After all the talk of bad feeling between President Obama and French President Sarkozy, what is it that seems now to be binding them together?
In the wake of what is being seen in the French press as a successful U.S. visit by Sarkozy, Le Figaro columnist Yves Threard writes that the similarities between the two men in terms of their goals and place in history far outweigh any differences.
For Le Figaro, Yves Threard writes in part:
It was necessary to overcome past disagreements, dispense with misunderstanding, and chase away malicious rumors that harmed relations between the two heads of state.
So much for the family photo. France needs the United States, and vice versa. Everyone agrees, affirms and repeats this. But beyond that, under the Fifth Republic [since 1958], Paris and Washington have never maintained ties based on “back scratching.” The French have scrupulously protected their independence, and Americans their global “leadership.” This was true yesterday, it will still be true tomorrow.
And yet in substance, seldom have the two nations been so close. First of all, because of the personalities of the two men who lead them. They are young, have the same desire to reform their respective countries, and show an identical wish to mark their era. A profile that makes them comparable, and in fact, for the same reasons, competitors.
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