By Tom Ryan, Kansas City Star Reader Advisory Panel

French President Nicholas Sarkozy threatens to walk out of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh next week if other nations do not curb lush bonuses in their financial sectors. So what?

He and his wife Carla should just plan on a fly over and then head to Montreal for lunch. Curbing bonuses? Non, merci.

President Obama may be sending a few messages to Sarkozy in his speech this morning. Then again, as with most European political rumblings, we rarely ay attention. We should pay attention to France periodically, because they provide the world a “different” way when it comes to politics and culture.

It’s ironic that when we look to Europe, Great Britain guides our head like a child. Ironic because people in the UK do not consider themselves Europeans. Try paying a London cab driver with your crisp Euros. France is the real leader in Europe. Do we care? Maybe not. One thing, if you pay attention to France, European political nonsense begins to make more sense.

Today, Obama is speaking to the G20 club for the upcoming Steelers game…