Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, became the first international leader to call for sanctions to be imposed on Libya after Colonel Muammer Gaddafi called for a brutal crackdown after days of protests in the oil-producing country. However, there was little evidence that Col Gaddafis supporters had heeded his call to cleanse Libya house by house made in a threatening 75-minute televised speech on Tuesday. Mr Sarkozy urged Europe to suspend all economic ties and impose sanctions against Libya following days of violent clashes. I ask the foreign minister to propose to our European partners the adoption of quick, concrete sanctions so that all those implicated in the violence know that they will have to assume the consequences of their actions, the president said in a statement after a weekly meeting with ministers. I would like the suspension of economic, commercial and financial relations with Libya until further notice, he said.