Entente truly cordiale for 'Bling-Bling' Sarkozy

The French and the English once settled their bloody differences on the battlefield.

That evolved into a love-hate relationship based on mutual mistrust with the French mocking "les rosbifs" and the English lampooning "the frogs".

But now, with interdependence reigning supreme in an ever-shrinking global village, the entente could not be more cordiale as Queen Elizabeth prepares to welcome France's flamboyant new President Nicolas Sarkozy to Windsor Castle on Wednesday.