| [ F o o d F o r T h o u g h t ] by Owen Thomas, Editorial Manager |
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The new Napoleon
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 Looking back, it is hard to believe that the election that propelled Nicolas Sarkozy into the presidency of France occurred just one year ago. Sarko (as he is known) became an international figure during the country’s period of civil unrest in 2005.
He was at the time Minister of the Interior when riots broke out following the death of two teenagers in a poor suburb of Paris. Evidently they were electrocuted after hiding in an electrical substation in an attempt to avoid police questioning. Over the next few weeks, the riots spread across France. Mainly carried out by poor, unemployed, ethnic outsiders, some 9,000 vehicles were torched by the vandals, almost 2,900 people were arrested and an estimated 200 million euros worth of damage was done. In all, some 274 towns witnessed the violence. Sarkozy’s response to the riots was swift and decisive. After being on record as calling the participants “rabble, hoodlums and gangsters”, he quickly adopted a “zero tolerance” policy for those caught participating in the mayhem. A state of emergency was called and rioters without French citizenship were threatened with expulsion.
Although many liberal thinkers in France saw Sarkozy’s measures as misguided, avoiding the basic social problems that infected French society, many others saw him as a straight-talking throwback to the old-school politics of integrity and tough love. In last year’s elections his defeated the socialist candidate Segolene Royal and thereby became president of France. He immediately began to make his mark on the French body politic.
Sarkozy’s confrontational style came to the forefront. Never camera shy, he held a well publicised campaign to secure the release of Belgian nurses being held in Libya in an AIDS scandal. True to form, he accompanied them out of the country on the presidential jet, much like a new Napoleon. Soon after, Sarko signed an agreement with Libyan leader and former North African bad boy Muammar Gaddafi for security and health- care which amounted to some 168 million euros. The deal also included the sale of anti-tank missiles and was criticised by many on the left as being a deal made with a “rogue state”.
However, the French love affair with Sarkozy was short-lived. Almost immediately after taking office, Sarkozy’s popularity began to plummet. His aggressive style led to confrontations with the powerful labour unions as he did his best to reform many aspects of the labour laws. He made attempts to increase the 35-hour working week and extend the number of overtime hours allowed, something that angered those on the left who had fought for these hard-earned gains.
But perhaps it was the publicity over his private life that seemed to irk the populace the most. First, there was the break-up of his marriage with his wife Cecilia. This was followed by his rapid courtship and remarriage to the model and singer, Carla Bruni. Their private holidays saw them surrounded by the press, clamouring for anything of interest. This seemed to cross a line and cheapen the office of the presidency, even for the notoriously sexually liberated French. France, in effect, was suffering from a Sarkozy overload.
Then there was the bad publicity that had to do with the new president’s character. Elitist, aloof, and never suffering fools easily, Sarkozy was caught numerous times being rude to ordinary people. At one event he was filmed insulting a farmer who refused to shake his hand, all the time muttering insults from behind his smile. Even the Pope was witness to Sarko’s overflowing self importance. The president arrived late for his audience at the Vatican and not bothering to turn off his phone, he received a number of text messages.
All this has made Sarkozy the least popular French president in the last 50 years. Lately he was rebuffed in his attempt to secure the freedom of Ingrid Betancourt, a French national who has been held captive by FARC rebels in Colombia. Hoping to get her released in some type of humanitarian exchange, Sarkozy’s waiting plane returned to France days after it arrived in Colombia when the FARC refused to allow the mission access to her and other sick captives.
Whether the fortunes of Sarkozy will once again rise is up for debate. However, the French seem to have decided that their diminutive president is much more style than substance. Perhaps it will take another crisis like the riots to bring his law and order toughness back to the forefront and once again elevate him in the eyes of his people.
As always, some food for thought…
Don’t forget to listen to Stephen Ritson and the news roundabout on Thursdays at 12:00 noon on REM.fm.
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