The French feel an intimacy with him as someone like them, but they also want a semi-royal president to represent the country. “So there was this slight misalignment between this man they identify with and this expectation they have of the president, any president,” the friend said. “Then couple this with too much money, or too many visible signs of it, which relates to the funny relationship the French have with money.” The result, the friend said, was disappointment.
The divorce and remarriage further upset the French. “He was theirs, and then suddenly he becomes hers, and now he has to restore this sense of ‘I’m yours, because I’m here to serve the country,’ ” the friend said, sighing. “Which is no question the case, but he has to demonstrate it.”
New York Times publică un text savuros despre relaţia dintre francezi şi preşedintele lor: a love-hate relationship. Problema: o fascinaţie nesănătoasă pe care francezii o întreţin în jurul lui Sarkozy, fie că-l iubesc, fie că-l detestă. Psihologul citat în articol vorbeşte deja de “sarkofrenia” şi “sarkonoia”.