France v the world

IT WAS operation damage control this week, as the Elysée tried to revive the president's standing abroad after sharp criticism of his expulsion of Romanies. In a big speech in New York, Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to do more to combat AIDS and help Africa. He secured a cheerful photo with Angela Merkel days after a diplomatic punch-up in Brussels. Even his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, joined the charm offensive with an elegant performance, in English, on CNN.

For all the president's defiance, the French have been knocked by the response to the Romani row. Fully 71% of respondents to one poll said that they thought France's image abroad had been tainted. The low point was last week's declaration by Viviane Reding, the European justice commissioner, that she was “appalled” by the removal of an ethnic group, something she “thought Europe would not have to witness again after the second world war”. Mr Sarkozy fought back in Brussels, cannily transforming himself into the victim of “outrageous” and “gravely insulting” comments, thereby distracting attention from the policy itself. But the underlying complaint (and the threat of legal proceedings against France) remains.

Standing up to the European Commission usually goes down well in France, where voters have mixed feelings about Europe and do not like being bossed about by unelected bureaucrats. So this row may yet help Mr Sarkozy at home. Although his overall popularity slipped again this month, polls suggest that voters approve of his expulsion of the illegal Romanies.

The trouble is the international damage. The French are sensitive to this. Endless television and radio talk shows pick over France's deteriorating image abroad, touching not only the Romanies but also the strike by the national football team at the World Cup this summer and the Bettencourt affair, a political-favours scandal involving Eric Woerth, the labour minister. Le Monde wrote of a “double debasement: of the authority of Nicolas Sarkozy and of the image of France in Europe and in the world.” Dominique de Villepin, a former prime minister and rival of Mr Sarkozy, also weighed in. “Those who love France”, he said, “do not recognise our country.” He argues that French diplomacy is absent on the big questions, such as the Middle East peace talks, while worrying disproportionately about Romanies.

The coming months will test Mr Sarkozy's image anew. In mid-November France takes over the 12-month presidency of the G20, and in 2011 the G8 as well. Mr Sarkozy hopes to use these platforms to boost his standing abroad and his poll numbers at home, just as he did when France held the presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2008. He is not short of bold ideas, including a global financial tax, the regulation of commodity derivatives and measures to limit exchange-rate volatility. He also wants to overhaul international financial institutions and to set up a G20 secretariat.

Foreign leaders have learned to discount much of Mr Sarkozy's rhetorical excess, argues Zaki Laïdi, a political scientist at Sciences-Po. But next year is close to the 2012 presidential election. The more Mr Sarkozy shores up domestic support with a hard line on security and immigration, the more he runs the risk of renewed disapproval abroad.