The end result: windows that keep heat out in summer and heat in during the cold months, and radiators that pump heat to the building's interior without bleeding so much of it into the outside air.

The island"s interior, the Highlands of Iceland, is a cold and uninhabitable desert.

She was adopted by Mr Sarkozy when he was interior minister (she had written to him cold, and demanded a meeting) and has worked in his team ever since.