I can’t say I am an expert on Europe, so I hesitate to write on last weekend’s European summit, which is apparently so technically difficult to understand that even the specialist journalists were confused. However one thing emerged from the summit which strikes me straight away as being of general interest – to France-watchers at any rate: the re-appearance of that aspect of the French character so well epitomised by the farmyard cock, the animal chosen as symbolising France, crowing at its own magnificence. For the last few years the wretched creature has been so subdued we began to forget how aggravating its self-important strutting can be, this constant crowing that France is the best. That famous “grandeur” without which, as De Gaulle said, France is simply not France. Well, Sarkozy is determined that France shall be France once more, grandeur and all, so the crowing is back with us, and this weekend we were treated to two examples in particular – French aeroplanes are the best and the new European treaty, a French triumph, is Sarkozy’s creation.

French aeroplanes of course. Sarkozy’s best friend and godfather of his son is Arnaud Lagadère, owner of a large part (15%) of EADS, making the various Airbus, helicopters and military transport planes. Lagardère also owns a large section of the press – Paris-Match, Le Journal de Dimanche, three national radio stations and a clutch of TV stations. Then there is Serge Dassault, the president of France’s other plane maker and another close friend of Sarkozy. Dassault’s best plane has been the Mirage, which began life in the early 1950’s and, re-hashed, is still going strong. As well as the successful Falcon family of planes, Dassault also makes the Rafale which was launched fully 6 years ago and has not, as far as I can see, made one sale abroad, by which I assume it is not a good aircraft, although it was being shown off as the pearl of French aviation at the Paris air show this weekend. Like Lagardère, Dassault also owns several newspapers, including the Figaro, as well as having a 20% holding in Lagardere’s media arm. Thus there are very close ties between both of the main French plane-makers, the press and the president. It is not surprising therefore that the weekend’s press was full of praise for the president’s generous praise of the French aeronautical business – there was an awful lot of back-scratching going on. Those with memories stretching back further than two weeks will remember that during the election campaign there was much agonising about the ailing Airbus, threatening to close plants through lack of orders: now, a few weeks later, we are being told it is a flagship of all that is good and great about France.

As far as the new European treaty is concerned, the press here almost always calls it “Sarkozy’s mini-treaty”, giving the impression that it was Sarkozy’s creation. The fact that people started suggesting a mini, “cut-and-paste” treaty almost before the French referendum two years ago is something else conveniently forgotten in the search for superlatives. Neither was the French press bothered by the fact that before this weekend’s summit the treaty was a virtual one. Nobody bothered to print it, or even reproduce it in the press. “The Independent”, in Britain, published the main clauses of the section on fundamental rights, and reading them was, to me, an eye-opener. I would have liked to have seen more, but the press here was not going to oblige. Now in the aftermath of the summit, the French press cannot give enough praise for Sarkozy’s stunning victory over the Poles and British. Objectively it is true that he is a good communicator and a determined negotiator; he speaks plainly, without the ridiculous airs and graces of Chirac and Mitterrand. In other words he communicates, negotiates and talks like Tony Blair, simply and directly. But naturally that comparison cannot be mentioned.

Sarkozy’s great boast for this summit is that he has got rid of Europe’s commitment to “free and undistorted competition” – and with it he has thrown away any pretence of admiring the British and American models which have led those countries to considerable economic success. Instead. protection is back in favour. It is through protection and state funding of industry that Sarkozy plans to re-vitalise ailing France. Stephen King (no relation) has a good article in yesterday’s “Independent” about how short-sighted that is – what, after all, is a European champion? Something on the line of EADS, perhaps? Part of EADS does very well, part is in hopeless disarray, particularly at the management level, in large part caused by having to have a split presidency, German and French. The delays to the A380 are said to be due to a complete cock-up over the wiring – made in Germany and installed in France with the instructions on the back of the box translated by cheap computer software. Delays that long and that expensive are not caused by minor mishaps. Cock-ups can happen anywhere, but you don’t call the people responsible for them champions. Stephen King’s analogy is effective: imagine that the football league was determined not by how many goals a club scored, but by political decisions.

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