PARIS Improbable as it sounds today, by the time President Bush is rounding out his final term in office, his closest European ally and new best friend could be the president of France.

Nicolas Sarkozy, who on Sunday will formally clinch the ruling center-right party's nomination for the presidency, is an unabashed admirer of America. If Sarkozy manages to hold off Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal in what is expected to be a tight contest this spring, the sour relations between the United States and France will undoubtedly sweeten.