Nicolas Sarkozy’s coming to power in France initially raised worries that the country would weaken the strong relationship it had with countries in the MENA region under Jacques Chirac. However, this seems not to be the case, evidenced via the whirlwind tour of the region by the new foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner. The new French president also found time to contact Tunisia’s president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, not once but twice while naming his new cabinet and taking over the reins of power. There had been concerns in some Middle East countries that Sarkozy would prove less sympathetic to Arab nations than his predecessor. Much has been made of his Jewish ancestry — his maternal grandfather was Jewish — and his pro-US stance on a number of issues, which has earned him the nickname of American Sarko among some in the French political left. However, Tunisia does not seem
