Because it didn’t have a vote, Paris couldn’t sleep last night. Wine bottles flew off shelves, the chatter in pubs picked up every hour, TVs blared from hotel rooms and, for once, market worries melted as the city uncorked the night of the election across the Atlantic. As the hours wore on, roars greeted every win for Barack Obama, suggesting that the man himself may have been far less tense had he been here on Judgment Day.

In a country where the intensity of Obamania has been perhaps greater than all of Europe put together, where one in ten is of African or Arab descent (that makes France their largest home in the Continent), where even ministers haven’t hesitated in faulting Bush and his policies, especially on Iraq, Obama represents the audacity of hope, the “equality of opportunity” they all dream of. Long before America decided, the daily Le Figaro put it in black-and-white: “You can’t welcome it enough, especially in this era of rampant anti-Americanism... with Obama, a certain idea of America is back, that of a generous society where equality of opportunity is not an empty promise.”

So this morning, President Nicolas Sarkozy led France in greeting Obama: “ With the world in turmoil and doubt, the American people, faithful to the values that have always defined America’s identity, have expressed with force their faith in progress and the future... Your election has raised enormous hope in France, in Europe and beyond.”

Tariq Shabib, whose family moved from Iraq two decades ago, believes Obama can make a difference in his life. At 32, he is “still not settled”. He says he has had his fill of “irregular jobs” and hopes to find “something stable”. “Obama’s win is also a reminder to Sarkozy to keep his election promise of taking affirmative action for this section of French society. Ethnic minorities here have never been so excited about a US election as this one,” says Shabib.

... contd.