Congress to Welcome Sarkozy As America's Newest Old Friend

How times have changed. French President Nicolas Sarkozy will address a joint meeting of Congress on Nov. 7, signaling the fulsome transformation of relations between Washington and Paris.

Perhaps even more telling of the mood on Capitol Hill, the congressional dining room has changed its menu entry from "freedom fries" back to the classic "french fries." (Indeed, Rep. Walter B. Jones, the North Carolina Republican who first suggested "freedom fries" in 2003, even voted for a resolution this year opposing President Bush's temporary troop increase in Iraq.) France will set a new record for the number of speeches by a representative of a foreign country over the past 180 years. Sarkozy will be the eighth French leader to have spoken on Capitol Hill, beating out Britain's seven. It's a record that may hold for a while, given new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans to cut the number of British troops in Iraq by more than half and subtly distance himself in other ways from Bush.

Sarkozy's appearance is also certain to be in stark contrast to the 1996 speech by President Jacques Chirac, which was widely boycotted to protest France's nuclear testing in the South Pacific. Of the 535 members, fewer than 100 members of the House and Senate attended Chirac's address. Many seats had to be filled by staffers and congressional pages at the last minute to prevent the chamber from appearing virtually empty.

The boycott of Chirac was led by Democrats, with the late Rep. Patsy T. Mink (D-Hawaii) taking a leading role. This time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) extended the invitation to Sarkozy. "The ties of friendship between the people of the United States and the people of France have their roots to when our country was founded," she said.

Sarkozy will continue a tradition started when the Marquis de Lafayette became the first foreign dignitary to address a joint meeting of Congress, in 1824. At the time, Lafayette virtually gushed that congressional words of praise "excite in my breast emotions which no adequate words could express."

Calling himself a "favored son of America," Lafayette recalled earlier speaking to a "Committee of a Congress" of 13 states. Forty years later, "I have the honor, and enjoy the delight, to congratulate the Representatives of the Union, so vastly enlarged, on the realization of those wishes, even beyond every human expectation, and upon the almost infinite prospects we can with certainty anticipate," he said.

Sarkozy's speech will not be quite as enthusiastic as Lafayette's address, say French officials. And Paris, which is America's oldest ally, still has differences with Washington, even if relations are better.

"The most important part of Sarkozy's trip will be his address to Congress," said French Embassy spokesman Emmanuel Lenain. "He's putting a lot of emphasis on it." Sarkozy's message will be that the two countries are allies but not aligned, French officials said. And while relations have improved, the two nations can disagree and discuss differences frankly.

Sarkozy, who visited Bush in Maine last summer while on vacation in New Hampshire after his election, is likely to bring up Europe's desire to see more U.S. leadership on global warming, French officials say. Also on Sarkozy's agenda in talks both at the White House and on the Hill are Iran, the upcoming Middle East peace conference, Lebanon, Darfur, and international economics after the subprime crisis.

The visit was announced the same week that Sarkozy separated from his wife, Cecilia. Last summer, she opted out of joining her husband during the day trip to Kennebunkport to visit the Bushes.

Despite the improvement in relations, teasing about the culture clashes and political bad blood between the French and Americans is not over. Just check out SuperFrenchie, "Frenchies' Adventures in French-Bashing America" ( http://www.superfrenchie.com). The site -- pointed out by a French Embassy official -- chronicles the two societies' feelings about each other.

Among the items: A caption contest for a picture taken at the Bush-Sarkozy visit last summer. It shows the two men smiling together, with Sarkozy holding one finger in front of Bush's face. Among the 43 entries -- "OK, George, just one last try: how many fingers?"