The Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and its Islamist rival Hamas have agreed to set up a new government.
"France believes the Palestinian unity announcement is good news," Sarkozy said at a news conference at the G8 meeting in northern France.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday Israel was offering "nothing we can build on" for peace and that without progress he would seek U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood in September.
Sarkozy said the peace process had to be revived as the current status quo could not continue.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will travel towards the end of next week to the region for talks in the hope of convincing both sides to come back to the negotiating table and push for a peace and donors conference in France this summer.
"(Alain Juppe) ... will deliver a message from me to tell the Palestinians and Israelis that peace has waited too long and that it is at hand," Sarkozy said. "(Juppe) will say that time doesn`t wait for peacemakers, but works in favour of terrorists and extremists." (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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