The debate over Jean Sarkozy's new job continues

Reactions are coming thick and fast to the news last week that Jean Sarkozy, the son of the French president, is in line for a top job at l'Etablissement public d'aménagement du quartier d'affaires de la Défense (Epad), the development agency for business district of La Defense on the outskirts of Paris.

The media has gone into a near frenzy reporting the different responses there have been since the retiring incumbent, Patrick Devedjian, made the announcement.

Politicians from the opposition Socialist party have criticised the nomination, as have some from the right of the political spectrum.

And an online petition has already gathered 40,000 signatures calling for him not to accept the job.

The main sticking points seem to be his age - Sarkozy is just 23 - his (lack of) experience and of course the fact that he's the son of the French president.

"We need someone (in the post) who has a good grasp of the law," said the former Socialist party prime minister Laurent Fabius, more than a little ironically.

"Mr Sarkozy is in his second year (at University) studying law, which is obviously a very strong argument in his favour!"

There are of course also the thinly-disguised inferences of nepotism and the fact that carrying the same name as the French president has helped Sarkozy's rise politically at such a young age.

"Who wouldn't be shocked by the way in which this has been done?" said the Socialist party's 2007 presidential candidate, Ségolène Royal.

"If he didn't have the name he has, would he be where he is today?"

Meanwhile members of the ruling centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) of which Sarkozy is a member have come to his defence, saying that the whole political polemic (of which the French seem often seem so fond) and especially the accusations that Sarkozy is benefitting from being the "son of" is nothing more than an attack whipped up by the Left.

"It's an election, a competition and there's no need to create such a polemic," the prime minister, François Fillon, said on national radio on Monday morning referring to the fact that Sarkozy is also an elected local councillor in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine where his father was once mayor.

"What matters is to have been elected at the ballot box as we've also seen for the son of François Mitterrand (Gilbert) or the daughter of Jacques Delors (Martine Aubry)," he added.

Not everyone to the right of the political spectrum in France agrees though.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, head of Debout la République (Arise the Republic, DLR) thinks the appointment is a mistake and sends out the wrong message to the public at large.

"It's unacceptable that a son of the French president, no matter what his qualities, should head up one of Europe's major business districts which is bound to see the construction of more office space," he said.

"And of course we have to question his ability as a 23-year-old student to occupy such a position".

And what of the main protagonist in all of this?

Well until now he had remained silent on the subject. But on Tuesday he told the national daily Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui en France that he felt more than capable of doing the job and had quickly become used to the dealing with any opposition.

"Ever since I started in politics I've been the object of criticism," he said.

"But I'm very determined very motivated and I just see all the attacks the Left are trying to launch my way," he added.

"Whatever I do, I'll be criticised."

In his father's footsteps

It's hard not to jump to the conclusion that Jean, the 21-year-old second son of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is being groomed for success and higher political office.

He was a key player in the mess that quickly became a political soap opera during the local elections to find a mayor for the swish Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine in March.

Now he has been rewarded, of sorts, with the job of bringing peace and calm to his father's ruling centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party in the town.

And that's exactly what's needed since the party attempted to rip itself apart in what has traditionally been one of its strongholds. Neully-sur-Seine has more than 4,000 registered party members - not bad going in a town with a population of just about 60,000. And it was for a long time the personal fiefdom of the current president, where he was mayor from 1983-2002.

The troubles started when Sarkozy Snr parachuted in his (now former) presidential spokesman, David Martinon, as the party's candidate for the mayoral vacancy that was up for grabs in March. But when it became clear that he would probably lose out to another independent centre-right contender, Jean-Christophe Fromantin, the local party led by Sarkozy Jnr and his father's long time number two in Neuilly, Arnaud Teullé, joined forces to effectively "sack" Martinon.

The UMP national executive then decided to throw its weight behind Fromantin, much to the disgust of Teullé who decided to run for office himself.

It was handbags at dawn stuff as centre-right met centre right in the second round run-off, with Sarkozy Snr remaining quiet as his mother Andrée and one of his closest political confidants, immigration minister Brice Hortefeux, both breaking party ranks to support the by now "dissident" Teullé. In the end, Fromantin beat Teullé, with 61,67% of the vote against 38,33%.

