France pledged Saturday to cooperate with the unity PA government that includes Hamas, in a key boost for PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

"I encouraged Mr. Abbas to persevere in his efforts to quickly form a national unity government," Philippe Douste-Blazy, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs, told reporters Saturday evening as Abbas prepared to return from Europe to the Middle East. "If the government is formed according to the power-sharing deal worked out in Mecca last month, France will be ready to cooperate with it. And our country will plead on its behalf within the European union and with other partners in the international community."

Other European leaders Abbas met were not as forthcoming as France about collaboration with the PA, and said they preferred to wait until the government is formed before declaring their stance.

It is unclear how far France could go in supporting the PA without the backing of the rest of the EU or other members of the "Quartet" for Mideast peace, which includes the United States, the United Nations, the EU and Russia.

Abbas' European tour failed to make headway on resuming financial aid for the PA.  Douste-Blazy also made no commitments on freeing up aid to the PA. Half of the PA’s budget came from foreign assistance until much of it was frozen following Hamas' election victory a year ago. The PA's Arab population receives a very large aid package from UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations.

Earlier Saturday, Abbas met with French President Jacques Chirac. Both Chirac and Douste-Blazy urged the PA to release kidnapped Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Speaking on this subject after his meeting with Chirac, Abbas said, "We cannot say there is anything that is completely hopeless. We must continue to try to work to find a solution. We must continue to talk to the Israelis. We are partners with the Israelis, partners for peace."

Abbas told reporters: "What we asked for is that the new government that will be formed not be subjected to the same embargo to which the current government is being subjected." Earlier in the week, the Quartet repeated its position that any PA government must renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept interim peace deals.

Abbas said a day earlier he was determined to push the planned PA unity government into complying with these conditions. "We did not change our position, we did not change our principles," Abbas told reporters after a meeting with the European union's chief diplomat Javier Solana in Brussels Friday. Abbas said that his Fatah party remained "committed to the principles of a two-state-solution, renouncing violence and terror and reiterating our commitment to agreements signed."

Solana said that the EU had to wait and see how the planned PA unity government would operate before making any decisions. "We cannot boycott what does not exist, the government still has not been formed," Solana said, but stressed that the new administration would have to comply with the three Quartet principles, and that a PA unity government would either be "part of a solution or... be part of the problem."

The EU "was not boycotting the Palestinian people," Solana stressed, adding that the EU would continue its help and "if possible" even increase aid to civilians this year. The EU's ban on direct aid to the PA does not affect humanitarian aid sent to non-governmental organizations or to United Nations relief agencies. Money from individual member states is not affected either.