Beauty has been chased off by the Beast.
Cartoonists have depicted the tough guy - who bullies rivals, betrays mentors and calls young troublemakers in low-income housing in the Paris suburbs "scum" - as a gargoyle, Dracula, an evil sorcerer and a devil.
The imagery of the presidential duel tapped into mythic Gothic tales of France, like "Beauty and the Beast," "The Phantom of the Opera," and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Sarko wrote in his political book "Testimony" that France "is not a museum" and "must find the energy" to succeed. In his acceptance speech, he said he would "rehabilitate" work, and an adviser promised he would be "a presidential entrepreneur." (Just as soon as he comes back from his yachting vacation.)
One expatriate friend of mine observed that the French are not lazy, they just want a leisurely lunch.
At a Paris flea market on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the vendors did not eat fast food or takeout at lunchtime. They set up tables with tablecloths, china and crystal and joined other vendors to dine on whole roasted chicken, fresh salad, bread and wine. And some would not interrupt their meal even for shoppers who wanted to buy their wares.
It will be fascinating to watch Sarko try to discipline the French, and change their psychology about work. Or will they discipline him, burrowing into their Camembert cocoon, chasing him away as he did Sego?
The mood here was best summed up with a take on an old Bette Davis line. Jean d'Ormesson, a commentator in Le Figaro, advised: "Fasten your seatbelts. This will be quite a ride."
I'm no expert on France. I leave that to Fixer. I've only been there once, if you count an hour at the Nice airport as 'being in France'. All I really know about the French is that they used to make truly terrible motorcycles. A friend of mine had a Peugeot once, and the exhaust smelled like a garlic and red wine burp. But only on the rare occasions when it ran, of course.
It'll be fun to watch all this. From a safe distance.
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