overnight, the presidency was to prepare a synthesis of these positions, to be presented this morning.
Occasionally the outside world impinges on the leaders' concrete tower. During the riots on Thursday morning, Mr Chirac and the French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, were sneezing and red-eyed after tear gas was drawn in by the Acropolis convention centre's ventilation system. The Irish delegation did not realise what was going on a block away until it received a telephone call from RTE in Dublin.
As if the French government did not have a hard enough time keeping other Europeans happy, the flower-growers of Nice are in rebellion because the foreign ministry hired a chic Parisian florist for the summit. Mr Chirac has promised to decorate the Elysee palace with Nice flowers for Christmas.