Comments on: Sarkozy’s Republic

by: Marc

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 13:01:53 +0000

Well, it is well-known that Arlette Chabot, despite she is top, is not completely neutral : she has been several times accused of being too much close to Nicolas Sarkozy (in 1995, she supported Edouard Balladur against Jacques Chirac).

by: Tim

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:11:56 +0000

Yes, in fact my comment about Sarkozy’s pressure on police was not intended to be a comment on yesterday’s interview, but a related issue. It forms part of the conclusion of an unpublished book by Serge Portelli “Ruptures”. Portelli is the vice-president of the Paris tribunal, president of the 12th Correctional Chamber (apologies for the terrible literal translation) and advisor to the president of the Assemblée Nationale (amongst other things). He has written several books on the ill-treatment of children, the treatment of recidivists and on the reform of Justice. He is also fiercely opposed to Nicolas Sarkozy, who has said of him on TV “the French people have the right to expect a different behaviour from a magistrate [in French sense] who should pass judgement in the name of the French people and not in the name of an ideology.”
Portelli’s book was to be published by Michalon, but was withdrawn. Portelli has said this is because Michalon’s owner is a friend of Sarkozy and pressure was brought to bear. Michalon has another version, announced last week, that the book is not as good as Portelli’s other work.

I quote all this in case it is of wider interest, not as justification for my “wildly over the top” comment. Just to show it was based on a serious work, not my own imagination. I would also say that is something else the interviewer could have pulled Sarkozy up on.

by: HILLBLOGGER

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:44:58 +0000

Agree almost entirely with what you reported here but I must correct you on the following: “For example Sarkozy’s pressure on the police to reduce delinquency does two things. It assumes that delinquency is something that should be left between the police and certain young people – that educators, social workers, all those —ists beloved of the left, have no place in Sarkozy’s republic. ”

I think you’re going wildly over the top there. I watched the interview too. The question revolved around suburban delinquency. Sarkozy promised to put in place 250,000 jobs to tackle delinquency in the problem suburb areas but with a caveat that the youth should promise to attend “formation” (training).

You must understand that there was not enough time to expound on the issue covering education, which on its own already requires an entire interview session. It’s therefore easy to assume what we feel like assuming on an inference that wasn’t there in the first place.

On the whole, your report is pretty accurate but as you rightly pointed out, the interviewers had not been more pointed (even Charles Bremner who’s usually more incisive in his comments in his weblog was easily flustered).

Congratulations.