Nicolas Sarkozy and Alain Juppé - the battle of the opinion polls

Another day, another poll - and one involving the former president, Nicolas Sarkozy...of course.

Well it is France after all.

Yes, there are other things happening in France - and not just in the world of political surveys.

Sarkozy, for example, is busy "pleasing all" (or trying to)  and attempting to unite the centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a popular movement, UMP) as he puts together a team resembling a shadow cabinet (divisions included) since winning, in less convincing fashion than he had probably anticipated, the battle for the leadership of his party last weekend.

But the poll looks to the future (er...don't they always, in so far as they're asking speculative questions?) and in particular the expected (political) handbags at dawn "combat" to become the UMP's candidate for the 2017 presidential campaign.

Anyway the latest poll, carried out - just before the UMP leadership election - by YouGov on behalf of the all-news channels i>Télé and Le Huffington Post.

It's essentially to show in order of popularity, how French politicians (or at least their images) rate with the public - "about which of these - answer as many times as you wish - do have a positive opinion?"

And the outcome is that the big winners in the past month (the so-called "Tops"), in terms of how they're perceived by the French electorate at large are Bruno Le Maire and the man who could well push Sarkozy all the way in the expected primary to be the UMP's next presidential candidate, Alain Juppé.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Alain Juppé at a meeting in Bordeaux, November 2014 (screenshot AFP report)

The tables aren't exactly easy to read (when are these things ever - go to this link and open the pdf file) but the Huff Post neatly sums up the survery's findings with Juppé and Le Maire both on the upswing (their "Tops" and Sarkozy losing a few points 'and appearing among the "Flops").

Oh yes...and look at who's at number two on the "positive" list - Marine Le Pen.

Just for a bit of fun, take a look also at the second table which shows those politicians who most engender a negative image (the Flops).

Right up there towards the top (just after Jean-Marie Le Pen and ahead of Jean-François Copé and Marine Le Pen) is Sarkozy - surely adding to the general feeling that he is able to unite and divide opinion (a little like Marine Le Pen) at the same time but one thing's for certain...he doesn't leave anyone indifferent.

Oh yes...and there's a slight increase in the popularity of the current president, François Hollande, and the prime minister, Manuel Valls. But not enough to be of any real significance.

They really need a better PR team - or perhaps policies that actually work...whoops.

France 2 prime time news hits five-month ratings high

France 2 can give itself a well-deserved pat on the back.

Its prime time news is once again flying high (so to speak) in the television ratings (handbags at dawn scenario).

Helpfully for those in France who might have a tendency to forget certain things or find televison schedules confusing, both TF1 - the country's main private channel - and France 2 (public TV)  broadcast their flagship news at exactly the same time every evening - 8 pm.

Right now there are stand-ins for the regular weekday anchors who are taking a well-deserved summer break.

Julien Arnaud is filling in for Gilles Bouleau on TF1 while over at France 2 another Julian - but this time with an "a" as in Bugier - is keeping the chair warm for the regular host David Pujadas.

And Bugier seems to be doing a great job because France 2 news has just achieved a "record rating" (or at least the highest since March 2013) with 4.4 million viewers tuning in for Monday evening's edition.

Part of the reason probably is the "show" immediately preceding the news.

France 2 has the rights to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, and Monday evening was one of the highlights (for the French) with the country's Olympic champion pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie going for gold.

To the disappointment of those watching and the suitably OTT and annoying commentator Patrick Montel, Lavillenie only managed silver.

But the other most likely reason for the upswing in ratings is Bugier himself.

The 32-year-old is personable, professional and...as these things clearly matter in a visual medium - has a face definitely made for television.

Julian Bugier - he looks good even in blurred screenshots (from France 2)

Bugier, you might remember, was the anchor who put journalist Robert Ménard firmly in his place about his opinions on the death penalty during an exchange when both men were working for i>Télé back in 2010.

He joined France 2 in July 2011, firstly as the stand-in (or "joker") for the weekend anchor  Laurent Delahousse when he was away, and then two months exchanging roles with Marie Drucker to become the replacement for Pujadas when the regular anchor was on leave.

French politician claims his Hitler comments on Travellers were "distorted" - do you believe him?

There's always more than one way to interpret events even if sometimes the so-called "proof" of what happened indicates otherwise.

The comments by Gilles Bourdouleix, the mayor (or deputy mayor as far as the Daily Mail is concerned) of Cholet (the town in western France rather than the Womble) and member of the National Assembly for the centre-right Union des démocrates et indépendants (Union of Democrats and Independents, UDI), over the weekend when he seemed to suggest that "Hitler had not killed enough of them" in a reference to gypsies, while visiting an illegal camp for Travellers, have been picked up by both the domestic and international media.

Gilles Bourdouleix (screenshot i>Télé interview)

There have been calls for him to be sacked and the interior minister, Manuel Valls, has asked prosecutors to take legal action against Bourdouleix for implicitly endorsing crimes against humanity, saying that, "Nothing can justify, nor excuse an elected representative...making such a reference to the worst barbarism of the 20th century,"

Not only did the journalist Fabien Leduc, write a piece including the politician's comments in the regional daily Le Courrier de l'Ouest, he also provided a recording.

Here it is, in all its glory so-to-speak.



Not easy to defend yourself in the face of such evidence.

But that hasn't stopped Bourdouleix from trying.

While he's not denying he made the comments, Bourdouleix is questioning the journalist's integrity (well they're not always angels are they?) and that of the newspaper which apparently has an "axe to grind" and insists the recording isn't quite what it seems.

He says the context in which he had to face 30 or 40 people giving him the "Nazi salute" needs to be taken into account and what was an off-the-cuff remark murmured to himself had been "misinterpreted and skewed" to fit the story.

That's paraphrasing what he said during an interview with the all-news channel i>Télé.

Bourdouleix's ducking and diving is all well and good except perhaps for his track record of how he has dealt with illegal camps and Travellers over the years.

In 2011 the Human Rights League of France  lodged a complaint against him (later dropped) for comments on Travellers when he said, "We're scared of these people. They have all the rights! I'm willing to take a truck full of shit to dump in the middle of their caravans!"

And last year the same organisation filed another complaint against him against him for "inciting hatred or violence and racial discrimination against travellers."

Anyway, here's Bourdouleix defending himself in that interview with i>Télé.

Take a listen and make up your own mind.

Gilles Bourdouleix évoque une "manipulation" - 23/07/13 à 7h00