Allies of a kind

A torn relationship is repaired, but trust still seems to be missingNO EUROPEAN leader has worked harder to mend ties with Americanor had so much to do. Ever since his election in 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy has tried to persuade America that France is a reliable friend, even an alternative interlocutor to Britain. Mr Sarkozy has courted and flattered the Americans at every opportunity, trying to turn the page on the time of the Iraq war when the word French became a byword in America for disloyalty. At the NATO summit Mr Sarkozy even took France back into the alliances military command. Yet, as Barack Obama ended his first trip to Europe, he left the French feeling oddly frustrated. Mr Obama made all the right noises. In Strasbourg before the NATO meeting, he stood beside a contented Mr Sarkozy in the courtyard of an 18th-century palace and called France Americas oldest ally, our first ally. When Mr Sarkozy said that France would not send any more soldiers to join NATOs operation in Afghanistan, he still praised the French presidents remarkable leadership there. He wowed an audience of schoolchildren at a town-hall-style meeting. When the two first ladies met, Michelle Obama, in a magenta silk dress, even managed to rival Carla Bruni-Sarkozy for glamour. ...