Pat Dollard | Young Americans

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine - It is not a summit, not even a working lunch. Just a social meal between two world leaders who happen to be vacationing near each other in New England.

That, at least, is how the White House describes Saturday’s sit-down between President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But there is more to it than a get-to-know-you.

By welcoming Sarkozy to his parents’ seaside home, Bush is laying a foundation for what he hopes are drastically improved relations with France over the rest of his term. In turn, the newly elected Sarkozy is eager to bond with Bush and display a pro-American mind-set.

“It would be impossible to think of Jacques Chirac stopping by Kennebunkport for lunch,” said Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow for Europe studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “This speaks volumes for the desires on both sides to try to turn the page.”

Chirac, the former French president, had a bitter relationship with Bush. He opposed the war in Iraq and clashed with Bush over climate change and other matters.

Sarkozy, by contrast, has promised that the United States “can count on our friendship,” while reminding Bush that friendship means respecting differing views.

So this lunch, casual as it may be, marks the symbolic start of something more: the “new era of relations with the French,” as White House spokesman Tony Snow put it.

In a telling sign, Sarkozy apparently never considered postponing the date even after he had to dash from his New Hampshire vacation spot back to Paris for a funeral on Friday.

Sarkozy flew back to the United States right after, arriving Friday night. He is expected to get to the Bush compound late Saturday morning and visit for a couple of hours.

The French president and his wife, Cecilia, will likely be offered a spin on a Bush speedboat. The lunch will be some all-American picnic fare—hot dogs and hamburgers.

Sarkozy gives Bush a chance to shore up support in the core of Europe.

There is plenty of ground for Bush to build new ties with France. Building pressure against Iran to halt its suspected nuclear weapons pursuits is one area; pushing the U.N. Security Council to speed up humanitarian efforts in the Darfur region is another.

Then there’s Afghanistan, where Sarkozy has shown ambivalence about the French mission.

“I don’t think the French are getting ready to pull their troops out,” Kupchan said. “But the last thing Bush wants is for the French, the Germans or others to go wobbly on Afghanistan. If a major country were to do so, the whole coalition could start unraveling.”

Sarkozy is expected to discuss such matters formally with Bush in Washington this fall.

As for Saturday’s lunch, there is no agenda, except for an effort to keep it private.

White House aides say the two leaders may discuss world hot spots—Iran, Lebanon, Sudan. Yet they have no plans to take questions or issue comments afterward. Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters to expect few details from the White House.

“I know there’s always an appetite for more and more information,” she said. But the invitation was for “a nice casual lunch during the Sarkozy’s vacation.”

Laura Bush extended the offer to the Sarkozys more than two months ago in Germany, during a meeting of world leaders. President Bush had his first true get-together with Sarkozy at that meeting. It was cut short, though, when Bush got a bad stomach bug.

In France, Sarkozy caused a considerable stir by opting to be in the United States for his first extended vacation as president. He chose Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, N.H., about 50 miles from the rocky shores of the Bush compound known as Walker’s Point.

Sarkozy said he wanted to see the real America—small towns and tranquility. He made unintended news, however, by getting into a public flap with American photographers.

In his brief stop in Maine, he is in for a true Bush experience.

His hosts will be former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara. The extended Bush family will be there, too, including the current president’s brother, Jeb; sister, Doro Koch Bush; and twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.

Anti-war protesters have long scheduled a demonstration in Kennebunkport on Aug. 25. But Bush will be gone by then, and with Sarkozy coming to town, some protesters plan to hold a peace vigil Saturday morning at the police checkpoint near the Bush compound.

Meanwhile, Bush has been enjoying himself in vacation mode. Since arriving in Maine on Thursday, he has been fishing and mountain biking, and has held no public events.