Chron.com: Sarkozy hardly the 'model' of savoir-faire - by Froma Harrop

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The French have long tolerated adulterers, liars and hypocrites in their politics. A simpleton is another matter, and President Nicolas Sarkozy's public frolic with a former model and singer of heavy-breathing songs does not speak of emotional complexity. A divorced man of 52, Sarkozy says all this is a private matter. Fine, but then why take the 39-year-old Carla Bruni on state visits to socially conservative countries, where such unmarried coupledom is frowned upon? "That's France for you," a male friend reasoned. Actually, it's not. The French like order. Their president's need to push his love life onto unwilling audiences is causing international friction. And since the damage is so unnecessary, you wonder whether Sarkozy hasn't got a few screws loose.