Word: chirac
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...Sarkozy's irritation with Syria now matches that of his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who went from being one of Assad's strongest friends in the West to one of the young President's bitterest critics. In 1998, Paris became the first Western capital visited by Assad in an official capacity, two years before he became President. Chirac also was the only Western head of state to attend the funeral of Assad's father, President Hafez al-Assad in 2000. He dispatched a close aide to Damascus to serve as French ambassador and a team of technocrats to assist Assad...
...only pundit who has lamented Sarkozy's star-struck flashiness in an office formerly characterized by the monumental solemnity of Charles de Gaulle, the intellectual loftiness exhibited by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand, and the less formal yet dignified detachment of Jacques Chirac. The French media has wryly covered Sarkozy's open affection for celebrities like iconic rock star Johnny Hallyday, popular comic actor Christian Clavier, and the subtly named Doc Gyneco - a rapper whose dwindling popularity and fan base further shrunk when he announced his support for Sarkozy's presidential bid. Sarkozy...
...Kennedy." Among his detractors in France, the president has regularly been called "Sarko l'americain." And like Kennedy, Sarkozy has carefully crafted his image as the modernizing President who will shatter outdated traditions - including perhaps the tradition of disregarding French leaders' sexual relationships. In contrast to the aloof Jacques Chirac, Sarkozy has stormed across the world, being photographed as he jogs, eats, drinks, and meets countless world leaders. "Sarkozy does not like to hide things," says Jaigu. "It is his trademark. Now he will never be able to hide from photographers." Then again, even Sarkozy could find himself upstaged...
...French President Nicolas Sarkozy knew he was certain of glowing treatment in the U.S. by marketing himself as the anti-Jacques Chirac, that same reputation will earn him a chillier greeting during his state visit to Algeria, where his predecessor is still fondly remembered. Indeed Sarkozy's embrace of tougher anti-immigration policies have created considerable antipathy in Algeria - as has the President's refusal to apologize for crimes and abuses committed during France's colonial past. The resentment has even gotten personal: last week, apparently referring to Sarkozy's distant Jewish ancestry, the Algerian Veterans Affairs Minister Mohammed Cherif...
...called the "detestable fashion of repentance" of French politicians, such as his predecessor, for alleged injustices inflicted during France's colonial period. After earlier acknowledging the role of the French state in the persecution of Jews during France's World War II occupation early in his presidency, Chirac relieved Algerians in 2006 - and infuriated many conservatives - by repealing an article in a law requiring French history books to teach the "positive role of France's overseas presence, notably in North Africa...