French presidential candidates' pledges to press China over its human rights record came as no surprise, analysts said, adding that a French boycott of the Beijing Olympics could be a possibility.

Right-wing front-runner Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday that the 2008 Games would bring a breath of freedom, and China would be forced to change.

While his Socialist rival Segolene Royal, has urged France to lobby Beijing to put pressure on Sudan over the violence in Darfur.

Royal said on Wednesday she would not rule out the possibility of a French boycott of the Olympics over the issue.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference yesterday that the Chinese people were eagerly anticipating and preparing for the Olympics, and any calls for a boycott would go against the broad goodwill of the international community.

"We hope politicians can treat the Beijing Olympic Games with a sober attitude," Liu said.

Still, "Royal and Sarkozy's remarks do not necessarily mean that China-France ties will see great ups and downs when one of them is elected," Ding Yifan, deputy director with the Institute of World Development under the Development Research Center of the State Council, told China Daily yesterday. "They know that China is an important player."

Wang Yizhou, deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said he hoped whoever was elected would continue to work to improve France's ties with China.

"What is hoped that they are fully aware of the significance of deepening the comprehensive partnership between the two countries, which will contribute not only to regional prosperity, but also to world stability by promoting multilateralism." he said.

In a last effort for presidency, Royal agreed yesterday to a televized debate with former campaign rival Francois Bayrou on Saturday even though he has already been knocked out of the race.

While Sarkozy yesterday pledged to make it his priority to free five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor sentenced to death in Libya for allegedly infecting hundreds of children with HIV.

Source: China Daily/agencies