Paris ? France’s six-month European Union presidency got off to a shaky start Tuesday amid bickering between the bloc’s trade chief and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and glum comments from Poland’s leader on the EU’s future direction.

As Europe’s flag of 12 gold stars on an azure field fluttered side by side with France’s tricolor under Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, Sarkozy met nearby with the European Commission, the 27-member EU executive that runs the bloc’s day-to-day business.

He and European Commission President Manuel Barroso pledged to work together for projects that enjoy broad public support, such as measures aimed at tackling high food and fuel prices, reversing climate change, combatting illegal immigration and channeling the impact of globalization.