From the moment he arrived at the G20, Obama was was the rock-star. Who were those screaming groupies, held back by barriers and chanting O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! …? They were no less than the 800 hand-picked Cannoise creme de la creme that were invited into the sealed perimeter as a political favor by the French President (…who got no such reception, I might add!) Sarkozy gave the nod, and Obama moved into the excited crowd to shake hands, his smile transforming the normally reserved French into a gaggle of grinning schoolgirls.
By Friday, the G20 had turned into the G2, culminating with the other Heads of State fading into the background as Obama and Sarkozy took the stage in front of hundreds of delighted locals let into the ‘zone’, for an impromptu outdoor ceremony to highlight 200 years of Franco-American cooperation. The 45-minute love-fest was followed by an unprecedented televised interview where it seemed like these two new BFF couldn’t compliment each other enough.
So what was that all about? With both of them facing daunting reelection battles, Sarkozy seemed to hope to capture a little magic Obama dust, while Obama was maybe basking in the adulation… that he is definitely not getting back home. Freedom fries? Forgotten.
Nice-Matin: Sarkozy et Obama celebrent leur entent à Cannes et à la television
Photo credit: wikipedia.fr licensed under Creative Commons
See related posts:
- Cannes Kebab Vendor Saves President Obama
- G-20 in Cannes = Good Time to Stay Away
- G-Day for Nice? Anti G20 Protests take Center Stage
- Anti-G20 Protests in Nice: so far so good
- Presidential Caprices at the G20 Summit in Cannes
- Cannes under the spell of the G20
