Meet the Next President of France

[onedomino]

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Apparently, all odds are that Nicolas Sarkozy will become President of France in 2007.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Wither France? The Next President of the French Republic

http://newsisyphus.blogspot.com/ (scroll down the page to find the article)

Americans have become more conscious at any time since World War II of France. Since the run up to the Iraq War, France--her policies, her peoples and her place in the West--have been the subject of furious debate. On the one side, we have the haters of France, the despisers of poet/foreign ministers who can give their word to our Secretary of State and then jump him with a changed position mid-meeting. On the other, we have the Francophiles, those to whom France is the anti-America, the everything good that we are bad.

In reality, though, there is just France, a deeply troubled country, a people at the crossroads, a country with deep structural problems, a burgeoning social crisis and an increasingly unsure populace. Which is why the seemingly irresistable rise of a new kind of politician there is so interesting.

Rest of the World, meet the next President of France: Nicolas Sarkozy.

Sarkozy is an oddity among a political class famed for its homogeneousness. Born in 1955, in Paris, Sarkozy is the son of an aristocratic Hungarian immigrant/political refugee in a nation that is long on big talk about its welcoming attitude towards immigrants, yet mysterious short of them in her upper ranks. His mother has both Greek and Jewish ancestry, in a culture that largely looks down its nose at both. Unlike most in the political elite, he did not attend the exclusive schools of pubilc administration; instead he became just your average run-of-the-mill lawyer. Nothing in his background can be found in the biographies of past presidents.

In government, he was Interior Minister (a post which, under the French system, is in charge of internal security; think Attorney General, Homeland Security Secretary and FBI chief all rolled into one big post) at a time when many French were beginning to rightfully worry about law and order. Yet he came out of the post more popular then when he entered it. Next, he was handed the Finance Ministry portfolio by an angry President Chirac, enraged by his one-time protege's support of a rival candidate in 1995. This move that was widely (and quite properly) seen as way for the elite to discredit him. It was too good a position to refuse, and, at the same time, too much of a nightmare for anyone to be successful at. After all, who can make sense of the Republic's finances? It was and remains a losing hand. And yet again, to everyone's amazement, he left that post more popular than any other minister currently in government.

In what was widely rumored to be a behind-the-scenes deal to heal the rift between Chirac and Sarkozy, Sarkozy stepped down from the government in exchange for the leadership of the UMP, the president's own party. In charge of the UMP since November, 2004, Sarkozy is expected to use this power base as the platform for a run for the presidency in 2007 as the mainstream right's main candidate. (The candidate of the mainstream left, like it or not, will probably be the insufferable Jack Lang). While things could change considerably between now and 2007, it looks to be almost certain that Sarkozy will become president in that year.

What matters to Americans, of course, is what kind of president Sarkozy is likely to be and whether or not the current policies of France will be maintained. Will France continue to oppose the United States, or will a new era of partnership be ushered in?

The core of France's policies will be maintained, albeit in a very new fashion. For Sarkozy is to France what Tony Blair is to the U.K: at once and the same time a product of his particular political environment who is yet capable of defying it and taking it on when necessary. Sarkozy, like Blair, is a person who knows what our civilization is and what is worth defending.

As Interior Minister, Sarkozy got a lot of credit with the average Frenchman by taking on the rather obvious problem of Muslim assimilation head on. Basically, Sarkozy's take on the issue was to valididate France's commitment to immigaration while, as the same time, breaking with the stifling European orthodoxy by demanding that French Muslims adopt French values. In fact, had John Ashcroft lectured American Muslims in a manner even approaching that of Sarkozy, the international press would still be talking about it. For example, in addressing the largest civic Muslim group in France, Sarkozy announced that he would order deported any imam found preaching sedition in French mosques. One cannot overstate the breath of fresh air such plain-speaking was and is in the European context.

At the same time, Sarkozy had caused to be created a new national Muslim council, to act as the French Muslim community's official government body. (You're nothing in France until you have such an organization). While election to this body dismayed observers--a large number of radicals or quasi-radicals (think CAIR) were elected--the vast majority of the French agreed with Sarkozy's basic vision. Sarkozy was giving the Muslims of France a stake in civil society. All they had to to do was grab it. The fact that they, by and large, did not, spoke volumes and further justified an even harder line. Search the Web for more than a minute and you'll find some Muslim group decrying the mass deportations Sarkozy ordered.

