WikiLeaks Canada: Nicolas Sarkozy acted like a monarch

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   In December 2009, Mr. Rivkin told Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State: “Sarkozy’s own advisers likewise demonstrate little independence and appear to have little effect on curbing the hyperactive president, even when he is at his most mercurial.”
   He added: “After two years in office, many seasoned key Élysée staff are leaving for prestigious onward assignments as a reward for their hard work, raising questions as to whether new faces will be any more willing to point out when the emperor is less than fully dressed.” Leaked documents show that the US was concerned about Mr. Sarkozy’s alleged “thin-skinned, authoritarian” ways, however Mr. Sarkozy, who took office in May 2007, was described by one diplomat as the “most pro-American French president since the Second World War”. The comment signals a dramatic turnaround in relations between the two countries which hit a low in 2003 when France refused to support America’s invasion of Iraq. Cables also disclosed that Mr. Sarkozy offended the Saudis by planning to take Carla Bruni on a state visit in January 2008 before they were married. A memo from the US embassy in Riyadh said Saudi contacts found the invitation to his then fiancee as “offensive given their strict, conservative culture against the company of an unmarried woman”.

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