France

An entry for Pseud’s Corner. Adam Gopnik on Sarko’s romance with Carla Bruni: It is possible to imagine that Sarkozy is not simply a man governed by his impulses and appetites but one trying to use a situation to make a strategic point. In the past, all French politicians were involved in an organized hypocrisy, where mistresses were known, and hidden with a wink. Just as Tony Blair used the cold body of Princess Diana to underline the need for a departure from the national habit of perpetual emotional postponement, Sarko conceivably is using the very warm body of Bruni to make the point that the French need to escape

So, unsurprisingly, Time Magazine’s cover story (international edition) on The Death of French Culture is making waves on the eastern side of the Atlantic (once upon a time, Time might have devoted space to French culture in its US edition: that it wouldn’t dream of doing so now tells us as much about the United States as it does about France). Given that all countries enjoy introspection – what’s the subject of any attempt at writing the fabled Great American Novel, if not America herself? – it’s not shocking that Le Figaro should devote three pages to responding to Don Morrison’s silly, exaggerated article. Silly and exaggerrated and irritating, I

The always-excellent Arthur Goldhammer on Nicolas Sarkozy’s latest appearance: Sarkozy had another one of his marathon chats with les tribunes du peuple, or what passes for such in the media age: telejournalists. It was an odd performance. The Élysée doesn’t really suit its current incumbent. Its rococo excess makes a strange contrast with his blunt language. He cannot bring himself to sit up straight, despite chairs that would seem to require it. He slouches and squirms, and one keeps expecting to hear the voice of an admonishing parent: “Sit up straight, Nicolas!” His tie was not knotted comme il faut, leaving him looking slightly bedraggled, despite the dazzling white shirt

I’m rather looking forward to reading Yasmina Reza’s account of her year on the campaign trail with Nicolas Sarkozy, Dawn, Evening or Night. It looks as though it could be the political book of the year. If Elaine Sciolino’s article is at all accurate, Sarko comes across as a man who, above all, is alive (a welcome change after the stagnant corruption of the Chirac years. There’s wit too: Even before his victory, Sarkozy is drunk with bravado. Emerging from lunch in London with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, Sarkozy announces to his aides: “Tony and I have just made a decision. We’re going to conquer Europe.” In a