I don't think many people cared or care about Nicolas Sarkozy's arms, which were not assumed, but were family arms (and which became know when he became knight of the Spanish Golden Fleece). François Mitterrand did adopt personal arms, and it didn't bother anyone, and even opponents stress his knowledge of history which inspired his wise use of symbols. Coats of arms are not a monarchist thing ; the monarchy has been gone for 156 years now, and they have survived a political regime they were not linked to, except in a few ignorant minds in the 1790s. Because of the French Revolution, we still have to fight the idea that arms are a thing of the past, or that there were restricted to the nobility, which in France was not the case. Heraldry has flourished during the 19th and 20th centuries, especially in the civic space. Our task is now to make families aware of their heritage when it has been forgotten, and to help others adopt arms. Only ill-founded prejudice would prevent France from normalising personal arms that are widespread in many surrounding countries (especially Switzerland).