Quote : Mr. Rothschild and Mr. Osborne 23rd October

"... Mr. Rothschild has not explained why he publicly denounced his old drinking companion. But it appears that he was offended by Mr. Osborne’s violation of something known informally as the “house-party rule,” which holds that you do not betray confidences told to you by fellow guests at a friend’s house.
“Perhaps in future it would be better if all involved accepted the age-old adage that private parties are just that,” Mr. Rothschild wrote "

Loose Lips Lead to Trouble for British Tories. Sarah Lyall, The NYT (en)

People : 29th September (en)

Nicolas Sarkozy accused of 'brutal' temper. Peter Allen , The Telegraph (en)

" ... "He was used to being served," says Mrs Fulda, "He would ask me in the morning, 'Can you get my things ready?' Faced with my refusal, he would say, 'But Cecilia used to do it'." ...

... "The man of power often behaves like a child when he is told 'no'," Coudurier said. Cecilia then returned yet again, and Mr Sarkozy desperately tried to make her feel at home once he was elected president, suggesting that she would be the "new Jackie Kennedy" and sending her off on a mission to Libya ... "He is extremely considerate to people when they're on his side," said Coudurier. "But he can also be brutal." ... "

People : 22nd September

Cécilia returns to puncture Sarkozy’s pomp. Matthew Campbell, The Times (en)
" ... According to Cécilia, Attias, 48, was told on the day of their marriage that his services were no longer required as an organiser of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Klaus Schwab, the business professor who founded the forum in 1971, did not want it “to be at loggerheads with the French government”, she claimed.
“It was a nice wedding present,” said an ironic Cécilia. “Since then I have learnt that the French president will probably attend the next Davos although he had never gone before.” ... “You could hardly expect [Sarkozy] to show up in the knowledge that his former wife’s new husband is the organiser,” said the source .
.. A spokesman for the World Economic Forum denied that it had sacked Attias, describing him as simply a “subcontractor”. Mark Adams said: “We never employed him directly, so we couldn’t sack him.”

People : 16th September (en)

Vladimir Putin to teach Nicolas Sarkozy judo. The Telegraph (en)

" ... "He is interested in martial arts and we have decided to do some training together," said the burly Russian leader ...While Mr Putin's martial prowess has been long documented, Mr Sarkozy has become more associated with jogging ... "

People : 15th September (en)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ex-wife Cecilia 'betrayed' by friends. Henry Samuel, The Telegraph (en)

"... But in her Tribune interview, the new Mrs Attias shook all of this vitriol off as journalistic hyperbole. "With my divorce, people latched onto me like a hunted animal and it was hell. Eighty per cent of what was written about me was false", she said, before adding magnanimously, "they also put a lot of false words into my ex-husband's mouth".
She said she had not been prepared for the media frenzy that top flight politics brings. "Doubtless I didn't think enough about it, I didn't see that I was putting my finger in an unstoppable machine" ... "

Paris Notebook: Carla's 'sales' hit by sound of silence. John Lichfield, The Independent (en)

" ... Carla Bruni-Sarkozy appeared on France's favourite Sunday afternoon chat-show last week.
An estimated three million viewers tuned in. When Bernadette Chirac appeared on the same television show in February last year, she had an audience of 6,500,000.
Lesson: Bernadette Chirac should make an album, or even a record ..."

People : 12th September

Sarkozy's golden boy gets married . Charles Bremner, The Times (en)
"France has just notched up two royal weddings within eight months ... There were 100 guests, many from the money, politics and show-biz set that Jean and his dad frequent ... To do him justice, Sarko junior has the easy manner and the self-confidence of a born politician. He is a golden boy, tall and debonair -- a contrast with his short, dark and intense father ... "