Sarkozy's no-nonsense approach resonates with a people who feel culturally threatened and that, at the same time, wish to be reasonable, to be fair. He is popular precisely because he speaks to that same "silent majority" that exists in France as in the United States.

Sarkozy is said to be enamored with the great thinkers of the Anglo political heritage. However, it would be a mistake to label him as in favor of "les anglo-saxons." Instead, he is a new kind a leader, one needed for a new kind of France, one less married to the orthodoxies of the past given the shape of new problems. As the Economist noted recently:

Mr Sarkozy, by contrast, has no time for tradition for tradition's sake. In an enlarged Europe, he argues that France can no longer rely on the Franco-German motor and needs to cultivate a group of six that also includes Britain, Spain, Italy and Poland. Atlantic-minded, he urges a milder approach to America. He advocates an overhaul of the French social model, pushing for less state regulation and a more flexible labour market; his inspirations are Britain and Spain, not moribund Germany. He considers that the French model of integration has failed French Muslims, and argues for American-style social engineering to help minorities advance. In short, where Mr Chirac urges caution and conservatism, Mr Sarkozy presses for modernisation and change. “France is not eternal,” says one of his aides. “If it does not reform, it will disappear.”

Well said. There is no doubt that France will continue to be a difficult friend even in the best of times. It is, however, heartening that the next president of France realizes what no other French politician dares dream: there is a battle on for the soul of France, and to the winner the spoils.

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[NATO AIR]

interesting, it would be a relief for him to turn out to be half the man tony blair has been, both for GB and for the Atlantic Alliance

thank you for a really good post, this is very interesting information

 

[Annie]

Very interesting. I will be watching for more on him. Excellent!

 

[Adam's Apple]

Ditto what Nato Air said. Very good information.

 

[onedomino]

Solutions for Grandeur
By Marc Perelman
Posted July 2005

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3112 (full article)

Nicolas Sarkozy has become the most popular French politician by diving headfirst into the country’s most explosive political issues. If he has his way, this hyperactive, pro-American, Gaullist, free marketer will transform French politics for good.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California in 2003, all French politicians sneered, except one. For Nicolas Sarkozy, the leader of a center-right Gaullist party and the son of a Hungarian refugee, the rise to power of the Austrian-born Hollywood star was a sure sign of modernity. Commenting soon after Schwarzenegger’s election victory, Sarkozy said, “ [that] someone who’s a foreigner in his country, who has an unpronounceable name and can become governor of the biggest American state—that is not nothing!”

Over the past three years, Sarkozy has become one of France’s most popular politicians by pushing reform, fighting crime, talking straight, and injecting progressive ideas into the ruling center-right party, the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). A politician who often runs against the grain, Sarkozy has challenged his fellow citizens’ views on immigration, social welfare, and tax relief, and told them that, in some cases, France should look abroad for its inspiration to Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Britain and, yes, even President George W. Bush’s America. His emergence has breathed new life into France’s ossified political landscape where the same leaders have been holding sway for decades. And his ultimate ambition couldn’t be more clear: The 50-year-old politician, whose boyish energy and penchant for fidgeting has earned him the nickname “Speedy,” is hoping that French voters will show a California-like openness and make him France’s next president. Indeed, in 2003, he broke with French tradition by openly declaring his presidential ambitions and igniting a feud with his mentor, President Jacques Chirac. When I asked him about his political coming-out in a country where discretion is often preferred to ambition, he threw his arms up in the air: “What can I say? I’m ambitious. It’s true. Should I pretend otherwise?”

Maybe. Such ambition has earned Sarkozy a fair number of detractors. His critics bemoan his arrogance. Some say he is simply a political animal, with no moral center. Others claim his originality is more a matter of tone than substance. There may be some truth to the charges, but pollsters and politicians from all sides acknowledge he has struck a chord with the French people—as his sky-high approval ratings show. When asked in recent polls whether they would like to see Sarkozy play a greater role in politics, 49 percent of the French said yes, which is more support than any other French politician enjoys. “There is clearly a Sarkozy phenomenon,” says his close friend and fellow Gaullist legislator Patrick Balkany. “He has utterly outfashioned all other politicians.” But the political rise of Nicolas Sarkozy may be no passing trend.

