Poll shows "Sarko revival" gathers momentum - among UMP party supporters

We all know how much French politicians seem to love opinion polls.

Well, here's one that'll have the former president Nicolas Sarkozy grinning from ear to ear, at least in terms of the level of support he has within his "political family" the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP).

It's an exclusive (aren't they always?) survey carried out by Ifop on behalf of the national radio station Europe 1 and the daily newspaper Le Figaro to gauge the impact of Sarkozy's 45-minute TV interview with the channel's prime time weekend news anchor Laurent Delahousse on Sunday.

And the result?

A resounding win for Sarkozy, as far as, UMP supporters were concerned, in the party's leadership battle due to be put to a vote among members on November 29, with a second round scheduled a week later should no candidate secure a majority.

At the moment, that second round doesn't look as though it'll be necessary as the poll shows Sarkozy (at 75 per cent) to be way ahead of his rivals Bruno Le Maire (16 per cent) and Hervé Mariton (2 per cent) as far as UMP supporters.

(screenshot Ifop poll for Europe 1 and Le Figaro)

And the future looks bright for Sarkozy in terms of his popularity among UMP members should he decide to run for the party's nomination to be its presidential candidate in 2017.

The poll has Sarkozy at 65 per cent with his nearest rival Alain Juppé at 23 per cent and the "also-rans" François Fillon and Xavier Bertrand at seven and two per cent respectively.

Once again those figures are only a reflection of the Sarkozy's popularity among the party's supporters - and even then 28 per cent of them

But it's not all good news for Sarkozy.

The general electorate still considers Juppé (at 33 per cent) to be the party's best candidate in the 2017 presidential election ahead of Sarkozy (26 per cent).

And although UMP members will, of course, ultimately decide who'll run (and remember Sarkozy hasn't officially confirmed he'll seek the party's nomination) it'll be the French as a whole who decide the best man or woman for the job.

A couple of other factors to consider as well are other polls released recently showing that the far-right Front National leader, Marine Le Pen, would make it through to a second round run-off in 2017 - no matter who would be her opponents in the first round, along with another (carried out before Sunday's interview) showing that 60 per cent of the French "disapproved" of Sarkozy's comeback.

And let's not forget the judicial enquiries which could "continue to dog" the success of the so-called "Sarko revival".

One thing's for certain, more polls - many more of them - over the coming months will allow those "in the know" to interpret and analyse to their hearts' delight.

Anyway, for the moment,  for you number crunchers out there, the full Ifop poll results and the methodology can be found here.

Happy reading!

Oh, and because a healthy slice of satire never did any harm, here's Monday's edition of Les Guignols de l'info on Canal + with (among other things) its own particular take on that televised interview and Sarkozy's comeback.

Now that, you can really enjoy.

Les Guignols du 22/09 - L'interview de Nicolas Sarkozy

Back to the future - with Nicolas Sarkozy

The former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, took to television on Sunday evening to win over the hearts of the nation and explain why he felt an obligation and "a duty" to run for the leadership of the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a popular movement).

Watching Sarkozy as he answered anchor Laurent Delahousse's questions, it was more than a little difficult not to be struck by the resemblance he seemed to bear to his puppet on the satirical show on Canal + "Le Guignols de l'info".

Laurent Delahousse and Nicolas Sarkozy (screenshot France 2 interview 21/09/2014)

There were all the familiar shoulder-heaving, head-bobbing, twitching mannerisms which make him so easy to caricature.

And they were accompanied with the unforgettable "iron fist in a velvet glove" (for want of a better idiom) verbal style with which, for example, he attacked François Hollande after saying he didn't want to "waste time criticising his successor".

"He (Hollande) has spent two years demolishing what we accomplished," he said.

"M. Hollande seems to want to think of me as a "bad" person. I simply don't think about him."

So that's the superficial impression. It was TV after all, and Sarkozy is a proven master of communications and image.

