Europe, Immigration and the Sarkozian Concept of Fraternité

Abstract

In Nicolas Sarkozy’s embrace of ‘French national identity’ during his presidential campaign, one could sense the lepéniste nature of his campaign. Sarkozy’s cultural platform, specifying France’s Christian roots and the national language as vital to the country’s national and democratic heritage, has likewise betrayed his definitions of ‘Europeanness’ and ‘Frenchness’ as essentialist. Given his political success, the hardening of France’s universalist values has therefore become palpable, specifically the concept of fraternité (‘brotherhood’ or ‘solidarity’). The following analysis will examine how, during Sarkozy’s tenure as Interior Minister and now as President, the original concept of fraternité has been displaced in favour of a cultural predisposition to democracy — a shift that, along with France’s new immigration policy and longstanding opposition to Turkey’s candidacy for membership of the EU, coincides with a resurgence of Islamophobia.