France during the Sarkozy Years
“This fundamental difference is why people elected him in 2007 and why they rejected him in 2012. The French liked the unconventional candidate; they never liked the unconventional president. They had been accustomed to distant fatherly figures and instead they got France’s first president of the 21st century: pragmatic, proactive, transparent and media savvy.”
Sarkozy’s achievements
• Liberation of Bulgarian nurses (July 2007)• Liberation of Ingrid Betancourt (July 2008)
Sarkozy’s achievements
• French presidency of EU (July-Dec 2008)
Sarkozy’s achievements
• Minimum service during public sector strikes (Aug 2007)
Sarkozy’s achievements
• Le Grenelle de l’environnement (Oct 2007)
Sarkozy’s mistakes
• President for the rich?
Sarkozy’s mistakes
• From Cécilia to Carla in 3½ months
Sarkozy’s mistakes
• At the Salon de l’Agriculture (Feb. 2008)
La crise…
L’affaire Jean Sarkozy (Oct. 2009)
L’affaire Woerth-Bettencourt (2010)
L’affaire DSK (2011)
The Front National
Jean-Marie Le Pen: 10% in 2007 Marine Le Pen: 18% in 2012
“La laïcité positive”