Making couple friends seems like a social headache. There are many chances for things to backfire. Each person has to like, or at least tolerate, three other people. It's much more complicated than a forming one-on-one friendship, for sure. But, the payoff seems like a fun assurance of double-dates for always, so it's easy to understand the effort on the part of Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni to woo over their desired couple friends, the Obamas.

Along their path to win over the American pair, someone certainly must have warned the Sarkozy-Bruni twosome that money can't buy affection. Well, Sarkozy and Bruni were like: whatever yes it can, if you buy the right gifts. And so they lavished Michelle and Barack Obama with $40,000 worth of presents in 2011. Here are some possible conversations about a few of the bestowed items:

  • Is a sending Barack a bathrobe weird? You know, there is something a little intimate about it, no? Not weird? Fantastic. Send it over. Monogram it with my initials. No his. No, no monogram, never mind.
  • Okay—so golf is like a guy thing, so I was thinking of sending him a cool-casual sporty gift. He'll think—yeah, Nicolas and I can hang out on the course. But also it's an Hermes golf bag and it's $7,750. Too gauche? No? Great, send it over.
  • Okay do you think these petite Baccarat crystal statuettes of "golfers" are a little bit bizarre? I think they could be like a paperweight maybe! Send two!

These items were just a few of the $41,675.71 worth of loot that Sarkozy gave to the Obamas in 2011. A catalogue of all presents sent to Obama by foreign governments in 2011 was released earlier today. In the U.S, all gifts given to federal employees must be declared. Gifts presented to the president or the first family will be given to the National Archives.

Sarkozy and Bruni are known for their lavish spending—including a $930,000 garden party with $6,000 just on champagne. They spent $1,020 each day floral arrangements. And once, they got $1,100 worth of takeout pizza in New York.

Sarkozy is currently under scrutiny for possibly receiving illegal funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and in 2010 was under criticizing for allegedly duping the aging L'Oreal heiress into giving him money. He is rumored to be considering another run for presidency in 2017.

[The Daily Mail, image via Getty]