Sarkozy will be back, Carla in tow

NEW DELHI: French president Nicolas Sarkozy is not quite done with India. He plans to visit again, as soon as possible, this time accompanied by girlfriend Carla Bruni. And while Delhi is likely to figure in any official trip, Sarkozy does not want to miss Mumbai when he is next in India.

The French leader has a deep interest in India, which he sees as not only a key player in terms of trade, but also a part of his plans to "transform" French society which has been slow to adjust to the winds of globalisation. He would like to change the way France looks at issues like migration, as skilled Indians might be the sort of foreign workers that France needs.

Sarkozy took the Indian business delegation which met him at the Elysee Palace in Paris recently — ahead of his visit to India — by surprise with the depth of his interest in India. Contrary to the impression that he was looking to hurry through his visit to India and was grumpy over Bruni skipping the trip, the French leader was in a forthcoming mood, saying he saw India as a nation of a "billion plus". He also spoke of his domestic agenda.

When Indian delegate Swati Piramal expressed her disappointment at Sarkozy cancelling plans to visit Mumbai, he reassured her that not only was he going to come back to India and visit the city, Bruni would be at his side as well. When asked whether his glamorous girlfriend would endorse a promotion campaign, he immediately picked up the phone, spoke to her and said it was possible. So, for avid Bruni watchers who felt let down that she had missed the trip, all is not lost.