Letter From Paris

By Harriet Welty-Rochefort

Paris Kiosque - May 2007 - Volume 14, Number 5
Copyright © 2007 Harriet Welty-Rochefort - Used with permission.

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By the time you read this column, France will have a new President.

The question everyone is asking today, the day before the second and final round of voting on May 6, is : who will it be ?

Will it be front runner Nicolas Sarkozy, the conservative, high-energy 52- year-old former Mayor of Neuilly and Minister of the Interior under President Jacques Chirac ? Or will it be his audacious, pugnacious Socialist adversary, 53-year-old Ségolène Royal, a graduate of the prestigious Ecole Nationale d'Administration and head of the Poitou Charentes region of France ?

The Socialists, who have remained consistently behind in the polls, have spent a lot of their time producing an abundant number of emails and tracts branding Sarkozy as « dangerous » and evil. The last sally Madame Royal produced before the pre-election blackout was : if Sarkozy is elected, the discontented in the grim suburbs ringing Paris who burned cars and wreaked havoc in the Fall of 2005 will take to the streets once again.

« It is my responsibility today to warn people of the risk of his candidacy concerning the violence and brutality that would be unleashed in the country, » she said.

A desperate last ploy and unworthy of a person running for the highest office in the land was Sarkozy's only comment. He tossed off her dire imprecations in an interview on Europe 1 radio, saying that she must not have been « in a good mood this morning » because of opinion polls which continue to show him as leader in the hotly contested race.

A race in which there have been several surprises. First of all, even in a country where voter turnout is traditionally strong, an astonishing 84.7 per cent of the population turned out massively for the first round (France has two rounds of votes for Presidential elections). Secondly, rather than choose marginal candidates from nine small parties, the French chose to vote straightaway for the three main candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy on the right, Ségolène Royal on the left, and Fran�ois Bayrou, representing the center. Thirdly, Bayrou's more than respectable score of almost 20 per cent, showed that the French are tired of the left-right division that has hampered the country for years. The Communist Party, which for years garnered a respectable number of votes, got less than 2 per cent, virtually sounding its death knell. The far right National Front, whose leader Jean-Marie Le Pen actually made it to the second round against Jacques Chirac in the 2002 presidential election, this time around fetched an absymally low score.

After the first round, both Sarkozy and Ségolène snuggled up to Bayrou who humorously remarked that before 8 pm (hour the results are given) he was someone both superbly ignored but that after the results at 8 pm he suddenly became the flavor of the day.

Whatever happens on Sunday, the Left in France has realized that it can no longer govern alone and will need the help of the centrists.

If only for that, this exciting campaign has been revolutionary.

It's been revolutionary for other reasons. For starters, it's the first time in a long time that the candidates have been so « young » - in their fifties. It's the first time the French have heard so much about their private lives � probably too much. We now know that Ségolène has four children with her partner, Socialist Party leader Franç ;ois Hollande, but that they never bothered to marry. We know that Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, Cecilia, left him in mid-campaign to fly off with another man. (She has since returned to the fold). We know that François Bayrou is a devout, practicing Catholic.

This, in a country that reveres (or used to) the privacy of private life ! Nicolas Sarkozy was the Mayor of Neuilly during the entire eighteen years we lived in that pretty upscale suburb of Paris. I often saw him sprinting down the street or getting in to or out of a big black official Mairie limousine. He was an active mayor, meeting with the shopkeepers, holding meetings, and generally making his presence felt. Once, when he was at our local bookstore, I approached him about the « dog doo » problem on the streets. (I wonder if he will remember these kinds of petty concerns when and if he attains the highest function in the land). He listened politely, acknowledged it was indeed a problem, and added it to the list of other concerns people were loading on him that day. Shortly after, little signs asking people to have their canines use the caniveaux (gutter) appeared on the streets of Neuilly.

Sarko, as he's called, is a can-do guy. The day the « Human Bomb » invaded a pre-school in Neuilly and threatened to blow up all the children, Sarkozy didn't hesitate a minute. He went in there, unarmed, to negotiate and didn't leave until the last child was saved. Those who call him « dangerous » seem to forget this totally selfless and courageous act. It was, unfortunately, cancelled by the 2005 « thugs » remark he made about youthful offenders in the suburbs and his threat to rid those suburbs of them « with a Karcher » (an industrial power hose). The word « karcher » , incidentally, has taken on such negative connotations that the Karcher firm took out an ad disassociating itself with the use (or, rather, mis-use) of its name.

My private moment with Sarkozy came about when a friend of mine, who just happened to be his private English tutor and as such, was always looking for different teaching tools, came up with a bright idea.

« Why don't you come over to the Mairie (City Hall) with your book to give to him ? » she asked. « You can sign it and have a little conversation and that will be very good for his English ! »

Well, why not ? I'm always happy to be someone's teaching tool, especially when it involves meeting a possible future President of France. On the agreed date, I showed up at the City Hall of Neuilly, mounted the steps to the private office of the Mayor, and waited ... and waited for « Nicolas » to appear.

