Fresh from "relaunching" Europe, President Sarkozy took his deal-making skills to Algeria today to promote an ambitious plan for a Mediterranean Union.

Mr Sarkozy's scheme for a cross-Mediterranean tie-up similar to the European Union's common market has hit a wall of scepticism on both sides of the sea and put up backs in Ankara, Beirut and Brussels in particular.

Morocco cancelled Mr Sarkozy's planned stop in Rabat on Thursday. The official reason was a "scheduling problem" but officials said King Mohammed VI was offended that the French leader planned to stay only a couple of hours and only after first visiting Algiers and Tunis.

The President's first trip beyond Europe is being staged in the whirlwind style that he has applied to fixing French problems and to brokering a treaty to salvage the defunct EU constitution. With his trademark salesmanship, Mr Sarkozy claims personal credit for putting the EU back on the rails at last month's Brussels summit.