WASHINGTON – An open clash between President Chirac and Prime Minister Blair over whether it is even worth bothering trying to repair troubled relations between America and Europe has left Bush administration officials surprised.

In comments appearing to undercut the encouraging tone set by Mr. Chirac in a phone call he had with President Bush last week, in which he agreed that a fresh effort was needed to push trans-Atlantic relations back on track, the French leader said he wasn’t sure “whether it is possible for anyone, even the British, to play the role of the friendly go-between.”

He added in an interview in Paris with British journalists ahead of a two-day state trip to London that Britain had gained nothing in return for supporting America over the war in Iraq, and that he did not think “it is in the nature of our American friends today to pay back favors.”

His remarks drew a quick response from Mr. Blair, who, in a keynote foreign-policy address in London late Monday night, warned Mr. Chirac and other European leaders to stop “ridiculing American arguments and parodying their political leadership.”

State Department sources said they were surprised by the timing of Mr. Chirac’s remarks, coming so soon after Mr. Bush’s re-election and at a time when the president had shown interest in improving strained relations. “Last week Chirac was encouraging, this week he is saying there is no point,” an exasperated senior State Department official told The New York Sun.

The scornful tone of some of the French president’s comments also appeared to anger Bush officials. Mr. Chirac mocked Defense Secretary Rumsfeld for past comments on the existence of an old and new Europe. Pretending to forget Mr. Rumsfeld’s name, the French leader said: “It is like that nice guy in America – what’s his name again? – who spoke about ‘old Europe.’ It has no sense. It is a lack of culture to imagine that.”

In his speech Mr. Blair urged his European colleagues to tone down the political rhetoric, work with Washington, and to recognize they had a chance to influence American policy.

But Mr. Blair also had some implied criticism of the Bush administration.

He said both sides of the trans-Atlantic divide had to stop behaving “arrogantly” toward each other, and he advised Mr. Bush to adopt a more multilateral approach in his second term, cautioning him not to go it alone in the war on terrorism or use a military solution for every crisis.

“What is entirely sensible is for Europe to say terrorism will not be beaten by toughness alone,” he said.

He stressed that it was vital for America to “reach out.” Mr. Blair said he had “no sympathy for unilateralism for its own sake.” His implied criticism was seen by British political commentators as a way of reassuring critics within his Labor Party and European leaders that he is ready to stand up to Washington when necessary.

Mr. Blair argued: “Democracy is the meeting point for Europe and America. I am not, repeat not, advocating a series of military solutions to achieve it. But I am saying that, patiently but plainly, Europe and America should be working together to bring the democratic, human, and political rights we take for granted to the world denied them.”

The British leader expressed frustration with what he sees as his role as a mediator between America and Europe, saying, “call it a bridge, a two-lane motorway, or pivot – or call it a damn high wire, which is how it often feels.”

The Blair-Chirac spat and what it has highlighted in terms of European attitudes toward the Bush administration augurs badly for Mr. Bush’s declared intention of improving trans-Atlantic relations after they were strained to the limit over the Iraq war.

The importance of repairing ties between Europe and America was central to talks Messrs. Bush and Blair had in Washington last week. Following their discussions, the president announced that he will visit Europe after his inauguration in January.

But the combative mood of Mr. Chirac points to a tricky road ahead. The French leader once again raised his hopes of a “multipolar” international system, with a Europe muscular enough to act as a counterweight to American power.

“We are heading, inevitably, I have said it before, for a multi-polar world in which there will be an American pole, a Chinese pole, a South American pole, an African, I hope, and a European pole,” he told journalists. Mr. Chirac said it was vital that the United Nations be reformed and revitalized to prevent the “appalling prospect” of a war between continental blocs.

On the immediate front, Mr. Chirac spoke pessimistically of Mr. Blair’s chances of obtaining any significant concessions from the Bush administration in steps to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr. Chirac – along with some other European leaders – has argued that Washington needs to be tougher with Israel.