More than any other mainstream politician, Sarkozy is acutely aware that the era of French politics as usual is over, and that an increasing number of frustrated French voters either stay home or vote for extremists on election days. By sprucing up his core conservative agenda with audacious proposals to shake up the ailing French egalitarian model and by conveying them in simple words—a rarity in the somnolent world of French politics—he is creating a modern image. Unlike Chirac and other political leaders who are licking their wounds in the wake of the devastating non vote on the European constitution in late May, Sarkozy, despite campaigning for the “yes,” is positioning himself as a possible last resort against the rise of extremist parties. He has recently returned to the post of interior minister, the position that propelled him to political stardom a couple of years ago. He also retains his job as chief of the UMP and plans to use both positions to bolster his credentials for the 2007 French presidential election. If elected, Sarkozy would be France’s first baby boomer president. His advent would likely mark the end of an era of monarchic-style presidency and the ushering in of a more modest version of the office, one that’s more in tune with the French people and more in harmony with France’s position as a middle-tier power on the world stage.

A Reformer’s Roots

Sarkozy’s dual impulse to distinguish himself and yearn for approval can be traced to his family roots. His Hungarian father fled the communists at the end of World War II and ended up in Paris, where he married the daughter of a Greek émigré surgeon. The marriage was short-lived, and Sarkozy’s mother worked hard to give, on her own, a typical bourgeois Parisian education to her three sons. “I like the frame of mind of those who need to build everything because nothing was given to them,” he says when asked about his upbringing. “I quickly learned that in the swimming pool, I had to learn to swim on my own.” He also realized that in order to propel the political career he chose to pursue in his early 20s, he would need a strong local base and patronage. He found them, respectively, in the plush Paris suburb of Neuilly and in Jacques Chirac—even though he now insists “Chirac never gave me anything.”

In 1983, the 28-year-old Sarkozy outwitted a local party heavyweight in Neuilly to become France’s youngest mayor, famously uttering, “I’ve screwed them all!” on the night of his election victory. Sarkozy’s vivacious intellect and gift of oratory caught Chirac’s eye, and he took Sarkozy under his wing. Sarkozy, in some ways, became the son Chirac never had. Sarkozy was a key political advisor to Chirac during the 1988 presidential campaign, and he stood with him when other Gaullists tried to take control of the party after Chirac lost the election to Socialist François Mitterrand.

After the right won the legislative elections in 1993, Sarkozy became budget minister in the government of fellow Gaullist Prime Minister Edouard Balladur, with the understanding that they would all work for Chirac’s presidential run in 1995. But the symbiotic Sarkozy-Chirac relationship soured when Balladur, riding high in the polls, decided to run himself, and Sarkozy became his main underling, launching withering attacks on the Chirac camp. Sarkozy the prodigal son had morphed into Sarkozy the traitor. After winning the fratricidal competition, Chirac shunned Sarkozy, even reportedly urging his supporters to step on the young politician to bring themselves good luck.

A Pro-American in Paris

Even in style and persona, Sarkozy strays off the beaten path of French politics. Short and dark haired, he is the inverse of the tall and balding Chirac. His grave, hoarse voice and steady tone evince a steely determination. Opinion polls show that Sarkozy’s straight talk and pragmatism, as well as his avowed passion for the Tour de France, soccer, and popular artists endear him to the average voter. Unlike most of his peers, Sarkozy is a lawyer by training and did not attend the country’s elite national school of administration whose alumni often struggle to connect with French society.

Traditionalists who decry Sarkozy’s style see deeper danger in his substance: a pro-American free marketer who threatens to undermine not only France’s economic model but also the secular fabric of French society. “I don’t have a reference book in which I will find the solution to all problems,” Sarkozy says. “I try to be pragmatic and efficient. Maybe in that sense I am Anglo-Saxon.”

Although he is careful to stress that he does not see eye-to-eye with President Bush on many issues, he is unabashedly pro-American. “I like America and the Americans a lot and I say it. Do I need help, doctor?” he quips, raising his eyebrows. “Some of my friends tell me not to talk about it so [loudly]. Why? I don’t get it.”

