THE TELEGRAPH: We accidental aficionados of the oratory of Gordon Brown know there are certain constants in his rhetorical range. One is his boasts, during most Budget and conference speeches, about how Britain's economic performance exceeds that of our European partners.
There has, obviously, been less of that lately, not just because Mr Brown no longer makes Budget speeches - that is now the province of the riveting and charismatic Alistair Darling - but because, as our economy heads for the drain, comparisons are increasingly odorous.
With that in mind, I went to Paris last week to see how France is changing, seven months into the rule of Nicolas Sarkozy. There is good news and bad news.
The good news is that the president has faced down some trade unions, and an outbreak of savagery in the gruesome northern suburbs of the capital has subsided. The bad news, according to close and seasoned observers of the French political scene, is that both respites may well be only temporary.
We might think this only affects us if we are planning a weekend in Paris, and have to wait two hours in the rain for a taxi at Gare du Nord. We would be wrong.
President Sarkozy is trying to bring France face-to-face with some economic and social realities. He is doing this just as we seem to be running away from them. La méthode Sarko may have its dangers, but, if it works, it will put France on a footing that will make it one of the most formidable forces in Europe. Like Sarkozy, Gordon Brown must face reality >>> By Simon Heffer
Mark Alexander
