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In his four months in office, the French leader has replaced diplomatic ambiguity with harsh and sometimes threatening words.
In the eyes of Mr Sarkozy, an Iranian nuclear bomb is 'unacceptable', Russia exploits its oil resources with 'brutality' and Turkey 'has no place' in the European Union.
And European monetary policy, he has said repeatedly, 'helps speculators'.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner's generally friendly visit to Washington last week symbolised the new style and substance of French policy.
Mr Kouchner spent two days meeting members of Congress and State Department officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He also suggested France and the US might impose even tougher sanctions on Iran than those adopted by the United Nations.
Mr Kouchner even drew some anti-war protests because of his visit last month to Iraq, the first by a French official since the American-led invasion of the country in 2003.
France, under former president Jacques Chirac, had vehemently opposed the invasion and had steered clear of any involvement in the subsequent political and sectarian chaos in Iraq.
Mr Chirac, near the end of his 12-year presidency, also suggested the world might have to accept a nuclear- armed Iran.
'Where Sarkozy differs is that he has a more pro-American tone, speaking of dialogue and understanding with the US,' said analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges at the French Institute of International Relations.
But at the same time, France under Mr Sarkozy has staked out positions openly at odds with American policy on the environment and on Iraq.
He has called for a concrete deadline for the withdrawal of American forces in Iraq, saying 'unilateral force leads to failure'. He has also sharply criticised the Bush administration for laxity in combating global warming.
Mr Sarkozy's energetic approach to world affairs has gratified some in France who saw the country's prestige and influence slip badly under the decidedly more sluggish Chirac years.
From the start, the new President vowed to put France in the forefront of global affairs and make its voice heard. And in choosing Mr Kouchner as his chief diplomat, he made a clear break with the past.
The new Foreign Minister, a medical doctor, came from the opposition Socialist Party. A co-founder of the group Doctors Without Borders, he had spent most of his career as a human rights activist who urged forceful international intervention to stop humanitarian crises.
During his visit to Russia earlier this month, Mr Kouchner underlined French concerns over the state of human rights and democracy under President Vladimir Putin's rule.
He made a powerfully symbolic gesture by stopping at the newspaper where murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya worked. He further irritated his hosts by telling Russia to stop interfering in Kosovo, which he said was a European concern, and by criticising Russian policy in Chechnya.
Mr Sarkozy's relations with President Putin so far have also been notably cool. He is scheduled to visit Moscow next month.
While Mr Sarkozy's assertion of French values has won him praise, some analysts say France would gain from more subtlety in the handling of its foreign affairs. His approach to seeking extra sanctions on Iran from the European Union, for example, has ruffled feathers in Berlin.
'Instead of working with Germany on a plan of action as a preferred partner, Paris simply informed Berlin of its intentions via a diplomatic note, as if it were any other EU member,' said the German newspaper Der Spiegel recently.
'The implied threat for Berlin is clear: Either you go along with French plans, or Paris will go it alone.'
