Dynamic duo put on a united front

FIRST names only, floods of compliments and a shared weakness for hot dogs: Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy put on an elaborate show this week to quash talk of bad chemistry between the leaders of France and the United States.

The two presidents stood shoulder to shoulder at a news conference called after one-hour-plus talks in the Oval Office on Tuesday night, calling for swift UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear enrichment programme.

But each also devoted long minutes to an exchange of courtesies and jokes, seemingly designed to scotch niggling reports their relationship was awkward, even cold, and that Obama had at times been “irritated” by Sarkozy.