New French President Nicolas Sarkozy appears poised to try his hand at mediating in a decades-long conflict in Colombia.

The immediate cause of his interest in the affair is the fact that, among some 50 hostages, including three Americans, held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the FARC, at war with the Colombian government for many years, is a French-Colombian citizen, Ingrid Betancourt. Ms. Betancourt is a former Colombian senator and was a presidential candidate in 2002, held by the FARC for more than five years. The FARC are apparently asking for the release of 500 of their people currently held by the Colombian government in return.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was involved in negotiations on the subject with the FARC from August until November, when the Colombian government brought his role to an end, considering that he had become too chummy with the FARC for their taste.

Mr. Sarkozy sees this case as an opportunity to try his wings again internationally outside of France. Ms. Betancourt has family and supporters in France so it is a popular move for him at home. Whether it is low-hanging fruit or not is another question.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose base of support is the right wing and its militias in Colombia and the Bush administration in Washington, has never appeared to be especially interested in negotiating with the FARC, even though his government's battles with it have cost hundreds of lives over the years. His government now is balking at a FARC demand that a demilitarized zone be created in the jungle to serve as the venue for talks that would involve the French as well as the two Colombian parties.

What is in this affair for the United States, apart from the freedom of the three Americans, is that it could lead to the end of the long-standing conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC. Colombia is the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, after only Israel and Egypt. There are also hundreds of U.S. troops in Colombia, supporting generally unsuccessful efforts to interdict narcotics production and trade, to contain the FARC and to guard an oil pipeline on behalf of U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum.

The United States could use the troops and the money elsewhere. French involvement in the matter at the presidential level will make it more difficult for Mr. Uribe and his government to drag their feet and perpetuate the FARC conflict as a reason for continued U.S. military and financial involvement in Colombia. A successful effort on Mr. Sarkozy's part in the smaller affair of Ms. Betancourt's freedom could lead to a much more important end to a long, bloody conflict in Latin America.