Americans may be swept up in the excitement of their presidential race, but the French have their attention firmly fixed elsewhere – on their own President. They still don't quite know what to make of Nicolas Sarkozy, but they are fascinated by the way he works.
Their diminutive 52-year-old President is full of surprises. Sarkozy promised voters “a break with the past,†and unlike his boringly predictable predecessors he has actually kept his promise. He really is something new for the French.
Hyperactive does not begin to describe him. He has been in perpetual motion since he was elected by a comfortable margin last May. Hardly a week goes by when he does not launch several major reforms to overhaul France's overextended finances, its bloated public services, its bankrupt health and social security system, and a lot more. He has even appointed a committee to rewrite the French constitution.
He is not only trying to push one of Europe's most traditional countries into the 21st century. He is also trying to re-establish France's place in the world, and has been making visits abroad – sometimes at a rate of one or two a week. His most recent destination was Egypt, where he was trying to strengthen France's ties with the Arab world. But it was not the strategic importance of the visit that caught the French public's attention. It was the lady who accompanied him on what turned out to be a combined business and pleasure trip.
Carla Bruni is Nicolas Sarkozy's latest surprise. A willowy, 39-year-old Italian with a brain to match her beauty, she has suddenly become his constant companion, replacing Cecilia, the wife who divorced him in October. Bruni comes from a wealthy, artistic, Italian family and had a career as a top fashion model before launching a second career as a French chanteuse. She has long been a regular feature in European gossip magazines, with her name linked to a string of boyfriends including French artists and intellectuals, as well as a number of foreign celebrities including Mick Jagger and Donald Trump.
Sarkozy and Bruni have been spotted together a number of times since November. He took her to Disneyland with the young son she has from a previous relationship, and smiled for the photographers who swarmed around trying to get the best shots. He even took her on his visit to Egypt, offering her a romantic side trip down the Nile to Luxor and a few days at a luxury hotel in Sharm El-Sheikh. The photos showed them looking like honeymooners.
Sarkozy's predecessors at the Elysee Palace were discreet about their private affairs and kept them out of the press, even though le tout Paris knew most of them had mistresses and President Mitterand even had a second family. Sarkozy and Bruni, by contrast, have happily displayed their relationship for all to see.
Some of the French expressed shock at seeing their President's private life spread all over the media, but most seem to want to know more about the woman who some suggest may become the next first lady of France. Sales of magazines with Carla Bruni on the cover have skyrocketed, and the gossip columnists are already assuming it is not a question of whether, but when. Indeed, judging from Sarkozy's mood these days and the broad smile on his face, his next break with French presidential tradition may be to marry his girlfriend.
