Sarkozy Presidency Research Articles

Political Support in Times of Personalized Politics. A Qualitative Inquiry of French Citizens' Representations About Political Actors and the Political Regime

This article investigates how citizens speak about representative democracy and questions their perceptions of representation and of the democratic regime they live in, by mobilizing the distinction between diffuse and specific support, in a context of personalized politics. It shows that political actors and their performances are at the core of citizens' perceptions. I investigate citizens' representations of the political field through an original qualitative fieldwork, composed of couple interviews with French citizens, under the Sarkozy presidency. Studies about the political support of citizens often mobilize quantitative surveys to measure the degree of support and satisfaction. I rather choose the qualitative approach to grasp perceptions of political field through discussions about political and societal issues. Couple interviews offer an adequate framework to observe political opinions that are built in daily life. Representations of the political field are mainly dominated by the role of political actors. Political parties and institutions are rarely mentioned. Politicians are systematically held accountable, and are often criticized in citizens' discussions. The existing literature has often distinguished specific and diffuse support. My analysis tends to show that the weakness of the former through personalization can undermine the support for the regime. However, alternatives to representative democracy remain underexplored and even not considered. Overall, these representations depend on sociopolitical factors, such as political convictions or social backgrounds.

France As the Political Leader of Europe in XXI Century

Nicolas Paul Stephane Sarkozy was born in 1955 in Paris – he became a 23 president of France (2007 – 2012). During a period of Sarkozy presidency, France took part in taking very important decisions which influenced the whole world. These decisions were taken as in external politics as well as in an internal one and his performance generated a transformation inside the EU.

Laïcité and republicanism during the Sarkozy presidency

Laicite – the principle of constitutional secularism – is an important pillar of French republican thought. Under the Sarkozy presidency, it became a focal point in the discourse and policies of the UMP government, in its engagement with questions of integration, social cohesion and the broader politics of identity and belonging. In particular, laicite was increasingly understood as requiring French Muslims, in particular, to exercise discretion in the exercise of religious faith in public spaces. However, jurists and the Conseil d’Etat have continued to interpret it as a liberal principle of state neutrality, which imposes no restraint as such on private individuals. This article charts the expansionary interpretation of laicite in centre-right politics, over this period, in view of broader debates on national identity and social cohesion.

The French Debate on National Identity and the Sarkozy Presidency: A Retrospective

Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency presented a mixed record on the issues of Muslim immigration and integration. On the one hand, his administration took novel and constructive steps to advance the integration of Muslim immigrants into French society, notably through the granting of unprecedented official recognition and institutional representation to Islam in the country. On the other, by placing the immigration issue at the centre of his 2012 re-election strategy, he overshadowed and undermined the effectiveness of these integrative policies. Given the country's worsening economic outlook and rising unemployment, immigration is therefore likely to remain as salient and difficult an issue under the new Hollande administration as it was under Sarkozy's.

A Paradoxical Presidency: Nicolas Sarkozy, 2007-2012

The Sarkozy presidency is shot through with paradox and contrast. Sarkozy was a well-elected president swiftly loathed by most voters; a ‘hyperpresident’ who probably weakened the office; a talented party leader who lost effective control of his party; a right-wing president who was readily compared with Tony Blair; and an ambitious reformer who promised a clean break with the indecision of his two predecessors, but whose record was more timid than his rhetoric. This article interprets Sarkozys record in the context of the presidential office, the specific circumstances of his presidency and of the presidents own personality, skills and shortcomings.

Leadership and style in the French Fifth Republic: Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency in historical and cultural perspective

This article contributes to the body of the developing theoretical research in leadership and presidential studies by adding analysis of what I have termed ‘comportmental style’ as a factor in leader/follower relations. Within institutionalism and the wider structure/agency debate in political science, one of the challenges as regards the study of leadership is to identify factors that offer scope to or else militate against leaders’ performance. The comportmental style of Nicolas Sarkozy (President of the French Republic 2007–2012), deployed in the context of the – changing – institution of the presidency, was a major factor in his extreme unpopularity, and contributed to his defeat in 2012. What this tells us about the nature of the changing French presidency and the role of style will be discussed in the conclusion.

Fixing France's broken social model? An assessment of employment and labour market policy under the Sarkozy presidency

Taking as its starting point the programme and campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential election of 2007 around the ‘value of work’, this article reviews and assesses the main reforms undertaken during the period of his presidency. It focuses on the reform of working time regulationsg through tax exoneration for overtime hours, minimum income benefit (the introduction of the Revenu de solidarité active), moves to reform labour contracts, measures to help combat youth unemployment and pension reform. The article highlights inconsistencies between the political discourse of structural reform and a practice of incrementalism caused by ideological ambiguities, mismatch between policy design and economic conditions, and the reality of policymaking in a complex and fragmented polity.

