The European press is hand-wringing this morning over reports that France is selling arms–some anti-tank missiles and some radio equipment–to Libya. On TV and in print, the deal is described as “embarrassing.” Le Monde is echoing the faux outrage of the French Left in pieces like this one and in an editorial demanding to know the truth.

Sarkozy so far has denied that the arms sale is part of a deal brokered last week to secure the release of a bunch of Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who had been imprisoned for years by Tripoli after being accused of infecting children with AIDS. It was a charge no one took seriously, but efforts to gain the release of the medics had gone nowhere–until last week, when, after their death sentences were commuted to life, Cecilia Sarkozy was suddenly sent to Libya in the French presidential jet to pick up the medical workers and fly them to safety in Bulgaria. The next day, Sarkozy paid a visit to Gaddafi and promised to buy lots of Libyan tomatoes and support a children’s hospital for AIDS victims.

Yesterday, Gaddafi’s son, Saif, told Le Monde that an arms sale had been in the works for some time. This infuriated Francois Hollande, the leader of the French socialists: “How can we allow that in a democracy an arms sale should be announced by the son of Gaddafi?” he demanded, oddly.

Maybe Sarko’s right and the deal isn’t part of a quid pro quo to spring innocent people from Libyan jails–but I hope not. Bribery has a long and honorable history in that part of the world, and for a good reason. It’s a practical way to accomplish what needs to be done with a minimum amount of violence. Too bad we can’t use it to solve most of the problems we face in the Mideast, from Hamas in Gaza, to Syria in Lebanon, to Iran in Iraq. Make it all a huge, sandy yard sale, put a price tag on everything, and if the price is right, France can buy it.