Let's just hope the French nation still has a pulse.
The Franco-Prussian War seemed to come to a quick conclusion (July 19 to October 27, 1870), but individual villages towns and cities felt well rid of Napoleon III and refused to accept the cease fire and surrender. Suddenly an angry mob of torches and pitchforks would be seen heading for a German camp, the Germans would put down their dinners to fight again. They'd mow 'em all down, and always win the battle, but the final settlement with the new 3rd Republic (and the fall of the Paris Commune) took much longer than originally expected (May 10, 1871), and the payoff was ultimately larger.
Sarkozy always looked the better choice, but ultimately he just talked tough and would disavow the measures taken to restore order.
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