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French President Nicholas Sarkozy in Dublin. Photograph: Julien Behal/PA It lasted less than six hours and turned out to be one of the most unusual visits by any foreign head of state to Ireland since independence from Britain. Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Dublin yesterday not only to thrash out a way forward for the EU Lisbon reform treaty with the taoiseach, Brian Cowen, but also to meet an array of political and social pressure groups concerned over Europe's future. France's president, who is the current head of the EU, angered Cowen's government last week when he told a private meeting of his UMP party in Paris that Ireland would have to hold a second referendum on the treaty, which the Irish electorate rejected in last month's plebiscite. But yesterday, the Elysée Palace said in a statement that Sarkozy would "respect the... [read full story]
