Le Beau Sarko Vexes French

He ain't your daddy's Jacques Chirac, and French president Nicolas Sarkozy's escapades have his countrymen both enthralled and concerned, reports the Guardian. His rollercoaster love life provides delicious gossip to a public that buys "I love Sarko" skivvies, and the tiny dynamo poses for intimate photo shoots and traipses around Disney World with supermodels in hand. But some see the antics as a ploy to divert attention from tough issues. 

The French press has typically avoided leaders' private sides—Francois Mitterand quietly kept a publicly funded mistress. But Sarko himself is the one courting the attention, pulling strings with media pals, and his youthful exuberance recalls JFK's Camelot era. "He's acting more like a celebrity than a president," one critic said. (More Nicolas Sarkozy stories.)