"Ah, this is lovely," the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, sighed as he walked into the haven of the old library at the Irish College here.
The freshly restored late 18th century room, with its vaulted ceiling, red tile floor and book-lined walls, smelled of wood and leather polish, wax and paint.
Carole Jacquet, the college librarian who is overseeing the €1 million restoration of 8,000 volumes, showed Mr Ahern photographs of the work, and a rare Irish dictionary, published in Paris in 1768.
The Taoiseach peered over the glass cases, murmured in appreciation at three illuminated manuscripts, the library's greatest treasures, newly returned from Dublin.
When Ms Jacquet pointed out the "English representation of wild Irishmen and women" in a book published in 1616, Mr Ahern burst into laughter.
A crowd waited for the Taoiseach in the courtyard below. Alluding to the previous evening's rugby match, Alain Hespel, the president of the Fondation Irlandaise which owns the college, said: "After sporting fervour; cultural and historic fervour." Mr Ahern launched into a scholarly outlne of the college's history, starting with the arrival of Fr John Lee from Waterford in 1578. A few minutes later, on RTÉ, he got the century wrong. But we all know he has no head for figures.
"The long history of the college is interwoven with the history of France and the presence in Paris of an Irish community of priests, seminarians and students is bound up with the course of Irish history," Mr Ahern said. His Government funds the three surviving colleges in Louvain, Rome and Paris. No one looked at the "Haughey boulder," which was relegated to a far corner of the garden after the late taoiseach was dragged into tribunals. It records how in October 1989, one Cathal Ó hEochaidh inaugurated a previous restoration.
The Taoiseach was "eminently sympathique," said Fr Jacques Ollier, the parish priest at neighbouring Saint-Étienne-du-Mont and the vice-president of the board of the Fondation Irlandaise. "He speaks simply. He speaks with his heart," the French priest said.
Aside from pesky journalists, no one breathed the word "tribunal". Guests queued to have photographs taken with "Bertie".
Mr Ahern had consolidated his friendship with Nicolas Sarkozy at the Stade de France the previous evening. The French president seemed nervous before the game, jumped up 45 times, and seemed to claim credit for the French team's victory, the Taoiseach said. Mr Ahern objected to Mr Sarkozy's attempts to bend the European Central Bank to his political will, but agreed that Europe must define a common immigration policy to deal with "465 million Africans under 17 years of age that are focused on Europe."