I didn't see him arrive but felt a difference in the air. This man is all movement and action. Suddenly the door to the inner sanctum opened, my friend appeared next to Sarkozy who shook my hand, drew me into his office, and thanked me for the book.

What do I remember about my half hour in the office of the Mayor of Neuilly who went on to become the controversial Minister of the Interior and Presidential candidate wooing the voters of the far right ?

He is short. He's a bundle of energy in perpetual motion. He's not a time waster. He has incredible focus. He doesn't drink a drop of alcohol but has an addiction to sweets and offered me a bonbon as we conversed.

To say he has always been motivated by incredible and consuming ambition is an understatement. As I was leaving, I remarked, half jokingly, « perhaps I can someday say I shook the hand of a future Prime Minister » .

« No. President » he said, deadly serious as he looked me straight in the eye. No surprise there : This is the man, who, when asked if he thought about becoming President of France in the morning while shaving, answered : « Not just when I'm shaving » .

Oh, yes, one more thing. Our « English lesson » . He tries very hard but he could definitely spend some more time with my friend's. His English remains rudimentary (Ségolène's is non-existent).

Then justement there's Ségolène Royal, the Socialist Party candidate, who in the first round of voting garnered 25.74 per cent of the vote to Sarkozy's 31.06 per cent. In November 2005 I sat directly across the table from her at a breakfast organized by the Anglo-American Press Association of Paris of which I'm a longstanding member.

Impressions ?

Ségolène is strikingly attractive and seemingly warm. She combines her femininity with a steely determination and an « I'll do it my way » approach that can be compelling or chilling, depending on your sensibilities � and political views. The way she looks and dresses and talks are refreshing and modern but she's often unpredictable and hasn't totally forgotten the Party line.

When I asked her what she thought about lightening the considerable social charges French employers have to pay for their employees, one of the causes of the unemployment which has eaten away at this country like a cancer, her eyes hardened, her lips pursed. She had identified me as the enemy. My question was coolly dismissed and we went on to another topic. Personally, I feel no great personal sentiments for either of them and I don't think the French do either in spite of the media's effort to focus on their personal lives « à ; l'américaine » . I really don't think the French care whether Ségolène is married to the father of her four children or if Cécilia left Nicolas and is now back home keeping a very low profile. Personalities count, of course. Sarkozy has managed to rub people the wrong way with his « tough talk » ; many, even on the right, simply cannot abide him. Ségolène is bright and determined and great to look at but her vagueness and « we'll leave it to the people to decide » has managed to alienate a certain number of voters, including in her own party.

The vote on May 6 will determine the path of French society for the five years to come. If Madame Royal wins, France will continue to be statist, the minimum wage will rise as will taxes on the « rich » whom the Socialists abhor. Royal says she'll up the minimum wage, tax dividends on stocks at an even higher rate, and punish companies outsourcing abroad. She says she is open to Turkish entry into the EEC, suggests (another) referendum on Europe, and has remained mostly silent on trans-Atlantic relations.

Nicolas Sarkozy's idea of France is very different. He emphasizes individual enterprise and a focus on work. He's not afraid to take on the much-vaunted (by the French) French « social model » and has pledged to relax the rules governing the 35-hour work week instituted by the Socialists. He wants people to be able to work more to earn more. He's pro affirmative action (he set up the country's first Muslim council and favors relaxing laws preventing the state from financing mosques) and pro-America (which doesn't necessarily make him popular, au contraire). He's against the entry of Turkey into Europe.

Two very different visions for France.

Which one will the French choose ? This major decision is driving a record number of people to the polls.

And to think that I shook the hand of the next French President - whichever of them it turns out to be.

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Harriet Welty Rochefort is the author of French Toast: An American in Paris Celebrates the Maddening Mysteries of the French and French Fried: The Culinary Capers of an American in Paris. French Toast was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "wise and devastatingly funny". For world-famous chef Alain Ducasse, her second book French Fried "in a lively and hilarious style ... gives an inside look at the world of French cuisine and wine." Both books are published by St. Martin's Press.

Coming to Paris? Harriet gives tailormade wine and cheese tastings to individuals as well as to university groups. For more information, visit her webpages: www.frenchfolio.com and www.understandfrance.com . An article by Harriet on French etiquette has also just appeared in the May issue of France Today magazine.

If you've had some funny, startling, satisfying, or dismaying food experiences in France you'd like to share, you may contact Harriet directly at harriet.welty@hwelty.com.

Editor's Note: Dear Readers, while our writers are always delighted to hear and to receive comments, both about their columns in the The Paris Kiosque, as well as your experiences in Paris, they are unable to answer requests for travel information. Thank you for your understanding.