Sarkozy Seals Status As Europe's New Pin-up for Us

The long years of animosity between the US and France formally ended just after eleven this morning when the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, entered the House of Representatives to applause and yelps of approval.

Congressmen gave him a standing ovation and queued up to shake his hand. The chamber was packed for a rare joint meeting of both the senate and the House of Representatives, in contrast with 1996, when members boycotted an address by the then president, Jacques Chirac, over nuclear testing in the Pacific.

Mr Sarkozy, on his first official visit to Washington, told the Congressmen: "The state of our friendship and alliance is strong."

Acknowledging the rift between the two countries in 2003 over France's opposition to the Iraq war, he said: "Friends may have differences. They may have disagreements. They may have disputes. But in times of difficulty, in times of hardship, friends stand together, side by side."

He spoke of the historical links between the two countries dating back to the Revolutionary War, and his love of US literature, music and film.

"My generation shared all the American dreams. Our imaginations were fueled by the winning of the west and Hollywood. By Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington, Hemingway, by John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Monrose, Rita Hayworth, and by Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, fulfilling mankind's oldest dream," he said.

With Tony Blair retired and Gordon Brown having cooled relations with President George Bush, Mr Sakozy is now the White House's favorite European.

He even managed to get away with a joke at a White House dinner last night. "I also came to say that one can be a friend of America, and yet win elections in France," he said.

After his address to Congress, he went to Mount Vernon, Virginia, George Washington's home, for talks with Mr Bush.

While Mr Chirac refused to support the US invasion of Iraq, Mr Sarkozy has been fully behind the US, and occasionally more bellicose, over the Iranian nuclear crisis.

In Congress, Mr Sarkozy spoke of a need for closer cooperation on a host of issues. He said the weak dollar was not a matter just for the US but for all the world.

"If we're not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims."

Mr Sarkozy, who marked six months in power this week, has been accused of playing up his image as a hero of international diplomacy in order to bury his problems at home.

Faced with sliding poll ratings and the prospect of more crippling strike action over the next two weeks, the president has not endeared himself to disgruntled public sector workers by securing a salary increase of at least 172%. His office claimed he was simply bringing his earnings in line with the prime minister.

Mr Sarkozy, who was elected to push through difficult reforms, is facing a grueling stand off on the streets. Transport and utility workers are tonight deciding whether to join open-ended strike action next week over plans to end the favorable pensions deals enjoyed by certain workers.

The president is already facing down rebellions from magistrates, teachers, prison officers and civil servants, who will strike this month. Students, who briefly stormed the Sorbonne this week, are currently blockading several faculties around France.

Mr Sarkozy conceded on arrival in Washington that he faced "a difficult month of November".

"There will be strikes, there will be protests, but I will hold firm, not because I'm stubborn, but because it's in France's interest," he said.