The French, it’s often said, were baffled by the hooha which surrounded Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky. And we can believe it. In this country the sex lives of public figures have long been regarded as their own business. Usually, though, the colourful details only emerged after their death. Félix Faure, President from 1895 to 1899, died in the arms of his mistress and nearly eighty years on Cardinal Jean Daniélou went to his reward while relaxing with a call girl. The sometimes lurid activities of France’s notables were usually scarcely mentioned in the media although often gossiped about without judgement being passed. Giscard was a notorious bed-hopper, Mitterrand was always on the look out for a good lay and at one time kept his bastard daughter in the Elysée while Chirac’s fondness for quickies led his staff to dub him “three minutes including the shower”.

So what’s changed with Sarkozy, long rumoured to be an active player away during both his marriages? Clearly, the media, and especially newspapers and magazines, have come to regard his personal life as fair game and their reports are eagerly devoured by their readers. It started before he got to the Elysée with the on-off story of the final stages of his marriage and reached a high point at the time of his divorce. After that there was constant speculation about who his next partner would be. Both Nicolas and his former wife Cécilia seemed ambiguous for some time about how they felt towards media attention, even while clearly manipulating it. Now, on the President’s side, there seems no doubt that he’s happy to play out his emotional adventures in public. Nobody doubts that the revelation of his affair with Carla Bruni was stage-managed.

Psychiatrist Serge Hefez describes Sarkozy as finding two satisfactions in the relationship: “First he’s fascinated by pop stardom and here’s a woman who’s already had Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger. Second, he can’t get Cécilia out of his system and you have to notice that Carla looks very much like her.” All this, of course, is part of what Le Monde calls “the Sarko Show” and more traditional politicians disapprove. Former centrist presidential candidate François Bayrou (he’s the one with the funny eyes) says Sarkozy’s behaviour “absolutely does not correspond to the values of France”. Recent polls indicate that some at least of the President’s compatriots agree with that. But, whatever they say, he comes across as  interesting and human.

From Riviera Reporter Issue 125: Feb/March 2008

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