Enter stage left Sarkozy Jnr, who after his own election to the regional council of Haut-de-Seine (in which Neuilly is a canton) has now been asked to take on the responsibility of co-ordinating the UMP’s activities in Neuilly. That's a job that has been filled for the past 10 years by Teullé.

Commenting on his rapid promotion, Sarkozy Jnr pretty much stated the obvious that it wasn't a scoop that the election campaign had left its mark on the party, and he had been asked to "restore peace and serenity." Even Teullé was as gracious as could be in yet again being pushed to one side, claiming that he no longer wished to run the local UMP office because he had done so for the past 10 years.

"Jean Sarkozy is a friend," he said. "I see him often and wish him all the best in his new task." Of course Teullé's "dismissal" had nothing to do with the fact that at a national level the UMP had decided to back another candidate in the mayor's race.

Similarly local UMP party officials have been quick to deny that the next step for Sarkozy Jnr would be the mayor's office.

"We don't want to declare war on the candidate (Fromantin) we supported, maintained the party's local secretary, Jacques Gautier. "Jean represents the young generation and has a maturity that's hard to imagine in someone of his age."

So perhaps Sarkozy Jnr is a little more than the sticking plaster the party would like us to believe. At least he'll now have the time before the next elections to build up his power base and prove that he's worthy of the higher political office for which he is so obviously not being groomed.

Dynasty

Cue the theme music and settle back into your armchairs for what looks set to be the Gallic version of that 1980s television soap – except this one threatens to run for longer.

No prizes of course for guessing the names of the main protagonists – Mr and Mrs Sarkozy. Although, - and here’s the twist – this time around it’s not the president, Nicolas and his wife of less than a month Carla. Instead, welcome to the Jean and Andrée show.

By word of explanation, Jean is the 21-year-old second son of the president, while Andrée is the 81-year-old mother of France’s head of state.

The setting for the latest episode of the Sarkozy saga unsurprisingly is the swanky Parisian suburb of Neully-sur-Seine, the personal fiefdom of the president for over 20 years when he was he was the town’s mayor.

And once again events are revolving around the upcoming local elections.

Neuilly is the sort of place where Sarkozy’s ruling centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) could put up the proverbial donkey as a candidate and still normally be assured of a win.

You might remember that just a couple of weeks ago there was something of a furore surrounding the appointment of the UMP’s official candidate in the mayoral race. David Martinon, the spokesman at the president’s official residence, the Elysée palace and Sarkozy Snr’s own self-appointed successor, was parachuted into a supposedly secure seat.

Martinon had been flagging in the polls in spite of the sterling work that Sarkozy Jnr had been doing “on the ground”. With his long blond locks flowing behind him, Jean energetically and articulately pressed the flesh in much the manner as his father, proclaiming his firm and solid support for the embattled Martinon.

But politics is a nasty game and at the best of times and here in France allegiances are indeed built on shifting sands. Eventually Martinon was forced to withdraw from the race in the face of overwhelming local dissatisfaction with his lacklustre campaign.

That criticism was led by a triumvirate that included Sarkozy Snr’s long-time number two in Neuilly, Arnaud Teullé, and guess who? That’s right, Sarkozy Jnr, who proved himself once again to be a chip off the old man’s block.

Teullé was later shocked when the national party overlooked him and instead chose to throw its support behind another candidate, the non-aligned and perceived cause of Martinon’s eventual downfall, the “dissident” Jean-Christophe Fromantin.

In protest, Teullé then announced that he would be the new “dissident”, presenting himself as a candidate for the post of mayor.

Enter Mrs Sarkozy, Andrée into the fray. She’s the woman who stepped into the breach temporarily as a quasi first lady after her son’s former wife, Cecilia, did a runner.

She was also reported to have told him not to marry for the third time as she’d had more than her fill of Mrs Sarkozy’s over the years. So a formidable lady, who speaks her mind and isn’t too troubled by creating a stir.

And that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday evening, when the 81-year-old attended a soiree in support of Teullé and announced that not only would he make a good mayor, but she was also going to vote for him.

How wonderful for the president then, who has blown hot and cold over recent months about his involvement in campaigning for local elections before finally deciding to remain quiet. In the meantime of course, his own party has somewhat lost the plot in Neuilly, sacking the official candidate, supporting the unofficial one and cheesing off entirely one of the party’s stalwarts.