He expressed similar warm feelings in April 2004 when, in an obvious stab at the reviled Chirac, the Bush administration rolled out the red carpet for Sarkozy, who met with Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell during his visit. Of course, he knows the dangers of appearing too close to a U.S. administration that has confirmed many of the worst French fears of what an American superpower could be. Several close associates say that although he supported France’s opposition to the war in Iraq, Sarkozy has privately said that Paris’s use of its veto threat at the U.N. Security Council in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. He has not crossed that line in public, however, out of respect for the president’s primacy in foreign policy and probably because he realizes the decision is one of the most popular Chirac has taken in years.

But, in many other ways, Sarkozy is taking a page out of the American playbook. To remedy France’s tepid growth, he has proposed lower taxes and a relaxation of the 35-hour workweek. His policy prescriptions, as well as long-standing personal ties to the country’s top CEOs, have earned him the trust of the business community. “He is one of the few French politicians for whom a business success story is not suspect,” says construction magnate Martin Bouygues, who is an old acquaintance.

Still, Sarkozy knows that advocating the streamlining of the comprehensive social welfare system that the French cherish is politically risky, if not suicidal. Part of the “no” vote was indeed driven by fears that a free-market-oriented EU would subsume the French welfare state. This is why Sarkozy used his short stint as finance minister last year to shed his “pro-market” image by supporting state intervention to help French companies. He is also careful to couch his pro-market discourse in moral terms, lamenting the lack of respect for “the France that wakes up early,” and the “sclerosis” that has kept the unemployment rate at around 10 percent for more than two decades.

Political opponents, of course, say such actions are cynical ploys. Alain Bergounioux, a senior official with the Socialist Party, which will likely field the main challenger to the Gaullist candidate in 2007, branded Sarkozy’s efforts to project a more progressive image as mere window-dressing by a wily politician fishing for crucial centrist swing votes.

To be sure, Sarkozy is not the first and only French politician to advocate economic liberalism and closer ties to Washington. But he is the first one to cater so carefully to “special interests”—such as unions, entrepreneurs and, most controversially, religious and ethnic groups—rather than the “general interest” invoked by most French leaders. Michel Maffesoli, a prominent sociologist at the Sorbonne, says that is exactly what makes Sarkozy popular. “He is the only French postmodern politician,” says Maffesoli. “He does not mind groups and understands instinctively the mosaical nature of today’s society, where the ideal is less integration than juxtaposition.”

Sarkozy, for example, has openly courted Jewish and Muslim groups and built a strong following in both communities. While interior minister, he led the fight against a surge in anti-Semitic incidents, denouncing them forcefully and ordering swift police action against perpetrators. Similarly, in 2002, Sarkozy played a pivotal role in the creation of a representative body for the country’s disenfranchised Muslim community. He has controversially proposed public financing of mosques and training of imams (to sever their ties to foreign funders) by modifying France’s bedrock 1905 law strictly separating church and state. But his most daring move is undoubtedly his advocacy of a limited but comprehensive set of “positive discrimination” (affirmative action) measures, a major departure in the land of equality. “I think some people accumulate so many handicaps that if the state does not help them, they have no chance of making it,” he explains, sarcastically adding: “So you could end up having colored ministers? Now that is shocking!”

While interior minister, Sarkozy appointed a Muslim as chief administrative official of one of France’s 22 regions, a decision his critics mocked as cosmetic. He told me he intended to prove his commitment to diversity by opening up the overwhelmingly white ranks of the UMP to French citizens of foreign origin. Those actions explain why he may well end up being the first French politician to attract an ethnic vote by luring both Jews and Muslims. Sarkozy rejects any notion that his actions are driven by petty politics or that they represent a threat to the secular and egalitarian French society. He claims he is merely trying to provide innovative answers to France’s glaring failure to integrate and promote the latest generation of mostly African and Arab immigrants.

On the related and equally sensitive issue of immigration reform, Sarkozy has proposed a quota system based on the needs of France’s labor market—again, another idea borrowed from the United States. Illegal immigration, combined with high unemployment, crime, and the rise of radical Islam in the volatile suburbs of France’s large cities, has been the main reason why Le Pen’s extreme-right National Front has regularly garnered 15 percent of the vote over the past 20 years.

