France and the United States seal their new love affair today when Nicolas Sarkozy, the most pro-American French leader for decades, turns up in Washington to be fêted by a grateful US Administration.

President Bush’s beleaguered team has been in a collective swoon over the emergence of an Elvis-loving, iPod-wearing French President after strained years with Jacques Chirac.

However, with his opponents sniping about lapdogs, “Sarko l’Américain” says that he has no intention of playing junior partner in the latest chapter of a 230-year-old love-hate bond between Paris and Washington.

The White House and Congress are rolling out the red carpet for the first official visit by a president who has become Europe’s most eligible bachelor after his divorce from his wife Cécilia last month.

“Super-Sarko”, who is to address a joint session of Congress tomorrow, comes with no partner to tonight’s White House banquet. His party will include Rachida Dati, his glamorous, unmarried Justice Minister, and Christine Lagarde, the Finance Minister. She is a former synchronized swimming champion who has spent most of her life working as a lawyer in the US.

As well as adopting a dynamic US management style, Mr Sarkozy has brought France closer to Washington on dealing with Iran, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Russia. The lifelong member of the Gaullist movement is also moving towards restoring full French membership of Nato, from which President de Gaulle withdrew four decades ago.

Mr Sarkozy told CBS television last month that he had nothing to be ashamed of. “I want the Americans to know that they can count on us. But at the same time, we want to be free to disagree.”

The hot-tempered “hyperpresident” showed his limits when he snapped at the interviewer and stalked out after she asked about Cécilia.

Mr Sarkozy’s aides have cautioned him about being too close to the lame-duck Bush Administration. Hubert Védrine, a Socialist former Foreign Minister, advised him to note the unpopularity of Tony Blair after he sided with Mr Bush over Iraq.

However, Mr Sarkozy remains deeply opposed to the US-led invasion of Iraq. He retains traditional Gaullist misgivings over the US approach to world trade. His top diplomatic priority is the creation of a European Union under French leadership that will protect its members from “unfair” imports.

The arrival of Mr Sarkozy on the international stage – and the departure of Mr Blair – has changed the diplomatic dynamic in Washington, where the White House had long looked to Britain as its ally-in-chief. The US UnderSecretary of State Nicholas Burns declared on a visit to Paris that “the tide has really turned in this relationship”.

British diplomats insist, however, that overall relations remain good and that the emergence of Mr Sakozy should be regarded as a positive development. One senior British source said: “Sometimes it felt like it was Bush and Blair versus the rest of the world. There are now a number of leaders who can work closely with this Administration.”

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, will also meet Mr Bush at his ranch in Texas on Friday. Like Mr Sarkozy, she has sought better relations with Mr Bush than her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder.

At the same time she has also been ready to distance herself from Mr Bush on issues ranging from climate change to Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Travelling alone

Hugo Chávez separated from his second wife in 2002. The Venezuelan President travels unaccompanied on state visits except for a copy of Les Misérables

Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile, is a divorced single parent with three children. She was accompanied by opposition leaders on a recent trip

Alberto Fujimori, the former Peruvian President, travelled alone after separating from his wife, Susana Higuchi, and stripping her of the title of First Lady. She had criticised him for running a corrupt administration. She is testifying at his trial on charges including bribery, and misusing public funds

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian President, has said it is difficult being single in a society which believes that “a woman who doesn’t have a husband will not have anyone to keep her in check”

Sources: Harvard University; Open Democracy; Times archives

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