The backlash begins for Sarko and Carla

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images

Here I was thinking that "Anglo-Saxon" economic proposals, anathema in a country reared on statism, were driving down Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity. Turns out it's his relationship with his new girlfriend, shown above with the French president in front of Egypt's Giza pyramids:

It is called the "Carla effect," and it helps explain President Nicolas Sarkozy's sudden decline in popularity.

Far from endearing Mr. Sarkozy to his people, his paparazzi romance with the model-turned-singer Carla Bruni has fueled criticism that he is ignoring the country and spending too much time having fun. [...]

According to a nationwide poll by the research group CSA published on Sunday, only 48 percent of the French surveyed said they trust the president to run the country — a fall of seven points in a month. "President Sarkozy is exposing his flamboyant personal life at the moment the French want him to deliver on his promises to improve the economy," said Stéphane Rozès, the director of CSA, in a telephone interview. "He has eliminated the line between public and private life, between his success in his personal life and his promises for the French people to succeed."