The “Sarko Show”

Photo of Sarkozy courtesy of Time

TIME: Since taking office on May 16, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's pace has wowed almost everyone. At home, he rammed through reform legislation aimed at encouraging work, cutting taxes, fighting crime and clamping down on immigration. Abroad, he helped break the logjam over the European Union's institutional setup, negotiated the freedom of six Bulgarian medics imprisoned in Libya and strengthened Franco-American relations over a vacation lunch with U.S. President George W. Bush.

But can he keep it up? As summer ends, the fast-moving "Sarko Show" has begun drawing criticism. Opponents complain that Sarkozy's sunny-day successes don't all bear up under scrutiny: was the Libyan triumph linked to troubling nuclear and military contracts? Does Sarkozy's penchant for economic interventionism, visible in Sept. 3's megamerger between utility giants Gaz de France and Suez, mock his free-market rhetoric? Time asked a group of French and international experts to evaluate the spectacular start to the Sarkozy era and how — or whether — he can meet that promise in the months and years to come. Nicolas Sarkozy: A Grand Entrance (more) By Bruce Crumley

Mark Alexander