Sarkozy is quick to note that since he brought up and openly discussed many controversial questions, most notably the immigration quotas, his fellow politicians have rushed forward to offer their own views on topics they have studiously avoided for years. “A politician with no novel ideas serves no purpose,” he told me, adding a moment later, with a smirk: “I must say my fellow politicians are granting me a wonderful space to operate.”

Going Somewhere Fast

Despite his popularity, it’s still unclear where exactly Speedy is headed. Stéphane Rozès of the polling institute CSA compares Sarkozy to Napoleon during the famous Arcole bridge battle, in which Napoleon charged ahead urging his soldiers to trust him despite not knowing what was on the other side. “Sarkozy charges ahead, begs his supporters to follow him and defy adversity but he does not tell them what lies ahead,” says Rozès. “In his mind, the movement creates the destination.”

Although many of his supporters urged him not to join the government after the referendum (fearing that he would be tainted by his new association with the unpopular Chirac), Sarkozy has once again shown his contrarian colors by deciding to jump onboard, both to regain a prominent position and to dispel any notion that he is refusing to help his struggling camp in trying times. Now back at the Interior Ministry, he is determined to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on crime that will enhance his appeal on the right. But, in order to burnish his popularity across the board, he has signaled that he is eager to push for change, especially on immigration policy, even if his proposals don’t conform to the UMP party line. And, in keeping with his ambitious and outspoken persona, he has already indicated that he plans to leave the government in January 2007 to prepare for the presidential election that spring.

Sarkozy is convinced France is ready for a change and in dire need of it. When asked if a young, pragmatic, urbane, son of an immigrant with a funny name could reach the political pinnacle of a country where presidents tend to have old rural roots and embody a certain idea of “grandeur,” he simply smiles. It would not be nothing.

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[padisha emperor]

Interior Minister (a post which, under the French system, is in charge of internal security; think Attorney General, Homeland Security Secretary and FBI chief all rolled into one big post

Not Attorney General.
In France, the "Attorney General" is The Minister of Justice, also called "Garde des Sceaux" (Keeper Of Seals, it came from the old french monarchy).

--------------------------

Nicolas Sarkozy is a good politician.
His brother is at the head (or will be soon) of the MEDEF, the association will the french companies boss.

But there is one problem with N. Sarkozy, and in France evrybody feel it (I can admit it 's not the case out of our borders ) : He says often good things...but they're rarely followed by effects...
He promises a lot, and after, nothing. that' not a really good point.
But one thing is sure : actually, he is the only man who can seriously become president : the right, except him, can't win (Bayrou has not enough voices, De Villiers is a dumbass, Le Pen is Le Pen), the left is still too divised...only for the PS (socialist), 4 or 5 men could become candidate for the presidence.....


I hope, if he woulde become president, that he won't touch the french public services, or not too much, same thing for the health care system, France has the best healthcare system, and maybe the best public services... I don't want that these things become same as in UK....(a piece of shit)

 

[Said1]

I hope, if he woulde become president, that he won't touch the french public services, or not too much, same thing for the health care system, France has the best healthcare system, and maybe the best public services... I don't want that these things become same as in UK....(a piece of shit)

Best in Europe?

Where will the cuts be made if not from "public services"?

 

[padisha emperor]

Best in Europe?

Where will the cuts be made if not from "public services"?

that's the question.

The french public services are good, excellent, and the population won't accept if they disappear.

Maybe in the UK they were cuts in these services, but look at the result : the railways suck, the healthcare system too....when you're more than 70, or something like that, you can't have more teeth care...in France we've the luck to have the best healthcare system of the world (classification of the World Health Organisation).
it's not to say "we're the best", only to show our attachment to our services


Maybe he will find a way to have money without touch too much to these services.

i think that's one of the main point of misunderstood between our two countries

we have really different cionception of the public services.

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

Every French mother wants her children to be good little socialists entrenched in their federal government jobs.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Dude how did you find this thread? Damn Annie's been around a looong time!

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

The Sarkozy family was very distinguished in centuries past. They were Spanish Jews who emigrated to France and converted to Christianity.

 

[TheOldSchool]

The Sarkozy family was very distinguished in centuries past. They were Spanish Jews who emigrated to France and converted to Christianity.

On a scale of 1 - 10 how much do you think that matters?

