ISRAELI and Arab soldiers are being summoned to march through Paris this summer to celebrate the launch of a “Union for the Mediterranean” to settle regional woes.

France is inviting all the countries around the Mediterranean rim, including Libya, Syria and Israel, to a European Union summit in Paris on July 13 and they are expected to take part in a “Euro-Mediterranean Bastille Day” military parade with European troops the next day, according to Henri Guaino, one of the closest advisers to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

The idea of a Mediterranean union has irritated the Germans, who have insisted that it be created in association with the EU. Guaino, the originator of the plan, believes that even a watered-down version would have an effect on terrorism and illegal immigration and would turn around a region ravaged by economic hardship and war.

“We are trying to promote projects that make people work together as much as possible and that will help to create conditions for peace,” Guaino said. “It is an audacious bet but it is better to take the risk of failure than to take the risk of doing nothing.”

Guaino said the Bastille Day parade this year would be the biggest yet. It will be followed by a lavish fireworks display and a concert celebrating the start of France’s six-month presidency of the EU.

Sarkozy has grand ambitions at the helm of Europe. Guaino suggested that he would like to see Tony Blair appointed the first EU president by the end of the year. Efforts to forge common immigration and defence policies are no less controversial.

The Mediterranean idea has also proved to be a battleground. Britain, a backer of EU membership for Turkey, has been wary, suspecting a plot by Sarkozy to keep the Turks out of Europe by offering the “club Med” instead.

Besides annoying the Turks, it has soured relations between Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor. Worried that wealthier countries such as Germany would end up paying for the new French-led association, Merkel reportedly threatened to boycott the Paris summit unless Sarkozy scaled back plans for a “political, economic and cultural union” for the Mediterranean.

Under a compromise, all 27 EU members, whether or not they have a bit of Mediterranean coast, will be “equally” involved in the club. Additional reporting: Nicola Smith

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