BEIJING — The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, led a chorus of European criticism yesterday about China’s actions in Tibet, refusing to rule out a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. “I don’t close the door to any option. I want dialogue to begin and I will graduate my response according to the response given by Chinese authorities,” Mr. Sarkozy said.

Until yesterday, Western governments had been measured in their response to two weeks of unrest in Tibet. In its first collective statement, the European Union demanded that China stop using force against peaceful protesters, while also calling on demonstrators to “desist from violence.”