But what about the substance? What did Sarkozy actually say...that was any different to what he has said in the past? And what concrete measures did he present for transforming the party and of, course, the country?

Nicolas Sarkozy (screenshot France 2 television September 2014)

Well...there was the  use of the referendum as a political tool to let the people have their say.

"It's the key," he said.

Putting aside the relative merits or not of the idea, wasn't that part of his campaign pledge in 2007?

And the need for some changes to the Schengen agreement (which allows its signatories a borderless Europe)  - without outlining exactly what apart from admitting that "I should have said before that in its current state Schengen is not functioning as it should"  - a theme throughout his failed 2012 campaign.

Other than that, not very much, other than the broadest of brushstrokes about the need to bring people within his political family together, provide an alternative to the current government's policies and prevent the prospect of France becoming completely isolated.

Over 8.5 million people apparently tuned in for the 45-minute interview  - proof perhaps that Sarkozy leaves few indifferent.

And some - in particular his two declared adversaries for the leadership battle, Bruno Le Maire and Hervé Mariton - might have found it odd that Sarkozy was given so much air time to make his pitch as a candidate.

Only this is French politics where defeated candidates never seem to fade away gracefully after losing but reappear again and again and again.

And as much as Sarkozy might have wanted those viewing to believe that the interview was ostensibly about the UMP leadership battle, the real focus surely was and remains the 2017 presidential election campaign.

In case you missed it, here's the full interview.

Enjoy.

François Hollande - a Gangsta rapping French president in the making?

François Hollande's speeches could be about to become more...er...interesting.

At least if one of Hollande's newly-appointed speechwriters lives up to his past reputation.

You see, Pierre-Yves Bocquet who is, predictably perhaps, an énarque - a graduate of the prestigious École nationale d'administration - and has been a high-ranking civil servant at the Elysée palace ever since Hollande was elected has another speciality.

Or maybe that should be "specialty" given his particular area of interest.

Because under the pseudonym "Pierre Evil", the 40-year-old has been leading something of a double life...as a music journalist, specialising in American Gangsta rap.

As such, Bocquet/Evil has produced a documentary "Black Music – Des chaînes de fer aux chaînes en or" with Marc-Aurèle Vecchione in 2008 for the Franco-German TV network, Arte.

And he has written two books; "Gangsta rap" in 2005 currently unavailable on Amazon.fr, but maybe that'll change now and the soon-to-be published "Detroit Sampler".




A fellow music journalist, Fred Hanak, describes Bocquet/Evil, who is apparently a fan of the hip hop duo Dead Prez (hmmmn) as "among the best rap reviewers in France".

So out with Hollande's somewhat bumbling and hesitant style so easily lampooned in Les Guignols de l'info on Canal + every weekday evening (even if they also have him "re-interpreting" some of the most popular songs around - see the video)

And in with the hip expletives delivered with a "flow" that'll appeal to the younger generation Hollande courted so much during his presidential election campaign?

Unlikely, as Bocquet says he'll "put on hold his private writing" and besides, "the only person who actually writes François Hollande's speeches is François Hollande. My role will just to be to 'prepare' them."

Shame.

François Hollande as French telly's new "Reality show star" - as seen by Les Guignols

Those behind Les Guignols de l'info, a long-running satirical show in France featuring latex puppets, were on fine form this past Monday.

They opened their regular evening slot with a short sketch dedicated to François Hollande's "successful" live appearance the previous evening on M6's fortnightly economics magazine "Capital".

Perhaps you remember a recent post here in which the viewing figures for "Capital", with Hollande as guest, compared unfavourably to those of an interview with the Algerian-born former prostitute Zahia Dehar shown on in the evening on TF1's weekly show "Sept à huit".

Click here to refresh your memory.

There's little doubt that as a PR exercise, Hollande failed miserably to attract the hoped-for five million plus audience.

Anyway Les Guignols, in their own style, had a few cracking suggestions as to how Hollande might boost his popularity...by appearing in some of M6's many reality shows which seem to pull in the punters easily enough.

