But EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will at least be able to have a picnic after French farm minister Michel Barnier gave him a peace offering at the start of crunch World Trade Organisation talks -- a hamper full of European delicacies.

Although in theory on the same side of the negotiating table in Geneva, there is no hiding the tensions between France, with its huge farm sector reliant on subsidies, and the British commissioner who desperately wants a new deal on world trade.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has criticised Mandelson -- who represents the entire 27-member bloc at the WTO -- for giving too many concessions on farm subsidies. He even blamed the commissioner for making the Irish vote against a new EU governing treaty at a referendum last month.

When Mandelson heard Barnier would be attending the Geneva talks, he dismissed the importance of the French minister's presence there, quipping: "He can bring the picnic."

The French farm minister said he would.

"At the end of last week Peter Mandelson had a flash of British humour and said 'Barnier will bring the picnic'," he told reporters. "We did, with pleasure."

The picnic hamper contains some 20 products, including Italian parmesan cheese and Hungarian Tokai wine, all of which are protected in the EU and can only be produced in specific geographic areas -- something France and other EU states would like to achieve globally.

"Behind this nice, friendly gesture there was the point of underscoring our attachment to high-quality agriculture," Barnier said.

(Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Sami Aboudi)