From Silent Marginality to Spotlight Scapegoating? A Brief Case Study of France's Policy Towards the Roma

This article addresses the way in which the Roma were framed as an important ‘security issue’ on the French public policy agenda during the Sarkozy presidency. By pointing out continuities and discontinuities in the association between ‘immigation’ and ‘insecurity’ in official discourse, it analyses the somehow unexpected and sudden scapegoating of the Roma as responding to immediate political imperatives, but also as an expression of a mounting trend of nationalism. The fact that, in France, public space is officially ethnicity-blind contributed, paradoxically, to the rapid stigmatisation of the Roma as a group.

The “Immigration Question”: Mainspring of Sarkozy's Presidency

A major preoccupation in French politics since the mid-1980s, the issue of immigration has featured prominently in the policies of president Sarkozy. Although there is nothing particularly new in his approach compared with those of his predecessors, we may be surprised at how frequently this issue has arisen. In effect, looming ever larger, the “immigration question” has remained on the public agenda throughout Sarkozy's presidency and cannot be separated from its powerful media image. For Nicolas Sarkozy, to broach the topic of immigration has been to set his communication machine to work. Here, albeit not for the first time, the extreme right Front National's relationship with the electorate has been an influential part of the process. With its particularly hostile attitude towards immigration, this sector of public opinion, which is often thought, whether rightly or wrongly, to be growing in size and strength, has repeatedly determined the president's stance.

Presidents of the Fifth Republic: The Virtues of Comparison, not a Comparison of Virtues

In setting out to compare Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency with those of his predecessors under the Fifth Republic, we need to keep in mind that, except for Georges Pompidou (who died before completing his seven-year term), and Jacques Chirac (who had already served seven years before being elected for a further five), Sarkozy is the first president to come into office with a relatively short five-year term ahead of him. Moreover, in the course of his presidency a major financial and economic crisis arose that greatly reduced his room for maneuver. In many respects, the pattern of this presidency resembles that of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, with a period of reform abruptly cut short by crisis. That said, the pension reforms pursued from the beginning of Sarkozy's presidency probably mark a very clear turning point, displaying a marked form of political voluntarism.

‘Une Francophonie à l'offensive’? Recent Developments in Francophonie

This article traces recent developments in Francophonie in the light of the establishment of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and a new institutional framework, examining how these may have changed the Francophone discourse and the nature and focus of its institutions and programmes. It also considers whether what was primarily an ideology has evolved to something more practical. It then analyses shifts in France's approach to Francophonie in the context of the Sarkozy presidency, before briefly summarising some of the strengths and weaknesses that could impinge on its future development.

THE FRENCH STATE AND ITS TERRITORIAL CHALLENGES

This article focuses upon the territorial challenges to the French state. There is a genuine policy puzzle in terms of how to join up separate agencies of the state that is far from unique to France. Introducing new evidence based on interviews with high ranking officials, politicians and representatives of territorial policy communities in 2010, the main body of the article focuses upon the two main territorial reforms of the Sarkozy presidency, the reform of the territorial state, and the local government reform. These cases reveal an original attempt to craft a political discourse based on public sector productivity and state puissance. The article explores the tension between synoptic models of reform, focused on the expectation of rapid and quantifiable macro‐level change that suits the short‐term returns of the political cycle; and institutionalized processes of meso‐level implementation, with different timescales, logics of appropriateness and configurations of actors.

‘Les médias, c’est moi.’ President Sarkozy and news media management

This article examines the news media management activities of President Sarkozy through a selective analysis of the agenda building, issue framing and image projection functions carried out by the Elysee. The article argues that in the context of Fifth Republic presidentialism Sarkozy has devoted more attention to media management than any of his predecessors. Yet although within a nationally bounded historical framework on, the media-related activities of the Sarkozy presidency are unprecedented in their scale and scope, from a cross-national perspective the more prosaic conclusion is that the practices and style of executive news management in contemporary France have increasingly converged with those to be found in other major Western democracies.

