Chirac, the Jacques—ass, languishes in the polls, but another figure, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, is soaring. Strangely enough, the French populce is backing a man who seems imbued with common sense. And, wonder of wonders, he commends Tony Blair and George W. Bush as leaders from whom the French can learn.

Foreign Policy has published a lengthy introduction to Sarkozy. Check it out. Meanwhile, the man himself is making news this morning by telling a news conference that some of the London terror bombers suspects appear to have been previously arrested, but released in the hope of leading authorities to others.

Thomas Lifson  7 14 05