Sarkozy address

Whether or not Britain remains in the grip of Sarkosis (deep obsession with Sarkozy and his wife), the state visit has been an interesting one.

At the State Banquet at Windsor Castle, which I had the privelege to attend, and in his speech to Parliament, the French president went out of his way to thank Britain for saving France in the two world wars, which he said France would never forget. This is something that not every previous French President has been happy to say so clearly and eloquently.

He likened France and Britain to two brothers, born in the same era, who had grown up together and as teenagers had squabbled a lot, been jealous of each other's possesions, pinched from each other, and yet had fought side by side in early adulthood (20th Century) in defence of their independence and their shared values of liberty and democracy. Now their relationship had matured into deep friendship and although their lifestyles, tastes and friends might often differ, this, as in the best of families, in no way detracts from their brotherhood. Indeed, they also mutually admire many of each other's achievments.

They are both also part of a wider family of countries in Europe. Both need the European Union, just as the European Union would be inconceivable without them.

Well put.