Americans welcome Nicolas Sarkozy with pleasure and astonishment
New York. The piece of information Nicolas Sarkozy gave to reporters on Sunday morning in Wolfeboro (NH), was quickly confirmed by two U.S photographers. The French president’s English is bad. The two photographers, who were following Mr Sarkozy on a boat Sunday afternoon were quickly reminded that you do not mess with a French president on vacation. Mr Sarkozy lost his temper when he spotted Associated Press photographer Jim Cole and freelancer Vince DeWitt. He jumped onto their boat and scolding them loudly in French. “The president was very agitated, speaking French at a loud volume very rapidly,” DeWitt said to AP. After Cole and DeWitt promised to stop shooting photos for the day, the bare-chested Sarkozy calmed down and returned to his boat. The confrontation was widely reported by U.S. media. The Manchester Union-Leader led with the story under the headline “Cameras send Sarkozy in rage”. The incident did not seem to fundamentally change the positive opinion Americans have of the new French president. An editorialist for the New York Times applauded on Sunday Mr Sarkozy’s decision to “play the Kennedy card” and to spend his vacation in New Hampshire instead of France. This trip is also seen as a symbol of the better relations between the White House and L’Elysée since Mr Sarkozy came to power last May. The hyperactive French president never hid his love for America. In 2004, he said he was proud to be called “Sarkozy, the American” by some in France. He again played that card on Sunday in Wolfeboro “It’s a big country, a friend of France”, he said during an impromptu press conference. He regretted that his English was so bad and added that this vacation allowed him to fulfill a childhood dream as he never got the chance to visit the US as a kid. The French president fended off questions about an eventual meeting with president Bush in a few days. George Bush will spend the week end at his parents’ estate in Kennebunkport (Me), 50 miles away from Wolfeboro. Contrary to France, the price of Mr Sarkozy’s vacation in the Granite State, is not much of an issue in the U.S. The French president is staying in a$30,000-a-week Lake Winnipesaukee estate. On Sunday, he confronted his French critics by saying he had been invited by friends, who rented out the house. This lead socialist elected officials to press l’Elysée on Monday to reveal the identity of the people, who invited Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, his wife Cecilia and their 10-year old son Louis. The French president also had to defend himself against criticism over a $405-million arms sale to Libya. He argued that the deal was not linked to the liberation last month of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor serving life sentences in Libya. The six medics had been accused of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with the HIV virus. Mr Sarkozy argued that the deal to sell Libya anti-tank missiles was the product of lengthy negotiations. “The Libyans are going to pay several hundred million euros to generate work for French factories. “Am I supposed to apologize?” Mr Sarkozy asked. A Similar version of this story was published on August 7 2007 in 24heures and Tribune de Genève. CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
||
 |
 |
 |
