Presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Sarkozy, candidate of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...

 (UMP), was elected President in May 2007
French presidential election, 2007
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France for a five-year term.The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy...

, and became the sixth President of the French Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...

 on May 16, 2007. He nominated François Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...

 as Prime minister, who formed a composite government, a bit modified following the UMP's relative victory during the June legislative election. Although the UMP had not obtained a majority as large as expected, Nicolas Sarkozy could launch the reforms he had pledged as a candidate as soon as he was elected. However, he tried to open his government to the opposition party, appointing several politicians close to the opposition parties.

With the quinquennat
Quinquennat
The quinquennat is literally the five-year term served by each President of France. It was introduced following the French constitutional referendum in 2000, when the previous seven-year term was replaced. The idea was first floated by Georges Pompidou in 1973....

 reform of 2000, the president of the republic has a five-year term to lead freely the domestic policy he wants, if ever he obtains the majority at the legislative election, which is very likely to occur. Traditionally, according to the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic, the main role of the President of the Republic is to determine the foreign policy of the nation, while the Prime Minister is entrusted with leading the domestic policy. However, as François Fillon was politically very close to the President, Nicolas Sarkozy could be very active both in foreign relations and in domestic reforms. French journalists have called him an "hyper-président
Hyper-president
Hyper-président or hyperprésident is a nickname used by French media to refer to French President Sarkozy after his election as President of the Republic in May 2007...

", to insist on his will to solve many important problems and his omnipresence in all domains. Some media even compared him with Napoléon Bonaparte and Louis XIV  to refer to his will to control and change everything. While the popularity of the president was very high at the beginning of his mandate, it rapidly declined during the first months of his mandate, and the government faced several protests.

The presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy was marked by the global financial and economic crisis. As president of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 during the last six months of 2008, and as the president of a member country of the G-8 and the G-20, Nicolas Sarkozy was very much involved in the international debates and propositions to fight against the crisis. He had also to cope with the economic and social effects of the crisis in France. In particular, he had to renounce to reduce the public deficit as he had promised, and instead he had to launch a stimulus package, as part of the 2008 European Union stimulus plan
2008 European Union stimulus plan
On 26 November 2008, the European Commission proposed a European stimulus plan amounting to 200 billion euros to cope with the effects of the global financial crisis on the economies of the members countries...

, to limit social discontentment. As he had promised to reach full-employment and to boost the economic growth, he faced growing protest.

Transfer of power

Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president on 6 May 2007, but the official transmission of power took place ten days after. In this period of time, he could not exercise his power nor begin appointing a government. Between 7 and 9 May, he left on holidays with his family off Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 on board a yacht lent by a friend of M.Sarkozy's, Vincent Bolloré
Vincent Bolloré
Vincent Bolloré is a French industrialist, corporate raider and businessman.He heads the family investment group Bolloré and is ranked 736th richest person in the world according to Forbes, with an estimated fortune of US$1.7 billion...

. This trip gave rise to some criticism in the media, because Vincent Bolloré was the chairman of the Bolloré Group, one of the biggest and most powerful French conglomerates. However, a poll showed that a majority of people found that this trip was not shocking.

The official transfer of power from Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...

 took place on 16 May at 11:00 am (9:00 UTC) at the Élysée Palace
Élysée Palace
The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic, containing his office, and is where the Council of Ministers meets. It is located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris....

, where Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....

 was given the nuclear codes of the French nuclear arsenal
Force de frappe
The Force de Frappe is the designation of what used to be a triad of air-, sea- and land-based nuclear weapons intended for dissuasion, and consequential deterrence...

 and presented with the Grand Master's Collar, symbol of his new function of Grand Master of the Legion of Honour
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

. At that point, he formally became president. Leyenda, by Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual was a Spanish Catalan pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms .-Life:Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz and his wife Dolors Pascual, Albéniz...

 was played in honour of the president's wife. Both Sarkozy's mother Andrée, and his formerly estranged father Pal — with whom Sarkozy had reached a reconciliation — attended the ceremony, as did Sarkozy's children.
The presidential motorcade
Motorcade
A motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade was coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...

 then travelled from the Élysée to the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...

 for a public ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...

