Sarkozy teased over dubious presence at the Berlin Wall’s fall anniversary

Prior to arriving in Berlin this week in order to participate in celebrations commemorating the fall of the Berlin wall, Nicolas Sarkozy posted an entry on his Facebook wall.However the contents have triggered intense debate both in the media and online over the veracity of the President’s account. In his post Sarkozy described having traveled to the Berlin Wall with former Prime Minister Alain Juppé in order to participate in the historical changes that were beginning to take place.

According to the French president, the two arrived in time to join the expectant crowd assembled at the Brandenburg Gate.

While nearly 4,000 Facebook members said they “liked” Sarkozy’s post, some papers were pouring scorn onto the politician’s version of events. The French news daily, Le Monde, compiled hasty research by a number of skeptical journalists on its website.

The paper claimed that archives drawn from Agence France Presse indicated that Sarkozy, Juppé, and Peretti travelled to Berlin not on the November 9, but on November 16 1989. A 1993 book by Juppé and his 2001 biography also give this date.

Sarkozy’s account is described as incoherent and not consistent with certain facts. Sarkozy claims he traveled back and forth between east and west Berlin.

However, some observers say such movements would have been difficult until November 10 or 11. The picture posted of Sarkozy and Juppé is also clearly taken on the west side of the wall due to the presence of graffiti。

Le Monde also says that despite an extensive search through twenty years worth of speeches and texts by and about Sarkozy, they could not find any other reference to this historic voyage.

Source: www.chinaview.cn