(screenshot Les Guignols "Maison à vendre")

First up "L'amour est dans le pré"  the equivalent in France of "Farmer wants a wife" and whose title in French ("Love is in the meadow")  neatly sidesteps the fact that female farmers also exist and next season could see a gay farmer cast for the first time.

Next up was "Top Chef", yet another French version of an imported "concept" with the production company and TV executives opting to keep the original "English" title.

And finally "Maison à vendre" ("Sell this house") hosted by the immensely irritating and deliberately buffoon-like real-life estate agent turned TV presenter Stéphane Plaza.

The part to watch (unless you want to see the whole show) is just the first one minute and 15 seconds during which Hollande is mistaken on each occasion for a pig.

You draw your own conclusion as to what Les Guignols were trying to say.

Enjoy.

Les Guignols de l'Info du 17/06/13 - T'es mort Claude !

Valérie Trierweiler - the French president's "first bodyguard"

Valérie Trierweiler hasn't had an easy time with the media since François Hollande came to power.

And finding the right title for a woman filling a role which, although it doesn't officially exist, has in the past been one whereby the spouse would most likely devote herself to philanthropy and charity work all the while steadfastly supporting her husband, has been equally difficult.

The image - at least the one portrayed by her puppet in the popular satirical programme "Les Guignols" - is one of a dominating woman who doesn't suffer fools gladly and has her buffoon of a better-half firmly under her thumb.

It might be an exaggerated and not entirely accurate representation, but it's one that sticks.

Valérie Trierweiler (screenshot from "Les Guignols")

As does a term coined during campaigning for the presidential elections last year, when a member of the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP), Lionnel Luci, dubbed her "Rottweiler".

Perhaps Trierweiler hasn't helped herself, either in terms of how she's perceived or what she is supposed to be called.

The weekly news magazine, L'Express, nicknamed her the "minister of jealousy" back in June 2012 when she made that infamous Tweet in support of Olivier Falorni, the rival to Ségolène Royal in the parliamentary elections.

CNN didn't know quite how to describe Trierweiler when she accompanied Hollande on his first official trip to the United States shortly after taking office. The couple aren't married and there's no sign from either of them that the knot is going to be tied any time soon (if at all).

In the end the channel plumped for "first girlfriend".

In October last year Trierweiler announced she would be involving herself more in that catch-all term "humanitarian affairs" - mainly with children - and that it would take precedence over her work as a journalist.

She continues to write for Paris Match - but only on culture rather than politics.

Everything seemed to be settling into a more-or-less familiar "first lady" pattern.

Except last weekend there was an "incident" which brought back memories of why Luca's "Rottweiler" insult still resonates.

Trierweiler accompanied Hollande to Tulle, the town in which he used to be mayor and member of parliament.

It was the chance for the French president to gather his thoughts - albeit briefly - from the previous week's revelations in the Cahuzac affair and recharge the batteries in a place where he's apparently still liked.

At one point Hollande, complete with security detail of course, decided to go walkabouts and meet and greet.

Trierweiler was there too - not so much to smile sweetly and press some flesh: more to show how heavy her hand could be when the cameras got a little to close (for her liking) to her other half.

Keep a close eye on what happens at 40 seconds on the accompanying video from Monday evening's "Le Petit Journal" on Canal +.

It's surely Trierweiler at her "bodyguard" best.

"Call me maybe" - the Nicolas Sarkozy version

The past few months hasn't been the most inspiring - politically-speaking - in France.

(screenshot from Les Guignols video)

Sure there was the Trierweiler Twittergate affair early in to François Hollande's "normal" presidency.


And there have been a couple of policy decisions since that will surely have left those who voted for Hollande in May and the Socialist party in June somewhat...er...perplexed.

Same-sex marriage and adoption by couples of the same sex is still very much a live topic but it's probably taking longer to implement than many supporters had imagined and, let's face it, Hollande has hardly "led" the debate.

