A bit of an early silly-season storm in some sections of the French media regarding President Sarkozy and his passion for running.
“Is jogging right wing?” wondered Libération, the left-wing newspaper. Alain Finkelkraut, a celebrated philosopher, begged Mr Sarkozy on France 2, the main state television channel, to abandon his “undignified” pursuit. He should take up walking, like Socrates, Arthur Rimbaud, the poet, and other great men, said Mr Finkelkraut.
More power to him, I say! I’m just relieved I don’t have the problem he does of hoards of people running (!?) after him trying to take snaps and get headlines. You rarely look your best at the end of a long run, and the facial expressions of other runners I pass along the way are rarely too picturesque either. And to presume that there’s some sort of politics inherent in the past-time is plain silly.
