At first it would appear that Nicolas Sarkozy, the front-runner to be the conservative candidate for French president next year, has committed a political blunder by declaring himself a "friend of America" during his trip to Washington last week. He even posed for a grip-and-grin photo with President Bush and extolled the U.S. way of life.

Mr. Sarkozy's stance elicited the predictable howls of outrage. His Socialist rival, Segolene Royal, told French television: "My diplomatic policy would not consist of going and kneeling in front of George Bush." Her colleagues went further and ridiculed the French interior minister as "Bush's future poodle." French president Jacques Chirac, who is a Sarkozy adversary even though they are both members of the same party, was reportedly furious with Mr. Sarkozy, telling aides that his pro-U.S. moves were "irresponsible" and "lamentable."

But Mr. Sarkozy returned the fire. "I'm not a coward. I'm proud of this friendship and I'm happy to proclaim it," he said. Aides said his outreach to America was designed to appeal to those in the French electorate who live outside Paris and have always been more pro-U.S. than the Parisian elite.

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