Small incidents can illuminate a bigger picture. A couple of weeks ago, President Abdullah Gul of Turkey opened an exhibition of Ottoman treasures in Paris. The display is the centrepiece of an effort to promote Turkey's rich heritage. Mr Gul was joined by Nicolas Sarkozy. The French president arrived chewing a piece of gum.

I was told this story during a visit to Istanbul. Mr Sarkozy's gum-chewing, I heard, served as a metaphor for France's disdain for Turkey's European aspirations. The lack of respect set the tone for the two leaders' working lunch at the Elysée Palace. The atmosphere was described as “polite”. We know what that means.

French officials will doubtless protest that the swaggering Mr Sarkozy had not intended any slight. The president of the French republic has never fully acquainted himself with diplomatic niceties. Yet the sensitivity of his guest was unsurprising. Mr Sarkozy has put himself in the vanguard of European leaders – they include Germany's Angela Merkel – who are viscerally opposed to Turkish accession to the European Union.