FRANCE and the US sealed their new love affair overnight when Nicolas Sarkozy, the most pro-American French leader for decades, turned up in Washington to be feted by a grateful US administration.
by Charles Bremner and Tom Baldwin - November 7, 2007
President George W. Bush's beleaguered team has been in a collective swoon over the emergence of an Elvis-loving, iPod-wearing, French President after many strained years with Jacques Chirac.
However, with his opponents sniping about lap-dogs, "Sarko l'Americain" says that he has no intention of playing junior partner in the latest chapter of a 230-year-old love-hate bond between Paris and Washington.
The White House and Congress were rolling out the red carpet for the first official visit by a President who has become Europe's most eligible bachelor after his divorce from his wife Cecilia last month.
"Super Sarko", who is to address a joint session of Congress tomorrow, came with no partner to the White House banquet this morning, Australian time. His party was to include Rachida Dati, his glamorous, unmarried Justice Minister, and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. She is a former synchronised swimming champion who has spent most of her life working as a lawyer in the US.
As well as adopting a dynamic US management style, Mr Sarkozy has brought France closer to Washington on dealing with Iran, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Russia. The lifelong member of the Gaullist movement is also moving towards restoring full French membership of NATO, from which president Charles de Gaulle withdrew four decades ago.
Mr Sarkozy told CBS television last month that he had nothing to be ashamed of. "I want the Americans to know that they can count on us. But at the same time, we want to be free to disagree." The hot-tempered "hyperpresident" showed his limits when he snapped at the interviewer and stormed out after she asked about Cecilia.
Mr Sarkozy's aides have cautioned him about being too close to the lame-duck Bush administration. Hubert Vedrine, a Socialist former foreign minister, advised him to note the unpopularity of former British leader Tony Blair after he sided with Mr Bush over Iraq.
However, Mr Sarkozy remains deeply opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq. He retains traditional Gaullist misgivings over the US approach to world trade. His top diplomatic priority is the creation of a European Union under French leadership that will protect its members from "unfair" imports.
The arrival of Mr Sarkozy on the international stage - and the departure of Mr Blair - has changed the diplomatic dynamic in Washington, where the White House had long looked to Britain as its ally-in-chief.
US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns declared on a visit to Paris that "the tide has really turned in this relationship".
British diplomats insist, however, that overall relations remain good and that the emergence of Mr Sarkozy should be regarded as a positive development. One senior UK source said: "Sometimes it felt like it was Bush and Blair versus the rest of the world. There are now a number of leaders who can work closely with this administration."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will also meet Mr Bush at his ranch in Texas on Friday. Like Mr Sarkozy, she has sought better relations with Mr Bush than her predecessor, Gerhard Schroder.
At the same time, she has also been ready to distance herself from Mr Bush on issues ranging from climate change, to Kosovo and Afghanistan.
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