Mr Sarkozy had earlier threatened to boycott the event to protest against China's handling of the Tibet issue, and more recently tied his attendance to potential progress in talks between Tibetan and Chinese envoys.

This raised the ire of China's vocal online community, with tens of thousands of netizens posting messages yesterday saying that the French leader was not welcome in Beijing.

'Who gives a damn (about his visit)?' said one of the 59,000 postings logged by Sina.com. 'Even if he visits Beijing, the Chinese people will not welcome him.'

Mr Sarkozy's decision found no favour back home either, with the Paris-based rights group Reporters Without Borders slamming him for 'betraying himself and Chinese dissidents'.

Adding fuel to the fire yesterday, European Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering announced that he would boycott the opening ceremony due to the lack of progress in the Tibet talks, while Parliament also criticised Mr Sarkozy's decision.

The latest development could reignite the anti-French and anti-Western sentiment that swept the mainland earlier this year after the Olympic torch relay was badly disrupted in cities like London and Paris.

But it is by no means the only political juggling act Beijing has to manage next month.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, for instance, is planning to fly into Beijing on a Japanese military plane, a move which could raise a nationalistic backlash on the mainland.

Meanwhile, widely rumoured but unconfirmed reports that secretive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may make an appearance have also raised questions about how he might be managed before the glare of international media.

China's rights record is another source of unease between Beijing and some Western countries.

But no one appears to have raised the hackles of the Chinese public as much as Mr Sarkozy, if the 70,000-plus postings on popular news portals like Sina.com and Sohu.com yesterday were anything to go by.

While a minority said China should be magnanimous and 'forgive' Mr Sarkozy for his boycott threat, the overwhelming majority left scathing messages saying he should stay away.

Even Chinese President Hu Jintao appeared to have reacted coolly to Mr Sarkozy's decision, which was announced when they met on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Japan.

An account of the meeting by China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Mr Hu as telling his French counterpart that his decision to attend the ceremony was a 'correct one' and that he hoped French athletes would do well in the competition.

But tellingly, the Xinhua report made no mention of Mr Hu welcoming Mr Sarkozy to Beijing, as is customary in such exchanges.

Beijing's frostiness was further hinted at in a subsequent Xinhua report which quoted Mr Hu as welcoming US President George W. Bush to the opening ceremony, and thanking him for not politicising the Games.

In the short term, the signs indicate that the frayed Sino- French ties will remain tense. Mr Sarkozy left open the possibility of meeting the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader visits France next month.

China has warned, via its ambassador to France, that there will be 'serious consequences' for bilateral relations if the meeting goes ahead.

In an apparent tit-for-tat, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called in Chinese envoy Kong Quan over those comments.

He was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying he wanted Mr Kong 'to explain his position, which appears to be difficult for France to accept'.

chinhon@sph.com.sg