France gets its Obama moment

updated 3:41 p.m. ET June 7, 2009

PARIS - People gawked and cameras clicked as the Obamas cut a wide figure through the French capital even while confined to a presidential motorcade. It was more personal for the few kept not so distant — the restaurant owner who "saw God," the chauffeur reveling in a "magnificent mission."

President Barack Obama, wife Michelle and their two daughters touched lives in simple ways during a private stay in the French capital that closed out a six-day presidential tour rich in history, symbolism and giant messages to the world.

Even a Sunday visit to the gilded Elysee presidential palace was casual and intimate.

The luncheon hosted by President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla, for Michelle and the two Obama daughters looked like an advance fete for Sasha's 8th birthday this Wednesday. The Obama trio, lingering a bit in the City of Light after the president's departure, then went shopping at the high-end Left Bank store for children, "Bonpoint."

French are fans of the Obamas
Media scrutiny of the family was intense. The French are confirmed fans of the Obamas, whose politics and elegant style conform to their ideal vision of the United States. The couple makes frequent appearances on the covers of French magazines. Michelle Obama, whose wardrobe choices are analyzed, gets an A-plus for sartorial glamor, natural poise and sheer intelligence.

But the common touch the first American couple represents, so antithetical to the traditional pomp and circumstance of French heads of state, sets them apart.

When dining out Saturday night at a no-star bistro, La Fontaine de Mars, the presidential party was served water, Coke and table wine to accompany foie gras, lamb and steak with shallots, and paid for meals "like any client," said owner Jacques Boudon. "It's just what they wanted."

"And I think they were very happy since they stayed three-quarters of an hour after dining," he said by telephone.

Boudon was over the moon.

The table had been reserved 10 days earlier but he only knew his guests were the Obamas that morning.

"I saw God before me," he said, "because I saw this smile that a million people have seen around the world. I saw her (Michelle) radiant. ... It's idiotic, but it's like that."

Streets filled with well-wishers
It was no surprise that the streets of Paris were lined with well-wishers. When the Obamas dined out, neighbors in nearby apartments hung from windows hoping for a glimpse. Some real fans hung their building with a handmade sign reading "We love you Obama."

Even the conservative Sarkozy appreciates Obama's personal style and, multiplying direct contact with citizens, is desanctifying the office.

Sarkozy had worked to lure Obama to France, trying to get him here in early April between a G20 summit in London and a NATO summit in Germany and Strasbourg, in eastern France. Obama said it was a squeeze and suggested the D-Day commemoration at Normandy, a presidential official has said.

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