Tom Cruise in Paris. (AFP)

Paris, Aug. 30 (Reuters): Tom Cruise took time out from a packed promotion schedule for his film Collateral to sit down with French finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy today, the ministry said.

The hour-long meeting, held at the actor’s request, touched on issues including Franco-American relations, sources close to Sarkozy said.

Ties between Paris and Washington were badly damaged last year by France’s vocal opposition to the US-led war in Iraq.

It was not clear why Cruise wanted to meet Sarkozy, who has made no secret of his presidential ambitions but is little known overseas.

Cruise arrived at the riverside finance ministry in a launch.

The actor was due to attend the red-carpet French premiere of Collateral.