When Nicolas Sarkozy decided to address a joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles, opposition politicians derided it as an occasion for self-glorification of the president in the spirit of the Sun King.

In the end, Mr Sarkozy’s historic speech – the first in person to parliamentary deputies and senators since 1873 – was less a celebration of his time in office than a celebration of France. Mr Sarkozy refrained from his customary political point-scoring and adopted a more than usually solemn tone.