A tale of two cities | 2 December 2011

Nicolas Sarkozy is grudgingly admired by French socialists as a political fighter, capable of thriving even in the most desperate situation. David Cameron is coming to understand what they mean. It is the best of times and the worst of times between Paris and London. Two months ago, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy assumed the victor’s garlands in Benghazi; today, they met at odds, if not yet in animosity, over the contested logic of ever closer union in Europe.

Sarkozy appears to have got his wish: the 17 countries of the Eurozone will deepen their economic and political relations in an attempt to save the single currency — and with it, he hopes, France’s economic and political strength on the international stage. It is unclear how integration will work, with Angela Merkel adamant that German taxpayers are protected from the excesses of their feckless neighbours. More precise details will likely emerge after Monday’s Franco-German summit; but Sarkozy seems to have preserved France’s seat at Europe’s top table, from which the naysayers are excluded.