For Sarkozy, an American “Buddy” Who Will Be a Rival

The two men met in September 2006. The activism of one will have to adjust to the leadership of the other.

In September 2006, Nicolas Sarkozy, then interior minister, met Barack Obama, elected senator from Illinois one year prior, in Washington for the first time. The meeting was organized by then Ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte, who is now at the Élysée as diplomatic adviser. Immediately, the minister, who was no longer keeping his candidacy a secret, fell under the spell. While leaving office after the handshake, he let go with premonition: “That man, he will go very far!” Without doubt the future head of state perceived, from the outset, the young American politician’s charisma, dynamism and determination for change that he himself intended to represent. Like him, Obama displays relaxation and appreciates sports. Like him, he traces part of his origins out of the country and draws from it a predilection for diversity and multilateralism.

Two years later, in July 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy received the Democratic nominee at the Élysée. The interview lasted an hour and was overflowing with kindness. “There was agreement on everything,” recalled the president. It is with this “buddy,” as described at the time by the head of state, he aspires from now on to occupy the forefront of the world. An obvious desire seen from Paris, but that is less in Washington. Barack Obama’s tropisms turn to Africa and Asia, with special attention to China, rather than to Europe.

Favorable Winds

Of course, between the New and the Old Word, the winds are favorable. “For the first time in many years, the transatlantic issue is not a problem,” said secretary of state for European affairs, Bruno Le Maire. After the hollow of the Bush years, the Obama era evokes, on the contrary, a desire for America of which Nicolas Sarkozy is the enthusiastic cantor.

However, the arrival of Barack Obama is also promising difficulties. Isn’t it going to cast a shadow over the French president? When asked the question, the latter brushes it off with the back of his hand. “Do you think the current challenges are not heavy enough to be relieved by many? We need the Americans,” he says.

Nicolas Sarkozy also said he was “fascinated” by the U.S. vacuum that prevailed during the crisis in Georgia, during the G20 summit in Washington, and most recently with the conflict in Gaza. It is in taking advantage of this “vacuum” that the head of state worked, under the European banner, to play the peacemakers and reformers of global capitalism. “The United States is the great power, but no longer the only power,” said Nicolas Sarkozy. His activism will have to deal with the inevitable return of U.S. leadership. His talent at handling emergency will now link up with the “vision” on which Barack Obama has built a strong image. And then, do we know to tell him “no” when he asks his allies, in the name of “common values,” to take a greater share of the burden in Afghanistan or elsewhere? Tuesday, the French president sent his new counterpart his “best wishes for success” and declared himself “resolved to work hand in hand” with him to “face together the immense challenges of the world.”

Meeting on April 12

Promising reconciliations are emerging on the issue of global warming. The prospects look noticeably more complicated on a reform of global capitalism, trade, and reorganization of large institutions (UN, IMF, WTO…). In his recent speeches, Nicolas Sarkozy has taken some distance, stressing, without naming the United States, that the necessary reforms would be made with or without them… As for willpower, given the new occupant of the White House opening dialogue with Iran, it does not draw the enthusiasm of the Europeans a priori.

The first meeting between Presidents Sarkozy and Obama is scheduled April for 12 at the G20 summit in London. At the Élysée, we hoped to be able to anticipate this event. But the president of the Republic knows that, for his new partner primarily occupied by domestic issues, he simply cannot be a priority.