AP Photo

The first incarnation of French President Nicholas Sarkozy was that of a polished Parisian Silvio Berlusconi. The stint was evident in Sarkozy’s excessive public performances, like his Egyptian vacation in December 2008, when he wore sunglasses that would have been better placed at the front lines in Afghanistan. To celebrate his electoral victory on the night of May 6th 2007, he chose the famed restaurant “Fouquet” as the perfect venue to invite top personalities of the hexagon – even Jean Reno, Bernard Arnault, and cycling hero Richard Virenque.