A partnership that could re-shape the continent

There’s hope that all the manufactured public harmony of state banquets and other royal pomp will be reflected in a genuine new entente cordiale between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown. According to this editorial, “there are strong indications that the two of them have a rapport, established when they were both finance ministers in 2004.” There are also no “pivotal” areas of poverty over which they have markedly different positions – unlike the war no Iraq which drove their predecessors apart. Today’s visit is a chance for Brown to widen the traditional Franco-German axis of European relations across the Channel. But the optimists should remember that Brown has been reluctant to highlight the benefits of the European Union. “He preferred to present the Lisbon Treaty as something close to the plague.”

“Tenacious” Gordon Brown hosts Nicolas Sarkozy

Across the Channel, the French Catholic daily paints the “Scottish, taciturn” Gordon Brown as the very “incarnation of the famous British reserve.” One former minister says Brown “acts with a Stalinist ruthlessness.” It’s an image completely at variance with Sarkozy’s “bling-bling” penchant for Rolex watches and yachts. That said, the two men respect each other’s “enormous appetite for work.”

Does Gordon Brown need Nicolas Sarkozy?

Brown and Sarkozy are likened to the “two most unpopular boys in the playground becoming pals with each other to counter the bullying and contempt of the others.” They have plenty in common: a slide in the polls after initially riding high and similar views over the threat of Iran and Russia. Simon Heffer suggests both men need this visit to “prop each other up.”

President check on Royal wine

The menu for the state banquet at Windsor Castle has been kept firmly under wraps. But according to the Sun, the President has “ruffled a few feathers” by demanding to see the wine list. An offended royal insider tells the paper: “Even the most demanding palate could not be disappointed by the choice of wines at Windsor Castle.” It’s a bizarre request from a leader who is practically teetotal.

Sarkozy gets a taste of the best of British

… “But of course a French chef will do the cooking.” World famous cook Raymond Blanc is the man preparing the feast for Thursday’s political summit. However, Blanc has spared a few British culinary blushes by staying relatively local with Scottish salmon, terrine of leek and roast breast of Gressingham duck. The double Michelin-starred chef promises to tempt the President with a nice bottle of French wine. “I know he does not drink much but I cannot serve him Coca Cola or English wine.”

At the same time that President Sarkozy sits down to a state banquet hosted by the Queen, France and England kick off in a friendly football match in Paris. But as l’Equipe points out, “it’s never friendly between these two old rivals”. For France, it’s a chance for players like Djibril Cissé and David Trezeguet to try to win a place in the squad heading to Euro 2008, a tournament for which England failed to qualify.

Becks fab for 2010 World Cup

David Beckham is expected to make footballing history tonight by winning his 100^th cap in Paris. And England manager Fabio Capello has hinted that the LA Galaxy midfielder could be a contender for the next World Cup. Beckham was recalled to the England cause after he was dropped two years ago. According to Capello: “"The David Beckham I know can certainly last and get to 2010 if he carries on training as he has done.”