John Lichfield writes a spot on 'obituary' of Sarkozy presidency :
Mr Sarkozy wanted to break the mould of French politics and French society. He wanted, as Margaret Thatcher did in Britain in the 1980s, to mess with the mind of France: to make the country more outward-looking, more confident and more entrepreneurial.
As recently as February, he invited Chancellor Angela Merkel to be his de facto running mate and argued that France should be more like Germany. He ended up fighting for political survival by aping the navel-gazing, ultra-nationalist language, themes, and tactics of the far-right National Front.
Historians will decide whether the people of France defeated his plans to drag the country into the 21st century; or whether Mr Sarkozy – despite his flag-waving – proved to be a man who did not understand France and could not lead his country through a time of crisis and shifts in global economic power.
I have to say that yesterday was one of those moments, when I felt greatful that France wasn't America and that the French aren't Americans for they don't believe, for long, in fairy tales and in unsophisticated super-heroes who can't transcend their frailties.
Sarkozy est 'mort,' vive François Hollande!
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