In keeping with the institutional reform he himself saw through, the French president was able to give a direct address, on Monday June 22, to both houses of the French parliament at Louis XIV's chateau of Versailles. Such an "historical event", which last occurred all of one hundred and fifty years ago, hasn't escaped the attention of the European press, which has lambasted Sarkozy's "monarchical delirium". In the palatial setting of Versailles, it should have been a consecration, but as the Libération headline points out it was more of a "Hassle in a Castle." For the inauguration of institutional reforms voted in July 2008, the French President made his first ever address to an assembly which convened both houses of the French parliament -- and failed to live up to the occasion with a "drab" speech in marked contrast to the sumptuous venue. "Even the Right could not hide its disappointment at a speech which only surprised by its utter predictability," reports the left-wing daily. This sentiment is also re-echoed by the European press led by Der Standard, which ironically reports on "a revolutionary event in the royal palace," only to conclude that the first exercise of the president's right to address parliament was marked by "a total absence of revolutionary content. (...) The only certainty is that Sarkozy does not intend to raise taxes," observes the Viennese daily, which emphasizes the media circus surrounding the assembly and the dash of celebrity glamour provided by the presence of Carla Bruni. For Dziennik in Warsaw, Nicolas Sarkozy's address was not so much a speech as a show to promote a new political program, which the editor of the daily Andrzej Talaga deplores as "a mix of populism, socialism and nationalism." In seeking to assist key sectors of French industry, the French President is threatening to undermine the foundations of Europe, which are the Single Market and free and fair competition. In conclusion, Talaga takes the view that "Sarkozy has stamped these principles into the mud beneath his elevated shoes." For Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the assembly in Versailles was first and foremost the expression of the French president's "regal delusions." The conservative daily goes on point out that the staging of "the event cost a million euros," which could have been used for a more useful purpose than "pomp and circumstance."
In keeping with the institutional reform he himself saw through, the French president was able to give a direct address, on Monday June 22, to both houses of the French parliament at Louis XIV's chateau of Versailles. Such an "historical event", which last occurred all of one hundred and fifty years ago, hasn't escaped the attention of the European press, which has lambasted Sarkozy's "monarchical delirium".
In the palatial setting of Versailles, it should have been a consecration, but as the Libération headline points out it was more of a "Hassle in a Castle." For the inauguration of institutional reforms voted in July 2008, the French President made his first ever address to an assembly which convened both houses of the French parliament -- and failed to live up to the occasion with a "drab" speech in marked contrast to the sumptuous venue. "Even the Right could not hide its disappointment at a speech which only surprised by its utter predictability," reports the left-wing daily.
This sentiment is also re-echoed by the European press led by Der Standard, which ironically reports on "a revolutionary event in the royal palace," only to conclude that the first exercise of the president's right to address parliament was marked by "a total absence of revolutionary content. (...) The only certainty is that Sarkozy does not intend to raise taxes," observes the Viennese daily, which emphasizes the media circus surrounding the assembly and the dash of celebrity glamour provided by the presence of Carla Bruni.
For Dziennik in Warsaw, Nicolas Sarkozy's address was not so much a speech as a show to promote a new political program, which the editor of the daily Andrzej Talaga deplores as "a mix of populism, socialism and nationalism." In seeking to assist key sectors of French industry, the French President is threatening to undermine the foundations of Europe, which are the Single Market and free and fair competition. In conclusion, Talaga takes the view that "Sarkozy has stamped these principles into the mud beneath his elevated shoes." For Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the assembly in Versailles was first and foremost the expression of the French president's "regal delusions." The conservative daily goes on point out that the staging of "the event cost a million euros," which could have been used for a more useful purpose than "pomp and circumstance."
