Sarkozy dodges protests as he arrives in Dublin to try and solve Ireland's EU treaty rejection

Sarkozy, the reigning president of the European Council, emphasized he was coming to Dublin to learn why 53 per cent of Irish voters last month rejected the Lisbon Treaty, a painstakingly negotiated blueprint for reshaping the EU's institutions and powers.

'Listening is an indispensable step before deciding how to bring about the best response,' his office said in a statement.

Ireland is the only EU member constitutionally required to subject treaties to a national vote, and an EU treaty cannot become law unless every member ratifies it.

Irish welcome: French president Nicolas Sarkozy, left, shakes hands with Irish prime minister Brian Cowen at Government Building in Dublin

Avoiding a collection of protesters, the French president shook hands with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen on the steps of his central Dublin office.

Sarkozy and Cowen 'have committed themselves to act in close cooperation to find a way to push the Union forward', the French statement said.

Police kept about 1,000 protesters from dozens of groups from getting close to Sarkozy's motorcade. Among the demonstrators: a man in frog costume bearing the message 'Hop it, Sarko! The people say no!'

Anti-treaty activists in Ireland say the June 12 vote means the treaty is dead and EU negotiators must start from scratch. Sarkozy insists that isn't going to happen, and some compromise formula must be found to permit Ireland to vote again.

Still, Sarkozy took pains not to appear to force a new vote on the Irish.

All at sea: Irish fishermen hand out free fish in central Dublin in protest at the French president's visit

'Sarkozy will respect the result of the Irish referendum,' the French statement said.

Others insisted on new talks.

'Brian Cowen must call for a new round of negotiations and a new treaty,' said Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, one of several anti-treaty activists meeting Monday with Sarkozy at the French embassy.

'One of the core underlying reasons for voting 'no' was the fact that people sense a lack of democratic accountability and control of power slipping away,' said Patricia McKenna, head of an anti-treaty pressure group called the People's Movement, who is also meeting with Sarkozy.

Some Irish politicians feel that clumsy French diplomatic efforts led to such a strong Irish "no" vote in the first place.

As Sarkozy and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner met Irish government leaders in Cowen's Government Buildings headquarters, protesters shouted and debated outside - sometimes with each other.

Among the crowd were conservative Catholics who fear the EU in fear could force liberal social policies on anti-abortion Ireland; socialists who view the EU as a force for global capitalism; and farmers who largely voted in favor of the Lisbon Treaty but want the EU to stand firm in World Trade Organization negotiations this week. 

Just say no: Anti-EU demonstrators protest in front of Government Bulding in Dublin this afternoon

The talks in Geneva, Switzerland, threaten to open up Europe to cheaper South American beef imports.

'If the EU tries to sell out Ireland in the world trade talks, you wouldn't stand a chance of getting farmers to vote yes to any future treaty,' Padraig Walshe, president of the Irish Farmers Association, said in front of a convoy of parked tractors.

Cowen and his deputies publicly say Sarkozy has a right to say that Ireland must vote again - but privately fume that French comments helped fuel the 53 per cent "no" vote June 12 and are making it tougher to stage a second referendum in 2009.

Ireland is the only EU member constitutionally required to subject treaties to a national vote, and an EU treaty cannot become law unless every member ratifies it.

Opposition leaders who, like the government, campaigned in vain for an Irish "yes," have complained of being treated dismissively by the French. 

Sign of the times: A demonstrator holds a board during this afternoon's protests

Over the weekend Sarkozy's schedule was changed to permit two separate meetings with the heads of the major opposition parties, Fine Gael's Enda Kenny and Labour's Eamon Gilmore.

Gilmore said today he would emphasize to Sarkozy the need for him to stop speaking in public about Ireland voting again on the Lisbon Treaty.

"If Ireland were to do as he says, I have no doubt that that people of Ireland would be rightly incensed at such arrogance and would reject the treaty by an even greater margin," Gilmore said.