Today's meeting between #France President Emmanuel Macron and #Russia President Vladimir Putin reminded me of the latter's meeting with another French president, 15 years ago, in circumstances revealed later which shocked many in France but didn't get much airplay abroad. 1/8
In 2007, during the G8, French President Nicolas Sarkozy came out of a meeting with Vladimir Putin to face journalists at a scheduled press conference. He shocked everyone when he stumbled & grinned without reason, struggling for words as he held on tightly to the podium. 2/8
Even though neither Sarkozy nor Putin usually consume alcohol, the consensus in the media was that Sarkozy appeared to be drunk, or at least tipsy. Nothing else could explain this out-of-the-ordinary behavior - not until French journalist Nicolas Hénin divulged it in 2016. 3/8
In his documentary "Le Mystère Poutine" broadcast in 2016, Hénin says Sarkozy broached tough subjects with Putin, including Chechnya, the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, human rights, gay rights. Putin is said to have listened in cold silence. 4/8
After a long uncomfortable pause, Putin allegedly smirked and said to Sarkozy: "Are you done?" He then put up his hands, saying "your country is small like this," and then, stretching his arms, said ''and mine is big like this." 5/8
Putin continued: "So you either keep talking to me like this and I will crush you, or you stop now and I will make you king of Europe." Hénin's sources say Sarkozy was stunned by Putin's discourse, full of insults and humiliation, even using the informal "Ti" instead of "Vi." 6/8
Still under the shock of that meeting with Putin, Sarkozy proceeded to meet with the press, creating media frenzy about his "drinking." The part of Hénin's documentary summarizing that meeting is here (in French). 7/8
That was Putin in 2007, pre-Georgia, pre-Ukraine/Crimea, pre-Syria, pre-Nemtsov, pre-Skripal, etc. France is a guarantor of the Minsk Agreement and must take a lead on Ukraine, but Macron of all people should know Putin is neither receptive to soft diplomacy nor to reason. 8/8
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