More recently of course there has been the balls-up over one of Hollande's principal (and for many, most controversial) election promises, to raise to 75 per cent the tax rate for those earning over €1 million per year.

Somehow those responsible for drafting the legislation and writing the budget failed to notice that a household in which both partners earned just under one million (say €900,000 each) per year would not be subject to the new tax but one in which just a single person earned over €1 million (and the other didn't work, for example) would.

Duh!

Someone overlooked the fact that taxing by person rather than household was unfair. The constitutional council didn't though, so it's back to prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault's government to get it right.

The super rich can breath again...for the moment.

Apart from that - nowt much, other than the Dallas-type leadership contest for the opposition Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP) which gradually became more than a little tedious.

No. French politics hasn't really been that enthralling of late. Well, not in the way it used to be.

(screenshot from Les Guignols video)

Still, there's always hope that things might perk up a bit for 2013, especially with rumours that Ségolène Royal (yes, hasn't she been quiet recently?) could well be making a (welcome) return to the frontline with a post in government (word has it that "justice" is has been Seggers-marked)

Anyway, just to leave you with a grin on your face and a reminder of how things used to be (without necessarily implying they were any better) here's a video from those marvels of parody, Les Guignols de l'info on Canal +.

It's their spin back in October on one of the year's biggest international hits, "Call me maybe" by Carly-Rae Jepsen,  only Les Guignols wanted to make clear how dull things had become for news editors, journalists and anchors alike in France ever since you-know who took early retirement.

Smile as you sing along karaoke-style and spot a host of TV news personalities  from Claire Chazal to David Pujadas, Michel Denisot to Harry Roselmack, Nicolas Sarkozy himself relaxing in the jacuzzi with a cameo guitar-strumming appearance from Carla, and Nadine Morano looking as manic as ever.

Enjoy and...Happy New Year

Les Guignols du 04/10/2012 - Rappelez Sarkozy

Happy Birthday (former) M. Le President - Jacques Chirac turns 80

The former French president Jacques Chirac celebrated his 80th birthday on Thursday - a chance for the media in this country to pay tribute to the man who held the top job for 12 years.

Chirac might not figure in opinions polls any longer - and with good reason as he hasn't been politically active since leaving office in May 2007 - but the so-called "received wisdom" is that he's still pretty popular with many French.

Bernadette and Jacques Chirac (screenshot Les Guignols)

While Chirac's memory isn't apparently all it once was - with those close to him admitting that his deterioration was worrying, it would also seem that the collective powers of recall from many sectors of the French media as well as the population at large aren't any better...at least as far as the satirical show on Canal +, "Les Guignols de l'Info" was concerned, as it, in its own special way "celebrated" Chirac's 80th birthday.

Here's the clip of the show's very special trip down Chirac memory lane (from one minute 38 seconds until two minutes 45 seconds).

Les Guignols de l'Info du 29/11/12 - Le politique préféré des français

Les Guignols "candidates" to replace Laurence Ferrari as TF1 news anchor

So TF1 prime time news anchor bid farwell to viewers on Thursday evening.

It was, as expected, a dignified and moving end.




And now the real speculation about her permanent replacement can begin in earnest.

Cue those wickedly satirical Les Guignols de l'info over on Canal +

They provided a few of their own suggestions as to who could take over by showing some of the "candidates in action" during an audition.

First up for Les Guignols was Claire Chazal, TF1's weekend news anchor, followed by Nikos Aliagas the presenter, of among other thing, the French version of The Voice.

Nikos Aliagas (screenshot Les Guignols)

Next to give it a bash was Benjamin Castaldi, whose grandmother, the wonderful actress the late Simone Signoret would surely be horrified that her grandson has signed up for yet another season of hosting trashy TV reality.

But the funniest was surely left until the end as Nicolas Sarkozy gave his best with an off-camera voice interrupting to say how peculiar it was to have the former president auditioning.

