French President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the friendship between France and the United States Wednesday, in a rare address to the US Congress in which he drew a veil on years of cross-Atlantic tensions.
"Since the United States first appeared on the world scene, our two peoples, the French and the American people have always been friends," Sarkozy said, after receiving a lengthy and warm standing ovation as he arrived in Congress. "We may have differences, we may disagree on things, we may even have arguments, as in many families," the French leader said.
"But in times of difficulty, in times of hardship, one stands true to one's friends, one stands shoulder to shoulder with them, one supports them, and one helps them."