Sarkozy tells of Twin Towers memento in office

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he remembers being dumbstruck at seeing TV images of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, and still keeps a small steel block retrieved from the twin towers rubble in his office as a reminder.

Mr Sarkozy, regarded as one of France’s most pro-American presidents in recent years, attended a ceremony at the United States Embassy in Paris ahead of tomorrow’s tenth anniversary of the attacks.

“On this day of 11 September, every French person felt hit,” he said. “The barbarians chose New York as the epicentre, but it could have been Paris.”

US ambassador to France Charles Rivkin said: “On that day here in France, Le Monde said ‘On est tous Americains’ – ‘We are all Americans’ – and I think that spirit continues today.”