Sarkozy Interrupts Vacation To Address Libyan Arms Deal

PARIS — President Sarkozy broke off from his American holiday yesterday in an attempt to end the controversy surrounding a French arms deal with Libya. Speaking in Wolfeboro, a resort near Boston, Mr. Sarkozy, 52, insisted there was no connection between France's role in securing the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian Arab doctor from Libya and the African country's subsequent decision to buy anti-tank missiles and radio systems worth $400 million from a largely French-owned company.

France's Socialist Party opposition last week demanded an inquiry after Saif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, suggested that there was a link between the two deals.

But Mr. Sarkozy said, "The contract was not linked to the release of the nurses. What do they criticize me for? Getting contracts? Creating jobs for French workers?"