. Then the new president went to the Cascade du Bois de Boulogne
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine...

 of Paris for a homage to the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...

 and to the Communist
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...

 resistant Guy Moquet
Guy Môquet
Guy Môquet was a young French Communist militant. During the German occupation of France during World War II, he was taken hostage by the Nazis and executed by firing squad in retaliation for attacks on Germans by the French Resistance...

 — he proposed that all high-school students read Guy Moquet's last letter to his parents, which was criticized by a number of leftists as a cynical form of reappropriation of French history by the right.

In the afternoon, the new president flew to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...

.

Appointment of the government

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin is a French politician who served as the Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007....

 was replaced by François Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...

 on 17 May. Sarkozy appointed Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...

, the left-wing founder of Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...

, as his foreign minister, leading to Kouchner's expulsion from the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

. In addition to Kouchner, three more Sarkozy ministers are from the left, including Eric Besson
Éric Besson
Éric Besson is a French politician and Minister of Industry, Energy and the Digital economy under the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, Christine Lagarde...

, who served as Ségolène Royal
Ségolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal , known as Ségolène Royal, is a French politician. She is the president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the National Assembly, a former government minister, and a prominent member of the French Socialist Party...

's economic adviser at the beginning of her campaign. Sarkozy also appointed seven women to form a total cabinet of 15; one, Justice Minister Rachida Dati
Rachida Dati
Rachida Dati is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament, representing Île-de-France. Before her election, she held the cabinet post of Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice. She was a spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy during the French presidential election of 2007...

, is the first woman of Northern African origin to serve in a French cabinet. Of the 15, only two attended the elite École nationale d'administration
École nationale d'administration
The École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...

 (ENA) . The ministers were reorganized, with the controversial creation of a Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development — given to his right-hand man Brice Hortefeux
Brice Hortefeux
Brice Hortefeux is a French politician he was Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial collectivities...

 — and of a Ministry of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Administration
Ministry of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Administration
The Ministry of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Administration of France is a ministry that was created by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007, when he split the Ministry of Finance and Economy into a ministry of budget and a Minister of the Economy, Industry and Employment and the ministry...

 — handed out to Éric Wœrth, supposed to prepare the replacement of only a third of all civil servants who retire.
The UMP
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...

, Sarkozy's party, won a majority at the June 2007 legislative election
French legislative election, 2007
The French legislative elections took place on 10 June and 17 June 2007 to elect the 13th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, a few weeks after the French presidential election run-off on 6 May. 7,639 candidates stood for 577 seats, including France's overseas possessions...

, although by less than expected. The presidential party only gained 318 seats out of 577.

First reforms

In July, the UMP majority, seconded by the Nouveau Centre, approved one of Sarkozy's electoral promise, which was to quasi-suppress the inheritance tax
Inheritance tax
An inheritance tax or estate tax is a levy paid by a person who inherits money or property or a tax on the estate of a person who has died...

. The inheritance tax used to bring eight billion euros into state coffers. This reform was included in a fiscal stimulus package
French fiscal package of 2007
The French fiscal package of 2007 is a series of measures implemented by the Fillon administration in 2007. The paquet fiscal is often called in France loi TEPA, referring to the law in favor of labor, employment and purchasing power...

 that allegedly aimed at reviving the economic growth. However, the TEPA Law, another measure of the stimulus package, sparked a polemic because it seemed to favour richest households through tax cuts.

Furthermore, Sarkozy cut with the custom of amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...

ing traffic tickets and of releasing some prisoners from overcrowded jails on Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...

, a tradition that Napoleon had started in 1802 to commemorate the storming of the Bastille
Storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris on the morning of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress and prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. While the prison only contained seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint...

 during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 

Fillon's government issued a decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...

 on 7 August 2007 to generalize a voluntary biometric profiling program of travellers in airports. The program, called Parafes, was to use fingerprints. The new database would be interconnected with the Schengen Information System
Schengen Information System
The Schengen Information System , is a governmental database used by European countries to maintain and distribute information on individuals and pieces of property of interest. The intended uses of this system are for national security, border control and law enforcement purposes...

 (SIS) as well as with a national database of wanted persons (FPR
FPR
FPR may refer to: Focal Point Review*False Positive Rate , measure of the specificity of a classifier.*Family Procedure Rules, a set of rules in English and Welsh family courts*Fatal Prodigy Resurrected, a Call of Duty 4 team...

