PARTYING and revelry led by none other than the president of France himself, Nicholas Sarkozy, marks the final days of 2007 in France. Sarkozy has been known for stinging remarks on both key domestic and foreign issues but it is just after his divorce with his wife late this year that he has been recently spotted as a party animal. It’s like the guy just sprang out of his cage although we understand that French are natural born happy and romantic people. And romantic Nick indeed is as he has now come to terms with his divorce and sport a new girlfriend who bores a haunting resemblance to his former wife and just like his former wife, is not born French.

But everybody in France is happy to see that their great leader is happy touring around the world with his girlfriend Carla Bruni even though he is admittedly and unarguably egotistic at most times. Even Pope Benedict XVI must have not commented about the multiple marriages of Sarkozy, a Roman Catholic, during their meeting prior to Christmas in Rome. It is interesting to note that all of his weddings are not performed in Roman Catholic rites though but are civil in nature so as far as the Roman Catholic Church is concerned, Nick is still single.

And single indeed he is right now as he has been seen by virtually everybody in France as partying. He is unarguably the most eligible bachelor in the country right now. In fact, Nic and Carla has just spent the whole Christmas Day in the middle of winter at Disneyland Paris. After Christmas, the lovely couple are set to go to Egypt on a weeklong holiday as they count the final moments of 2007 and celebrate New Year there with a bang. The French people never mind their First Couple though because they love him for that. They really are joyous people naturally.
Even foreign visitors to France have commented how humorous and romantic the French can be.

There is one celebrity from the Philippines that I know who has gone to Paris to take up fashion design for four academic years. She says all those years she has spent partying with both French guys and gals and she has never had a second of boredom with them. There is also one exchange student from Maine that I know who has been in Paris last summer. She told me that her experiences with French students were exhilarating.

If you are in France right now, let’s talk about what you’re supposed to eat during midnight on New Year’s Eve as you see the fireworks illuminating River Seine. The most popular dish to look forward to is the pot-au-feu and it is a classic dish mind you. Considering that France practices a strict Mediterranean diet, pot-au-feu is a concoction of various vegetables and other ingredients mixed into a stew. Hmm…they really taste yummy.