Sarkozy's D-Day Disaster

You have to hand it to French President Nicolas Sarkozy for turning what should have been a quaint celebration of a military victory into a public relations nightmare. Sixty-five years ago a vast armada of American, British and Canadian troops stormed onto the beaches of Normandy, France to liberate Europe from the Nazis.

Apparently though, that's news to Sarkozy, who thought next Saturday's commemoration of D-Day should be a “Franco-American event” - he made a point of inviting Barack Obama, but failed to invite the heads of state of either Great Britain or Canada. That has left the Brits feeling, as the English would say, “bloody pissed off.”

Queen Elizabeth II is said to be furious, though the Palace officially denies this. Snubbing the Queen of all people is doubly insulting though since unlike her fellow heads of state, Elizabeth actually served in the war, driving an ambulance through the streets of Blitz-stricken London. It’s a fact that prompted London's Daily Mail to ask: “What did YOUR dad do in the war Sarkozy?” (apparently Pere Sarkozy was an aristocrat who, as the Soviet army advanced on his native Hungary, fled to Germany, fearing the Soviets would brand him as a Nazi collaborator - not quite the heroic service put in by Her Majesty).

Critics say that Sarkozy skimped on the invitations so that he could have Pres. Obama all to himself to hopefully see a bounce in his own sagging poll ratings in France as he basked in the glow of the ever-popular Obama. But leaders in Canada and Britain shouldn't feel too bad since, according to the Times of London, Sarkozy also snubbed officials within his own French government as well - leaving domestic political rivals off the D-Day guest list as well.