Washington, Sarkozy, and the Defence of Europe

With the onset of the Sarkozy presidency, an ‘era of good feeling’ has set in for the often fraught French–American relationship. But it is also a hyper presidency, as there is no way of predicting what surprise initiatives Sarkozy will think up next, and this may create problems, or at least adjustments, in the way Washington views him. Sarkozy's stated aim to bring France fully back into NATO was fulfilled at the NATO summit in April 2009, although his ‘condition’ that the European Security and Defence Policy first be strengthened clearly fell short of his expectations, due in part to the current financial and economic crisis.

France and the EU under Sarkozy: Between European Ambitions and National Objectives?

The early phase of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency proved highly proactive, particularly during the French presidency of the European Union (EU). However, little of practical import resulted. Moreover, there is much that connects Sarkozy's policies to those of his predecessors. Constrained both at home and abroad, he was sometimes unable to carry through his preferred policies. In addition, Sarkozy has done nothing to resolve a long-standing tension of French EU policy between enormous ambitions for the Union and reluctance to empower its institutions. Intergovernmental co-operation has been the theme linking all of Sarkozy's initiatives. The jury is, of necessity, still out on the long-term impact Sarkozy will have. Early indications are that, whilst there has been no shortage of initiatives, it is open to question whether these either diverge much from those of his predecessors, or will have much impact on the workings and effectiveness of the Union itself. Les premiers temps du mandat de Nicolas Sarkozy ont été marqués par de nombreuses initiatives, en particulier pendant la présidence de l'Union européenne. Cependant, peu de résultats concrets peuvent être mis à son actif. En outre, la politique de Sarkozy en matière européenne est largement liée à celle de ses prédécesseurs. Entravé sur le plan intérieur et étranger, il n'a parfois pas été en mesure de faire passer les politiques qu'il souhaitait mettre en œuvre. En outre, Sarkozy n'a pu résoudre la tension traditionelle au cœur de la politique européenne française, entre d'une part le projet ambitieux de la France pour l'Union et, d'autre part, la réticence française à doter les institutions communautaires de pouvoirs supplémentaires. Les initiatives de Sarkozy ont été frappées du sceau de la coopération intergouvernementale. Il est prématuré de se prononcer sur l'impact qu'aura à long terme la politique sarkozyste. En dépit d'un nombre important d'initiatives, la direction prise ne semble pas différer sensiblement de celle de ses prédécesseurs. On peut aussi s'interroger sur l'impact qu'une telle politique aura sur le fonctionnement de l'Union européenne.

Nicolas Sarkozy as Political Strategist: Rupture Tranquille or Policy Continuity?

The core issue addressed by this article is the coherence of Nicolas Sarkozy as a political strategist. It investigates his strategy of ‘rupture’ but finds that his political and policy choices have displayed considerable continuity with those of the previous administration. To support this interpretation, the article considers Sarkozy's strategies at three levels—(1) the extension of the political space of the mainstream right, particularly in the 2007 presidential election; (2) the tension between Sarkozy's penchant for presidentialism and government ‘ouverture’, and (3) key public policy initiatives taken over 2007–2008. The conclusion proposes that, as of 2009, the major task for the Sarkozy presidency was to revisit failing policy choices in the context of a global economic crisis. Cet article examine dans quelle mesure Nicolas Sarkozy est un stratège politique cohérent. Il se penche sur sa stratégie de ‘rupture’ et montre que les choix politiques retenus s'inscrivent largement dans la continuité de la précédente présidence de droite. A l'appui d'une telle interprétation, l'article étudie les stratégies sarkozystes à trois niveaux différents – (1) le développement de l'espace politique à droite, en particulier pendant l'élection présidentielle de 2007; (2) la tension entre l'attrait sarkozyste pour le présidentialisme et la pratique du gouvernement d'‘ouverture’; (3) des initiatives politiques-clés en 2007–8. Depuis 2009, avec la crise économique internationale, la présidence Sarkozy a dû revoir les choix politiques qui ont échoué.

France, Europe, and the Mediterranean in a Sarkozy Presidency

Nicholas Sarkozy.s campaign documents and speeches reveal more continuity than rupture with past French foreign policy. The US will welcome his support for missile defense and possible unilateral action outside of the UN. However, like previous French presidents, Sarkozy extolled multipolarity and independent European Union military capacity while opposing a global role for NATO. He called for protection against the negative impacts of globalization and promoted EU.wide industrial .champions.. He opposed Turkey.s entry into the EU on cultural and antiterrorist grounds. Instead, he proposed to create a new Mediterranean Union. Anti.immigrant policies at home combined with an unapologetic view of French colonialism make it unlikely that Sarkozy will be able to revive the EU.s Mediterranean initiative and with it France.s fading leadership in North Africa.