Dalai Lama hosts Bruni-Sarkozy at temple in France

By Estelle Shirbon

LERAB LING TEMPLE, France (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama inaugurated a Buddhist temple in southern France on Friday with French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy among the guests.

The ceremony at the Lerab Ling temple, set in remote green hills in the Herault area and built according to traditional Tibetan design, came at the end of a visit to France during which the Dalai Lama repeatedly criticized Olympics host China.

His presence in France during the Games caused a headache for President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been widely criticized for declining to meet the exiled Tibetan leader. The tacit aim of his wife's presence on Friday was to appease the row.

"I told him he was always welcome in France," said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who attended the inauguration and met the Dalai Lama briefly with Bruni-Sarkozy afterwards.

The red and gold Lerab Ling is one of the biggest Tibetan Buddhist temples in the West. It houses a 7-metre (23-foot) high golden statue of Buddha and many holy relics and scriptures. Another golden Buddha sits in the middle of a lake just outside.

Hundreds of students of Buddhism braved heavy rain to visit the site, which was decorated with multi-colored Tibetan prayer flags. They sheltered under orange umbrellas on the grass.

The Dalai Lama led a procession of monks in orange and red, chanting and playing long trumpets, around the temple, accompanied by Bruni-Sarkozy looking glamorous in a dark blue knee-length dress. When they arrived at the door, the Dalai Lama gave her a khata, a long white scarf symbolizing welcome.

The Buddhist pageantry was a departure for former model Bruni-Sarkozy, who has recently appeared on the covers of glossy celebrity magazines promoting her latest pop album.