Sailing into trouble

The visit by Sarkozy in Malta has attracted some critical attention from sections of the international media and the French political left. Writing in the Guardian, Angelique Chrisafis in Paris, discusses questions being asked over his yacht holiday and opulence at 'odds with people's president pledge':

He has toiled for 30 years to become French president, displaying an energy once likened by his rivals to a turbo-charged Duracell bunny. So when Nicolas Sarkozy departed this week for a three-day break, supporters said it was well-deserved. But the president-elect's brief downtime on a yacht off Malta was yesterday questioned by the Socialist opposition for sending the wrong signal to the nation. Mr Sarkozy is relaxing on the 60-metre (196ft) Le Paloma with his wife, son, a small entourage and five security guards. He was said to be using the time to reflect on his future government and imminent parliamentary elections when he hopes to secure a majority to push through new labour laws and €15bn (£10bn) of tax cuts.

Patrick Menucci, an aide to Ségolène Royal, said the cruise and Mr Sarkozy's decision to stay at one of Paris's most luxurious hotels on the night of his victory were at odds with his message. Mr Sarkozy had promised to be the humbled "president of the people". "Everyone has a right to a holiday. But when you're a president, particularly a French president, I think that everything you do has a meaning," Mr Menucci said. He added that if the boat belonged to Mr Bolloré, it would show Mr Sarkozy's "worrying" link to big business.

An Italian news agency reported Mr Sarkozy telling a Maltese official he had come to the island to "make honourable amends" for a campaign "gaffe". In one of his speeches, he had talked of the need to strengthen the EU's Mediterranean front forgetting to mention Malta, a lapse noticed by the Maltese ambassador to Paris.

The Socialist leader François Hollande yesterday called for an end to anti-Sarkozy street violence. He said: "We are in a republic, where universal suffrage is the only law we know. There can be disappointment, anger, frustration. But the only way to react is to take up your ballots, not other weapons."...

Sarkozy gears up for reform whirlwind by Martin Arnold and Godfrey Grima