President Sarkozy's habit of picking fights landed him at war yesterday with three mighty institutions: the European Commission, the French armed forces and state television. Mr Sarkozy's slanging match with Peter Mandelson soured his second day of France's EU presidency after the British commissioner accused him of undermining Europe in world trade negotiations. The squabble, in which Mr Sarkozy cast Mr Mandelson as a bogeyman, was overshadowed at home by unrest among army generals and mutiny by the boss of France Télévisions. The military, which is not fond of the reformist President, felt humiliated when Bruno Cuche, the army chief, resigned after a presidential tongue-lashing. After a dressing-down by the President on one of his own channels, Patrick de Carolis, chief of France Télévisions, called Mr Sarkozy's ideas stupid and ignorant. He is not expected to survive long.
President Sarkozy's habit of picking fights landed him at war yesterday with three mighty institutions: the European Commission, the French armed forces and state television.
Mr Sarkozy's slanging match with Peter Mandelson soured his second day of France's EU presidency after the British commissioner accused him of undermining Europe in world trade negotiations.
The squabble, in which Mr Sarkozy cast Mr Mandelson as a bogeyman, was overshadowed at home by unrest among army generals and mutiny by the boss of France Télévisions.
The military, which is not fond of the reformist President, felt humiliated when Bruno Cuche, the army chief, resigned after a presidential tongue-lashing. After a dressing-down by the President on one of his own channels, Patrick de Carolis, chief of France Télévisions, called Mr Sarkozy's ideas stupid and ignorant. He is not expected to survive long.
PARIS: As it meticulously planned and executed its daring rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, French officials in Paris say, Colombia kept one person out of the loop: President Nicolas Sarkozy. That was extraordinary because Betancourt is a dual French-Colombian national, her captivity was a cause célèbre in France and Sarkozy had maintained a drumbeat of diplomatic pressure to try to spring her from the hands of Colombian rebels. And yet, when word of Betancourt's long-awaited freedom reached Paris on Wednesday, Sarkozy was out of the office, at his wife's residence in a posh part of town, his office said. He had to scramble back to the presidential Élysée Palace. France learned of the release just 15 minutes before the Colombian media broke the news, said Sarkozy's closest aide, the Élysée chief of staff, Claude Guéant. Guéant explained on French television that while Colombia had told France months before that a military operation was being contemplated, "it is true that we weren't expecting it at that precise moment."
PARIS: As it meticulously planned and executed its daring rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, French officials in Paris say, Colombia kept one person out of the loop: President Nicolas Sarkozy.
That was extraordinary because Betancourt is a dual French-Colombian national, her captivity was a cause célèbre in France and Sarkozy had maintained a drumbeat of diplomatic pressure to try to spring her from the hands of Colombian rebels.
And yet, when word of Betancourt's long-awaited freedom reached Paris on Wednesday, Sarkozy was out of the office, at his wife's residence in a posh part of town, his office said. He had to scramble back to the presidential Élysée Palace.
France learned of the release just 15 minutes before the Colombian media broke the news, said Sarkozy's closest aide, the Élysée chief of staff, Claude Guéant.
Guéant explained on French television that while Colombia had told France months before that a military operation was being contemplated, "it is true that we weren't expecting it at that precise moment."