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

The Sarkozy family was very distinguished in centuries past. They were Spanish Jews who emigrated to France and converted to Christianity.

On a scale of 1 - 10 how much do you think that matters?

In a Muslim country like France?

 

[TheOldSchool]

The Sarkozy family was very distinguished in centuries past. They were Spanish Jews who emigrated to France and converted to Christianity.

On a scale of 1 - 10 how much do you think that matters?

In a Muslim country like France?

Anywhere. Family histories don't mean much these days. Btw France is only 7% muslim. Stop that crazy talk.

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

The Sarkozy family was very distinguished in centuries past. They were Spanish Jews who emigrated to France and converted to Christianity.

On a scale of 1 - 10 how much do you think that matters?

In a Muslim country like France?

Anywhere. Family histories don't mean much these days. Btw France is only 7% muslim. Stop that crazy talk.

Right, right, like Germany, yes? Where Nazi Party membership was never more than 6% of the population.

 

[TheOldSchool]

The Sarkozy family was very distinguished in centuries past. They were Spanish Jews who emigrated to France and converted to Christianity.

On a scale of 1 - 10 how much do you think that matters?

In a Muslim country like France?

Anywhere. Family histories don't mean much these days. Btw France is only 7% muslim. Stop that crazy talk.

Right, right, like Germany, yes? Where Nazi Party membership was never more than 6% of the population.

What do you expect me to say to that?

 

[Tom Sweetnam]

The Sarkozy family was very distinguished in centuries past. They were Spanish Jews who emigrated to France and converted to Christianity.

On a scale of 1 - 10 how much do you think that matters?

In a Muslim country like France?

Anywhere. Family histories don't mean much these days. Btw France is only 7% muslim. Stop that crazy talk.

Right, right, like Germany, yes? Where Nazi Party membership was never more than 6% of the population.

What do you expect me to say to that?

Duuuuuuuh...

 

[TheOldSchool]

On a scale of 1 - 10 how much do you think that matters?

In a Muslim country like France?

Anywhere. Family histories don't mean much these days. Btw France is only 7% muslim. Stop that crazy talk.

Right, right, like Germany, yes? Where Nazi Party membership was never more than 6% of the population.

What do you expect me to say to that?

Duuuuuuuh...

Aaaaand the thread vanished for another 10 years.

 

[indiajo]

[

Anywhere. Family histories don't mean much these days. Btw France is only 7% muslim. Stop that crazy talk.

Only is a nice expression for 7%.
By empiric experience the real problems start >2%,

 

[RandomVariable]

After reading this thread I thought it would be fun to do a little 'what ever happened', since for the most part this thread is from 2005. Two paragraphs from wiki.
Nicolas Sarkozy - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

In 2004 Sarkozy co-authored a book, La République, les religions, l'espérance (The Republic, Religions, and Hope),[109] in which he argued that the young should not be brought up solely on secular or republican values. He advocated reducing the separation of church and state, arguing for the government subsidies for mosques to encourage Islamic integration into French society.[110] He opposes financing of religious institutions with funds from outside France. After meeting with Tom Cruise, Sarkozy was criticised by some for meeting with a member of the Church of Scientology, which is seen as a cult (see Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France).[111] Sarkozy claimed "the roots of France are essentially Christian" at December 2007 speech in Rome. He called Islam "one of the greatest and most beautiful civilizations the world has known" at a speech in Riyadh in January 2008. Both comments[why?] drew criticism from Christians.[112]

On 1 July 2014 Sarkozy was detained for questioning by police over claims he had promised a prestigious role in Monaco to a high-ranking judge, Gilbert Azibert, in exchange for information about the investigation into alleged illegal campaign funding. Mr Azibert, one of the most senior judges at the court of appeal, was called in for questioning on 30 June 2014.[145] It is believed to be the first time a former French president has been held in police custody, although his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was found guilty of embezzlement and breach of trust while he was mayor of Paris and given a suspended prison sentence in 2011.[146] After 15 hours in police custody, Sarkozy was put under official investigation for "active corruption", "misuse of influence" and "obtained through a breach of professional secrecy" on 2 July 2014. [147] Mr Azibert and Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, are also now under official investigation. The two accusations carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison. [148] The developments are seen as a blow to Sarkozy's attempts to challenge for the presidency in 2017.[149][150]​