Sanja Hurem

President Sarkozy, what were you thinking?

Not only did he get drunk with former Russian President Putin and subsequently gave a G8 speech presumably drunk; he became known for his divorce from long-term wife Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz and subsequent marriage to Carla Bruni. Given her impressive dating record, some  have referred to Miss Bruni as the famous man’s concubine, but I like to think of her as a beautiful woman who just happens to be compatible with rich and powerful men. More recently, Sarkozy also managed to insult one of the largest world religions, calling Islam a backward faith that is incompatible with French values.

To top off Sarkozy’s record of shameful conduct, the Economist published an article discussing the moral crisis that seems to have ensued in the ranks of Sarkozy’s conservative right-wing party.  Sarkozy’s colleague and former French President Mitterrand admitted to soliciting “boys” for sex during his vacations in Thailand. Around the same time, he exclaimed that he found the arrest of Roman Polanski, an America filmmaker charged of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, “absolutely appalling”.

From an American perspective, the behavior of Sarkozy and Mitterrand would be unacceptable. Imagine President Obama leaving Michelle for a younger woman and giving press conferences under the influence, or if Joe Biden came out publicly endorsing prostitution.

When evaluating Sarkozy’s behavior, however, we have to step outside the (American) box. French society holds values that, in some ways, differ vastly from commonly held convictions in the United States. Take the subject of love. Romantic relationships in France take place in the private as well as the public setting. During my time in Paris, I grew more comfortable with couples publicly displaying their affection through excessive tongue action. The French more openly and publicly embrace love in all its dimensions, ranging from physical affection to marriage and sexual preference. With that in mind, Sarkozy’s openness about his divorce and remarriage appears more commonplace than unusual. In the same way, Mitterrand’s personal contribution to Thai sex tourism, while morally still objectionable, may not result in the kind of political suicide we would expect in the US.

Yet at the end of my discourse on French morality, I cannot help but wonder whether we in the US are all that different. Just because our presidents do not openly insult Islam, does it mean that they don’t hold significant prejudices against the Muslim community? Plenty of Muslims in this country could tell you about the misunderstandings and discrimination they encountered after 9/11. And just because we don’t like to see presidents get divorced or have extramarital affairs- even though many have revered the likes of JFK and FDR who have had less than clean slates-should we hold them to superhuman standards? Until we have answered these and other questions adequately, we may have to admit that French politicians are just a little more daring- daring to be imperfect.