"How come?" replies Sarkozy.

"I was editor in chief of TF1's news for five years. If I appearing in front of the camera I'll just be saying the same things won't I?"

Nicolas Sarkozy (screenshot Les Guignols)

More candidates appear later in the show including TF1's weekday lunchtime presenter Jean-Pierre Pernaut, controversial political journalist and writer Éric Zemmour and Anne Sinclair - along with (inevitably) her husband, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Have a great weekend.

Les Guignols de l'Info du 31/05/12 - Qui pour remplacer Ferrari ?

France's presidential hit parade - Les Guignols style

It's the final stretch as far as campaigning in the French presidential elections is concerned.

And before voters go to the polls in the first round of voting, those kind folk over at the daily satirical puppet show Les Guignols de l'info on Canal + have provided us with some much-needed and surely heartily welcome relief.

(screenshot from Les Guignols)

On Friday (the 13th) they served up their recipe, if you will, for a French presidential hit parade.

Les Guignols de l'Info du 13/04/12 - Les Clips de campagne

Hosted by (the puppet of) Nikos Aliagas (of Star Academy and now The Voice fame) it was a collection of sketches in which four political parties and their candidates were portrayed bemoaning their fate, offering their apologies and airing their fears.

The Top 10 countdown was simple, highly amusing and very affective.

In each case a well-known song was used, the lyrics changed and the scene set to explore themes central, as far as Les Guignols were concerned, to the campaigns of Eva Joly, François Bayrou, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande.

First up were the Greens in a reworked version of "Le temps des cathédrales" from Notre-Dame de Paris, the 1998 French musical somewhat cruelly described by the Independent when it opened in London a couple of years later as a "load of old bells".



Had the party chosen the wrong candidate in Eva Joly rather the potentially more popular TV documentary maker and environmentalist Nicolas Hulot?

In a version of French singer Bénabar's 2011 song "Politiquement correct", François Bayrou appeared alongside his sidekick Philippe Douste-Blazy proclaiming his centrist values but admitting that he (polite interpretation) "annoyed voters".



To the strains of the 2010 hit "Désolé" by French rappers Sexion d'Assaut, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the rest of his UMP party, apologised to the French and blamed any/all of the country's ills on the international financial crisis.

There's a wonderful moment at the end when a seemingly hyperactive Nadine Morano cannot resist having the last word.



And finally, topping the lot, was François Hollande and the rest of the Socialist party in their version of Belgian singer-songwriter Stromae's monster hit "Alors on danse" in which Hollande fears his campaign could go belly-up in much the same way as his former partner Ségolène Royal's did in 2007 and even worse Lionel Jospin's in 2002.



Just to add to the fun, it's all done karaoké-style so, if you know the tune and feel like joining in, you can.

Roll on Sunday.

French newsreader's Borloo-Bordeaux mix-up

The leader of the liberal and centrist Parti radical (Radical party), Jean-Louis Borloo might have the reputation - deservéd or not - of enjoying a tipple or two.

Indeed his character in the satirical puppet show on Canal +, Les Guignols, is often portrayed as being on the rather jolly and incoherent side of tipsy as an even more dishevelled - if it were humanely possible - reincarnation of that scruffy TV detective Colombo.

Elise Lucet (screenshot from France 2 television)

So perhaps it was exactly that image that came to the fore in the mind of Elise Lucet as as the anchor on France 2's lunchtime edition of the news on Thursday gave a plug for a programme to be broadcast later in the day.

As she signed off, Lucet drew viewers' attention to the channel's political magazine A vu de juger, in which Borloo would be appearing in the evening and would perhaps she said, "Announce he was running for the country's 2012 presidential elections."

Except that wasn't quite what came out as you can see from the clip.

"Jean-Louis Bordeaux (as in the wine presumably) is what slipped out, quickly to be replaced by, "Borloo" and a smile.