JERUSALEM - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday opened his first presidential visit to Israel, promising Europe's support for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and saying a deal ending the conflict could be reached immediately.

Sarkozy's three-day visit is aimed at cementing the improved relations between France and Israel after years of frosty ties. His schedule includes talks with Israeli leaders, a historic speech before parliament and a sit-down with the parents of an Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants in Gaza. The young man, Gilad Schalit, holds French citizenship.

The Iranian nuclear threat, Israel's fledgling peace talks with Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process are also expected to top the president's diplomatic agenda.

"I have always been and will always be a friend of Israel," Sarkozy said at a welcoming ceremony at Israel's international airport in Tel Aviv. He quickly turned his attention to the staggering peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

"I believe that the path to peace lies there before us, that the path to peace is not blocked. I have come to bring my support and that of France and the European Union, your partners in the negotiations," he said. "An agreement is possible, tomorrow, and that agreement would allow the two peoples to live side-by-side in peace and security."

Sarkozy was welcomed with a red-carpet reception, and President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert eagerly awaited him along with a full army band and honor guard.

"France has left an imprint on Israel's revival, a revival you recently referred to as 'one of the most significant events in the 20th century,'" Peres said. "France's contribution to the foundation of the state of Israel did not stem from an opportunistic sentiment, but was sparked by the noblest of human values."

Sarkozy then traveled to Jerusalem for a ceremony at Peres' official residence followed by dinner with Olmert.

At the ceremony, Sarkozy was serenaded by a French-speaking Israeli high school choir. Sarkozy was accompanied by his glamorous wife, the model-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The first lady's schedule has been tightly guarded to prevent aggressive paparazzi coverage.

Bruni-Sarkozy, wearing a brown summer dress, tapped her feet to the tune of the popular Israeli song "Hallelujah."

France was a strong ally in Israel's early years of independence and was instrumental in establishing Israel's nuclear program. But relations soured, particularly after the 1967 Mideast war, when France imposed an arms embargo and began adopting more policies critical of Israel.

Many Israelis have long viewed France as biased in favor of the Palestinians, and reports of rising anti-Semitism toward the French Jewish community - at 600,000, the third-largest in the world - has only fanned the flames.

On Sunday, only hours before Sarkozy's arrival, a skullcap-wearing Jewish teenager in Paris was beaten into a coma and hospitalized in intensive care. Jewish groups denounced the assault as an anti-Semitic attack.

The last French presidential visit came in 1996, when Jacques Chirac, perceived by many Israelis as unfairly pro-Arab, angrily shouted at Israeli police and accused them of limiting his movements during a tour of Jerusalem's holy sites.

The tension reached a high point in 2001, when Daniel Bernard, then France's ambassador to England, used an expletive to describe Israel.

In 2004, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon outraged Paris when he said France was home to "the wildest anti-Semitism" and urged French Jews to emigrate to Israel for their own safety.

Only a year later, a Sharon visit to Paris began a friendlier period in the relations between the countries.

Tsilla Hershco, an expert in Franco-Israeli relations at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, said the close ties have only improved under Sarkozy, whose maternal grandfather was a Greek Jew.

"There is an environment and style that is very warm and positive," she said. "His statements have been friendly toward Israel and have been sensitive to Israel's security needs."

Statements aside, though, Hershco said France's basic pro-Arab policies have not changed dramatically under Sarkozy. She said fundamental disagreements with Israel remain, particularly over settlement activity and Israeli control over the West Bank. She said the shift in mood is mostly due to France's desire to become an influential player in Arab-Israeli mediation efforts by appearing more evenhanded.

Israeli leaders have lauded Sarkozy for being more supportive than his predecessors and have been encouraged by his tough stance toward Iran's nuclear program.

At the airport ceremony, Olmert said Sarkozy's government has "taken a supportive and loyal position on issues concerning Israel's regional policy and has stood by Israel's side at testing moments."

Sarkozy, accompanied by six Cabinet ministers, will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and watch an exhibition of an environmentally friendly electric car being developed by Renault-Nissan and an Israeli-American entrepreneur.

Sarkozy's speech before the Israeli Knesset on Monday will be the first by a French president since Francois Mitterrand addressed the plenum in 1982.

Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said the diplomatic talks will focus on Iran's nuclear program and on the newly revived Israeli-Syrian peace talks.

On July 13, Sarkozy hosts a conference in Paris where he hopes to bring together Olmert and Syrian President Bashar Assad. It remains unknown whether the Israeli and Syrian leaders will attend, and if so, whether they will meet face to face. Israel and Syria recently announced they have reopened indirect peace talks through Turkish mediators.

Sarkozy will also make a brief visit to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.