BRITAIN:PRESIDENT NICOLAS Sarkozy wowed Westminster yesterday with a historic address combining praise for Britain's sacrifice and leadership in two world wars with the promise of "a new Franco-British brotherhood for the 21st century".
Having already drawn comparisons with the style and elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis and Diana, princess of Wales, the spotlight last night returned to the president's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, at a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth at Windsor.
Mr Sarkozy made a powerful impression on the first full day of his brief state visit to the United Kingdom with a speech to both Houses of Parliament marked by a rhetorical force and political certainty not witnessed here since former prime minister Tony Blair departed the political stage. The president's message felt unmistakably Blairite too in its promise to emulate Britain in terms of his domestic "reform" agenda while seeming to re-position France alongside the UK as a natural bridge between Europe and the United States.
Mr Sarkozy said that while the "Franco-German axis" remained an "indispensable driving force" in Europe it was "no longer enough" to enable Europe to act and bring its full weight to bear. "We need to rally the 27," he said. "We need first of all this new Franco-British entente." With prime minister Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron listening, however, the president was equally clear this required Britain and France to accept their "common destiny" in Europe. Nor was anyone suggesting this would require Britain to abandon the Transatlantic alliance, he asserted.
"Today, more than ever before, Europe needs the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom needs Europe," he said. "Who can think that the UK would have more influence in the world if she returned to splendid isolation? Who can think that Europe would be stronger without British dynamism? Who can think that the challenges facing our nations today could be resolved better in a strictly national framework?"
Mr Sarkozy continued: "For this no one is asking the United Kingdom to give up the brotherly and deep-rooted ties which for 300 years have bound her to America, or to abandon her special relations with the Commonwealth countries. That would mean asking her to give up on being herself.
"That would above all deprive Europe of the most valued asset the United Kingdom can bring it: this openness to the world, this exceptional international influence and this culture of diversity Europe needs so much."
Mr Sarkozy was lavish in his praise for Britain, going beyond the obligatory thanks for the liberation of France and Europe in the second World War, recalling, too, "the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish blood mixed with the French blood in the mud of the trenches".
And he may well have horrified voters at home with his enthusiasm for Britain as a "model" for change without denying her history or identity.
"Progressively, over the past decades, France and the United Kingdom have learned to observe each other, understand each other and help each other. In many fields the United Kingdom has become a model, a benchmark for France and vice versa," he said. Perhaps what the French admired most was Britain's ability "to embrace change and often steal a march on world progress, while remaining true to itself.
"The United Kingdom has shown that in the global economy, there was a path to achieve strong growth, full employment and solidarity. This path is that of reforms to restore the value of effort, encourage innovation, the spirit of enterprise and sense of personal responsibility."
He added: "The vital objective for France, who like the United Kingdom is rich in history and tradition, with the strength derived from her men and women, thriving because of her wealth and identity, is to gain all she can from what she is, while drawing inspiration from the lessons of successful experiences."
France would carry out reforms quickly, Mr Sarkozy said, because it had postponed them too long and could not wait: "You can count on my total determination in this respect. France, today, has begun moving again."