Financial Times Editorial Comment: Sarkozy’s mandate for change/France ushers in a new political era

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Sarkozy’s mandate for change
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: May 6 2007 20:16 | Last updated: May 6 2007 20:16


Nicolas Sarkozy has won a clear mandate for change in France with his decisive victory over Ségolène Royal in the French presidential election. He has campaigned throughout with the slogan of seeking a rupture – a clean break – with the French politics of recent years and on Sunday French voters turned out in remarkable numbers to endorse that message. Torn between the desire for security and realisation of the need for reform, they have opted for reform.

In the end, the sheer determination and professionalism of Mr Sarkozy’s campaign overcame a fierce rearguard action by Ms Royal, who sought and failed to play on fears that the centre-right contender to succeed President Jacques Chirac was too aggressive and too ambitious to deserve to win. In the final run-off, Ms Royal looked like the more conservative candidate, in spite of her Socialist party credentials, promising not to shake up France’s ossified and centralised bureaucracy too much. Mr Sarkozy set out a more challenging message: that France must work harder – and offer greater rewards for hard work – if it is to compete in the global market place.

The response of the voters was to give him a comfortable victory of more than six percentage points, on an extraordinary turnout of 85 per cent. That suggests a genuine enthusiasm for a new generation of political leaders after the past 12 years of reluctant reform, and vacillating direction, under Mr Chirac.

The most disturbing aspect of Mr Sarkozy’s campaign was his readiness to play on populist fears of excessive immigration and of unfair competition from globalisation in his drive to win voters from his right as well as his left. His attacks on the European Central Bank were ill-judged, in laying the blame for France’s sluggish economic performance on outside forces, not excessive rigidity at home.

Now he must put populism behind him. Immigration controls are not the answer to a failure of integration policies that has led to miserable ghettoes in the suburbs. Improving education, creating more jobs and easing labour market flexibility will have far more positive effects.

Hiding behind protectionist trade barriers and defending inefficient national champions are not the ways to make France more competitive. Reducing red tape and bureaucracy will do far more good.

France’s recent introversion and fearfulness seems to be more psychological than real. Mr Sarkozy now has a mandate to offer hope: to shake up the system, with a clear message of confidence in change.


France ushers in a new political era
By Martin Arnold and John Thornhill in Paris
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: May 7 2007 07:57 | Last updated: May 7 2007 12:04


France woke up on Monday morning with Nicolas Sarkozy as its newly elected president, after voters gave the neo-Gaullist candidate a thumping mandate to pursue reform with 53 per cent of the ballot.

Quentin Peel on the French election and what Nicolas Sarzoky’s electoral victory means for France
As the realisation started to sink in that the country is poised for five years of ambitious economic and social reforms under one of its most energetic politicians, Mr Sarkozy’s supporters celebrated, while left-wingers grumpily conceded defeat.

The French CAC-40 blue chip share index fell slightly to 6,066.67, after earlier hitting a fresh six-year high shortly after opening at 9am. Economists had predicted that investors would greet Mr Sarkozy’s election with enthusiasm, in anticipation of tax cuts, labour reform and debt-reduction measures.

Mathieu Kaiser, economist at BNP Paribas, said investors had anticipated the victory of the favourite, Mr Sarkozy, pricing it into share valuations. He added: “Usually the benefits of economic reforms are delayed until the medium term.”

Mr Sarkozy spent Sunday night partying with his friends, family and closest supporters in an exclusive Paris night club. He was due to spend the next ten days resting in a secret French location and preparing to take over from Jacques Chirac on May 16.

In his victory speech the 52-year-old son of a Hungarian immigrant vowed to act in the best interests of all the French, not just those who had voted for him, and pledged to put his country “back in Europe”.

“Tonight is not a victory of one France over another. For me there is only one victory, that of democracy,” Mr Sarkozy told jubilant fans crammed into a Paris concert hall.

However, Mr Sarkozy’s triumph was marred by sporadic violence on Sunday night as demonstrators took to the streets in Paris, Lyons, Marseilles and Bordeaux to protest against the tough-talking former interior minister.

In the southern city of Toulouse, hundreds of demonstrators marched through the town centre, setting off smoke bombs and stoning shop windows. A handful of protesters even tried to break into the town hall.

The scale of Mr Sarkozy’s victory, though, is only likely to embolden the leader of the ruling UMP party to push ahead with radical reforms in the summer. His mandate was bolstered by the near-record turnout of 84 per cent. He won almost 19m votes.

“The French were fascinated by this campaign. This time, the debates have not been dodged. They have chosen the candidate of rupture, on economic as well as social issues, they expect rupture,” said Les Echos, the FT’s French sister newspaper.

Libération, the left-leaning newspaper, summed up the grim mood among Mr Sarkozy’s opponents with a one-word front page headline on Monday, saying simply: “Tough”. It described his election as: “Tough, but in accordance with the will of the people. Thatcher without the skirts? Lets brace ourselves…”

Mr Sarkozy has promised to cut taxes and loosen France’s tightly regulated labour market to stimulate faster growth in the world’s sixth-biggest economy.

But he must first secure a parliamentary majority in legislative elections next month. Describing himself as a sincere European, Mr Sarkozy said he would immediately start working for a more integrated European Union but warned that the 27-member bloc must do more to protect its people from the ravages of globalisation. “I beseech our European partners to hear the voices of those who want to be protected,” he said.

Mr Sarkozy also promised closer relations with the US but told Washington it had a duty not to obstruct the fight against global warming. “France will make this struggle its first struggle,” he said.

Ségolène Royal, the Socialist challenger, fought a spirited campaign but failed to attract enough support from centrist voters to clinch the presidency. Conceding defeat, Ms Royal celebrated the strong voter turnout as a sign of the public’s re-engagement with politics and sounded a defiant rallying cry.

“Something has risen up that will not stop,” she said. “You can count on me to pursue the renewal of the left and to seek convergence with others beyond our borders, which is the condition for our future victory.”

The knives were out for Ms Royal and François Hollande, the Socialist leader and father of her four children, ahead of a looming leadership battle. Laurent Fabius, the Socialist former prime minister, said: “The flag of the left is on the ground.” Dominique Strauss-Kahn, his social-democrat rival, said: “I am ready to lead this renewal [of the left].”

A howl of anger erupted from the big crowd of supporters outside the Socialist party headquarters when the result was announced. “I’m disgusted. This means it will be a France of everyone for themselves. It is the France of the rich now,” said Hela, a young researcher.

François Fillon, one of Mr Sarkozy’s senior advisers who is tipped to become prime minister, said that after years of voting negatively against all politicians the French had once again been tempted to vote positively for a project.

Dominique de Villepin, prime minister, is due to submit his resignation to Mr Chirac, who is expected to use his final cabinet meeting on Wednesday to ask his long-time ally to continue running the country until the official handover of power on May 16.