Meanwhile the scene shifts and it’s back to Jean.

Now in yet another layer of administrative overkill of which the French seem to be so fond, there are also local elections for some of the so-called cantonal districts taking place here in France in March.

Neuilly-sur Seine is in the district of Hauts-de-Seine and Sarkozy Jnr has now decided that he himself is going to stand for office to be elected to the cantonal council. He has the full and official backing of not only the UMP (for what it’s worth) but interestingly enough also his former ally and best friend, Teullé.

The two, it would appear, have buried the hatchet, albeit perhaps in each other’s backs as Teullé too is seeking election to the very same council.

With less than a month to go before voters make their choices, there’s still plenty of time for more Sarkozy’s to get involved in the action.

Carla has been quiet for almost a week now, and there’s an older son Pierre, who might like to have his say. Thankfully the president’s youngest son, Louis, is just 11 years old, so there not much chance of his getting involved for a while yet. Surely?

Persiflage

Eastenders comes to Paris

Britain has its helping of Eastenders and Coronation Street and the United States has (among others) daily dollops of General Hospital and Days of our Lives. Even Germany has its weekly wonders of Lindenstrasse. But stand aside perennial favourites, over here in France they’ve come up with a scriptwriter’s dream.

It’s the most staggering political soapbox imaginable in the form of the race to be mayor of the swanky Parisian suburb of Neuilly. The stuff to grace the front pages of all the tabloids and a storyline that almost beggars belief. But astonishingly it’s all true.

So hold on to your hats, this is one whirlwind of a story quite befitting of its “author”, none other than the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. Yes him again.

Municipal elections take place in France in March. Nope, not the most gripping reading it has to be admitted. But – and there’s a big BUT, Sarkozy has turned one potentially dull local affair into headline news.

It’s all taking place in the terribly staid, blue-rinse and fur coat stronghold of Neuilly-sur-Seine, For donkeys years, well from 1983-2002, it was Sarkozy’s own person fiefdom and he spent many a happy day ensconced in the town hall, politicking to his heart’s content.

With not the slightest touch of arrogance, he decided that his centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement or UMP) party’s candidate for the upcoming mayoral vacancy should be, not his long time number two in Neuilly and party stalwart, Arnaud Teullé, but the young and fiercely ambitious, David Martinon.

Now, Martinon – a close friend of the now former never-really-fancied-the-idea-of-being First Lady, Cecilia, just happens to be Sarkozy’s official spokesman at the presidential palace, the Elysée. And the clear parachuting of an outsider over and above dedicated local politicians ruffled more than a few ostrich feathers and shimmering chignons.

So much so that one non-aligned centre-right politician decided he would run in opposition to the official UMP candidate, and so was born the campaign of the until now virtually unknown Jean-Christophe Fromantin.

Martinon has been wobbling in the polls for some time now, not helped much by the Blue Rinsers running a “Martinon, non, non” push in the press, and not even the efforts of the presidential prodigal, Jean, could prevent the inevitable from happening last weekend when the Elysée spokesman finally threw in the towel and withdrew from the race. Mind you that only happened after both Sarkozy jnr (Jean) and Teullé had publicly criticised the way he had conducted his campaign. So much for party unity.

So back to the drawing board and a crisis meeting followed at the local UMP offices who looked all set to nominate the ever-faithful (back-stabbing) Teullé as their candidate. But at the last-minute a directive came from the national UMP committee deciding that the previously “dissident” Fromantin should have their backing.

But the story clearly and really ain’t over until the Fat Lady finishes warbling and so into the running came a new dissident in the form of a mightily cheesed-off Teullé, who has now decided he’ll run against the person his party wants to see become mayor.

And of course Fromantin, still riding high in those polls, is not actually a member of the UMP.

You would be forgiven for thinking that it’s a right Laurel and Hardy of a mess, because that’s exactly what it is. And the source of the “cacophony”, as he has termed it, is none other than the president himself.

The only sure bet, in a town where a centre-right candidate is a shoe-in for elected office, is that the next mayor will not come from the ranks of the Socialist party.

Meanwhile there are murmurings from one of the Paris wards that a similar internal rebel campaign might be launched against a much bigger parachuted Sarkozy buddy, the justice minister, Rachida Dati.

The local elections could prove to be more interesting than ever imagined and the headline writers might have a field day.