NICE: France will host a summit of African leaders in May in the Riviera city of Nice, Industry Minister and the city s mayor Christian Estrosi said Monday.

The summit had initially been scheduled to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh but was moved to a French venue to avoid inviting Sudanese President Omar Al-Beshir, who is wanted for war crimes in Darfur.

Beshir s presence at the summit would have embarrassed France, a fervent supporter of the decision in March by the International Criminal Court to issue a warrant for the arrest of the Sudanese leader.

Egypt had said it could not avoid inviting the president of its southern neighbor if it hosted the summit.

The summit would be the first gathering of African leaders hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy since he came to power in 2007.

His predecessor Jacques Chirac held regular bi-yearly France-Africa summits during his 12 years in office.

Estrosi said the Nice summit will be held on May 31 and June 1. -AFP