Indeed. On ET, our French-based readers made the point that he had the media in cahoots (for newer non-French readers: the three big industrialists/media barons who own the top private TVs and much of the written media, as well as the new majority owner of leftist Libération, are Sarkozy's personal friends); but even taking that into account, it seems to me a good deal of cognitive dissonance was involved...

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}