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July 26th, 2008 at 10:10 am

Video & Photos: Barack Obama in Paris, France 7-25-08

Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Paris, France, July 25, 2008

Presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama met with and held a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France on July 25, 2008.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France warmly embraced Senator Barack Obama at the Élysée Palace here on Friday, saying his presidential candidacy presents a bold moment to change the United States’ image around the world.

Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Paris, France, July 25, 2008

“The America that France loves is an America that’s farsighted, that has ambitions, great debates, strong personalities,” Mr. Sarkozy told reporters. “We need an America that is present, not absent.”

Mr. Obama breezed through Paris — spending barely three hours here — as he began to wrap up a weeklong trip intended to build his foreign policy credentials. He met privately for an hour with Mr. Sarkozy before the two appeared at an afternoon news conference, where they warned of the threats posed by Iran.

Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Paris, France, July 25, 2008

Mr. Obama said Iran should not wait for a new American president and should accept an international proposal now to stop enriching uranium. He said Iran posed “an extraordinarily grave situation” with dangers to Israel and the West.

Mr. Sarkozy, who first met both Mr. Obama, of Illinois, and his Republican rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, in Washington nearly two years ago, was a genial host, amused by the local excitement surrounding Mr. Obama. The newspaper Le Monde published the speech Mr. Obama gave one night earlier in Berlin.

“The French love the Americans,” Mr. Sarkozy said with a grin, praising Mr. Obama, and added, “The French have been following him with passion.”

It was an unusual sight for a Democratic presidential candidate to be standing beside a French president. Four years ago, Senator John Kerry spent months fighting the impression that he looked “French,” or favored the European view of the world, and some Republicans created a caricature that probably hurt his candidacy.

A French reporter asked Mr. Obama if those concerns led him to keep his visit brief, saying, “Is it a good thing to be loved by the French in the United States?”

Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Paris, France, July 25, 2008

Mr. Obama spoke of no downsides, declaring, “I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t want to spend more time in Paris.” He said Mr. Sarkozy was responsible for improving the image of France in Washington, noting that after Mr. Sarkozy’s visit in 2006, “people decided to call French fries French fries again in the cafeteria” at the Capitol.

Source: 3 Hours in Paris, and Smiles All Around
See also:

Transcript - Obama and Sarkozy’s News Conference in Paris

Photo credit: Photos 1-4, 6: Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images Europe. Photo 5: Antoine Antoniol/Bloomberg News

Here is video of Senator Barack Obama’s opening statement at the joint press conference he held with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Here is additional footage of Senator Barack Obama and President Nicolas Sarkozy’s arrival at the press conference and excerpts of the press conference.

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