This handshake sure made the headlines, and triggered a transatlantic debate as to whether new French president Nicolas Sarkozy is "American." Referring to his desire for an active, decisive and powerful presidency, 20 minutes titles Un président à l'américaine. French papers and other commentators mostly question, or criticize, his "pro-American liberalism." It's all a matter of definition, says Olivier Roy in his Friend or Faux? op-ed for the NYT: "conservative" and "liberal" don't mean the same here and there. "Americans misunderstand what a 'conservative' France could be: it does not mean a drastic shift toward a free market and traditional moral values, but a balance between a welfare (and strong) state and a more flexible labor market. Under 'Sarkozy the American,' France will remain very French." We can bet on that.photo Google Images
