Sarkozy Mediterranean summit bid

Mr Sarkozy is on his first state visit to Morocco

France's president has invited the leaders of Mediterranean countries to attend a summit to discuss "economic, political and cultural union".

Speaking on a visit to Morocco, Nicolas Sarkozy invited heads of state and government to meet in France in 2008.

He said the proposed grouping would be different from the European Union, but that the European Commission could ensure they complement one another.

Past efforts to bring together Mediterranean countries have failed.

"What is at play is absolutely decisive," Mr Sarkozy said of the often tense region where different cultures, religions and ways of life meet. "Here, we win all or lose all."

"The future of Europe lies in the south," he added.

Europe's example

He pointed to Europe which, he said, had managed to overcome its hatreds.

"France calls all the people of the Mediterranean to do the same thing," Mr Sarkozy said.

Mr Sarkozy's project could supersede the "Barcelona Process", which aimed to boost co-operation among Mediterranean countries and create a free trade area by 2010, a goal that now looks unreachable.

Spain tried to stage a Euro-Mediterranean summit in Barcelona in 2005 but most Arab leaders stayed away.

North African countries have been beleaguered by slow economic development, a rise in poverty and religious extremism and illegal immigration, mainly to EU countries.

A spate of suicide bombings earlier this year in Algeria and Morocco has alarmed France.

France is home to millions of people of North African origin.