). The CNIL
CNIL
The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés or CNIL is an independent French administrative authority whose mission is to ensure that data privacy law is applied to the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Its existence was established by French , concerning computers,...

 protested against this new decree, opposing itself to the recording of fingerprints and to the interconnection between the SIS and the FPR.

In November 2007, Sarkozy faced his first domestic test when workers from the public sector striked to protest his domestic reform policies. At the same time, there were also the university protests
2007–09 university protests in France
This article is about the university strike movement in France during 2007 and 2009. Since Valérie Pécresse was appointed Minister for Higher Education and Research, the mood had been tense in the French university system. Several reform projects had led to protest movements, including that of...

 in response to a polemical law
Liberties and Responsibilities of Universities
Liberties and Responsibilities of Universities is the official name of a French law aiming at revamping entirely the French public higher education system. The bill was presented by the that by the French Ministry of Higher Education Valérie Pécresse and was officially voted on 11 August 2007 by...

 supported by the UMP, MoDem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...

 and Nouveau Centre that reforms the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 system in France. The first debates on the reform of French health care system
Hospital, patients, health, territories
Hospital, patients, health, territories is the official name of a French bill presented on 22 October 2008 by Roselyne Bachelot, minister of Health, Youth, Sports and Associative Life. The bill is commonly called bill HPST or bill Bachelot...

 were also tough.

First international actions

Shortly after taking office, President Sarkozy began negotiations with Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n president Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....

 and the left-wing guerrilla FARC, regarding the release of hostages held by the rebel group, especially Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt
Íngrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...

. According to some sources, Sarkozy himself asked for Uribe to release FARC's "chancellor" Rodrigo Granda
Rodrigo Granda
Ricardo González also known as Rodrigo Granda is a Colombian Venezuelan member of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . He serves as international spokesman of the guerrilla organization.-Arrest in Venezuela:...

.

Release of Bulgarian nurses

During his investiture speech as President beginning of May 2007, Sarkozy had alluded to the Bulgarian nurses detained in Libya, declaring: "France will be to the sides of the Libyan nurses detained for 8 years..."

He announced on 24 July 2007, that French and European representatives had obtained the extradition of the Bulgarian nurses detained in Libya
HIV trial in Libya
The HIV trial in Libya concerns the trials, appeals and eventual release of six foreign medical workers charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV in 1998, causing an epidemic at El-Fatih Children's Hospital in Benghazi, Libya.The defendants were a Palestinian...

 to their country. In exchange, he signed with Gaddafi security, health care and immigration pacts — and a $230 million (168 million euros) MILAN
MILAN
MILAN " is French and German for "kite bird") is a European anti-tank guided missile. Design of the MILAN started in 1962. It was ready for trials in 1971, and was accepted for service in 1972. It is a wire guided SACLOS missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the...

 antitank missile sale. The contract was the first made by Libya since 2004, and was negotiated with MBDA
MBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...

, a subsidiary of EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...

. Another 128 millions euros contract would have been signed, according to Tripoli, with EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...

 for a TETRA radio system
Terrestrial Trunked Radio
Terrestrial Trunked Radio is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification...

. The Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

 (PS) and the Communist Party (PCF) criticized a "state affair" and a "barter" with a "Rogue state
Rogue state
Rogue state is a controversial term applied by some international theorists to states they consider threatening to the world's peace. This means meeting certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian regimes that severely restrict human rights, sponsor terrorism, and seek to proliferate...

". The leader of the PS, François Hollande
François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Hollande is a French politician. From 1997 to 2008, he was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party. He has also served as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France, representing the first constituency of Corrèze, since 1997. He previously represented that seat...

, requested the opening of a parliamentary investigation.

Additionally, President Sarkozy pledged to sell Libya three civil nuclear power stations as part of a package of trade and assistance that will boost the role of French companies in the oil-rich country. During his visit to Libya on July 25, 2007, Sarkozy signed an agreement of cooperation on civil nuclear technology
Libya and nuclear technology
Libya possesses chemical weapons and ballistic missiles and previously pursued nuclear weapons under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi. On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi announced that Libya would voluntarily eliminate all materials, equipment and programs that could lead to internationally proscribed...

. He decided to build three civil nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

 stations to the Libyan state. According to Paris, the nuclear power stations are meant for desalinization of sea water, but Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...

has pointed out that the Libyans quickly bypassed any reference to desalinization. This deal was criticized by the French left-wing and also by German governmental sources, including Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler, Greens leader Reinhard Buetikofer and SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

 deputy Ulrich Kelber. And during Tony Blair's visit end of May 2007, the British group BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...

 signed a natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 contract for 900 million dollars.

