PARIS - Moammar Khadafy swept into town with all the trappings of his Bedouin heritage yesterday and got straight to business, cutting $14.7 billion in deals for arms and nuclear reactors on his first official visit to the West since renouncing terrorism and atomic weapons.
The warm welcome for the Libyan leader drew angry protests, including from France's human rights minister, who said rewarding a man accused of rights abuses with business deals was letting him treat France as "a doormat."
President Nicolas Sarkozy defended the visit, saying it is France's duty to encourage states that move toward international respectability. He alluded to Khadafy's formal renunciation of terrorism and his decision to dismantle a secret Libyan program meant to develop atomic bombs.
Sarkozy suggested Libya's example could one day be applied to Iran should it agree to give up a nuclear program that Western powers suspect could be used to develop weapons.
The guest list for a first night dinner in Khadafy's honor at the presidential Elysee Palace read like a Who's Who of French business leaders - from Airbus, Dassault, Total, and other big companies.
Khadafy wore a brown Bedouin-style robe to the palace, where silver-helmeted French guards greeted him. In keeping with his Bedouin roots, the Libyan leader pitched a tent in the garden of the official guest residence, but he planned to sleep indoors.
Two Libyan airlines confirmed orders had been signed to buy 21 Airbus planes - 10 A350s, four A330s, and seven A320s. The value of the deal was not immediately given, but one of Khadafy's sons told the newspaper Le Figaro that it was worth $4.4 billion.
The two sides also signed an accord to develop civilian nuclear reactors, on the model of an agreement France signed last week with Libya's neighbor, Algeria. The reactors would be used to desalinize sea water or exploit Libya's uranium riches, Sarkozy's office said.
