Nicolas Sarkozy Told David Cameron He Was 'Stupid' for Pulling Out of European Group
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: French President Nicolas Sarkozy angrily told David Cameron he was "stupid" for pulling the Conservatives out of the main centre-right grouping in the European Parliament.

Mr Sarkozy is said to have confronted Mr Cameron about the issue several times. Photo: The Telegraph
President Sarkozy and the Conservative Leader were involved in a series of heated exchanges after Mr Cameron left the European People's Party, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Mr Sarkozy is said to have told Mr Cameron: "C'est fou, il se fait mal à la tête," meaning "It's stupid, you're giving yourself a headache."

Senior sources in Brussels revealed the exchanges which took place in the wake of Mr Cameron's pulling his Conservative MEPs out of the centre-right EPP grouping in June in order to fulfil a pledge made during his leadership campaign in 2005.

The decision went down badly with other mainstream European leaders including Angela Merkel of Germany, who threatened to withhold co-operation from the Conservatives.

Ms Merkel's Christian Democrat Union party recalled its London representative Thomas Stehling to Germany in protest at the move.

Mr Sarkozy is said to have confronted Mr Cameron about the issue several times. "They have had three or four conversations about it," said a senior diplomatic source. "On one occasion Sarkozy basically told Cameron he was stupid for doing it, that it was a decision that would come back to haunt him."

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