France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (L) greet Israel's President Shimon Peres as he arrives at the Elysee Palace, March 10, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres has received a warm welcome from his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, which apparently shows Sarkozy's effort to improve the French-Israeli relationship to surpass the often turbulent ties during the tenure of his predecessor Jacques Chirac.

Peres, on a five-day visit to France starting from Monday, is the first head of state Sarkozy has hosted since his election in May 2007, which itself is a message of France's support at a time of renewed Middle East tensions.