Furthermore, Le Parisien
Le Parisien
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It was established as Le Parisien libéré by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and the name was changed to the current one in 1986...

alleged on 13 August 2007 that the agreement concerning nuclear technologies did not concern desalinization of sea water, but focused on particular on the ERP third-generation nuclear reactor
European Pressurized Reactor
The EPR is a third generation pressurized water reactor design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome , Electricité de France in France, and Siemens AG in Germany...

, of a worth of $3 billion. The Parisian newspaper cited Philippe Delaune, the deputy of the deputy director of international affairs of the CEA atomic agency
Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique
The Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives or CEA, is a French “public establishment related to industrial and commercial activities” whose mission is to develop all applications of nuclear power, both civilian and military...

, which is the main share-holder of Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...

, the firm which products ERP reactors. Although the French President denied any relationship between the deal with Areva and the liberation of the Six, Le Parisien points out a troubling chronology: Areva was called to present its products to Libya end of June 2007, a short time before the release of the Six. The French Socialist Party, through the voice of Jean-Louis Bianco
Jean-Louis Bianco
Jean-Louis Bianco is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the first constituency of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, and is a member of the Socialist Party, which sits with the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche group in the Assembly.-External links:...

, declared that this deal was "geopolitically irresponsible". The German government also denounced the agreement. Through Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...

, they detain 34% of the shares of Areva's subsidiary in charge of building the ERP (Areva NP).

These informations from Le Parisien were immediately denied by Areva. Areva's spokesman did admit that negotiations had taken place early June 2007, but that no particular technology transfer had been agreed upon. Furthermore, Philippe Delaune, the CEA's spokesman, added that in any case, any transfer concerning the ERP technology would take at least ten or fifteen years.

While Areva did admit that general negotiations had taken place, Nicolas Sarkozy formally dismissed all of the story, claiming it was "false". Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov is a President of Bulgaria, whose second and last mandate expires on January 22, 2012; he was elected after defeating his predecessor Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the presidential elections in November 2001 and he came into office on January 22, 2002...

 also claimed that the arms and nuclear agreements were not related to the release of the nurses.

African speech

On 27 July 2007, Sarkozy delivered a speech in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

, written by Henri Guaino, in which he made reference to "African peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

s" (note that the French word "paysans" can be translated as either "peasants" or as "rural people") and said that colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...

 was not the cause of all of Africa's problems, France made mistakes in Africa, and asked young Africans to fight against corruption and violence.
The remarks were widely condemned by African intellectuals; many, such as Achille Mbembe
Achille Mbembe
Achille Mbembe is a philosopher and political scientist. He was born in Cameroon in 1957. He obtained his Ph.D. in History at the University of Sorbonne in Paris, France, in 1989. He subsequently obtained a D.E.A. in Political Science at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in the same city...

, Mamadou Diouf
Mamadou Diouf
For the Poland-based Senegalese musician, see Mamadou Diouf Mamadou Diouf is a professor of Western African history at Columbia University, where he has also serves as director of the Institute of African Studies at SIPA and has been instrumental in its recent reorganization. Diouf holds a Ph.D....

 or Ibrahima Thioub, viewed them not only as racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, but as displaying a deep ignorance by Sarkozy of African studies
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...

, wondering how it was possible to hold similar discourses in 2008. Alpha Oumar Konare
Alpha Oumar Konaré
Alpha Oumar Konaré was the President of Mali for two five-year terms , and was Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2003 to 2008.-Scholarly career:...

, head of the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

 commission, said "This speech was not the kind of break we were hoping for... It reminded us of another age, especially his comments about peasants." Other criticism was levelled at Sarkozy's failure to acknowledge the previous role of France in propping up abusive regimes. The French government defended Sarkozy's speech, saying that he also criticised the economics of globalisation and proposed a partnership to help Africa confront it. Konare's wife Adame Ba Konare
Adame Ba Konaré
Adame Ba Konaré is a noted Malian historian and writer who is married to Alpha Oumar Konaré, former President of Mali. She is active in several causes for newborns and refugees....

 also started a movement of promotion of African History following Sarkozy's speech.

South African president Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...

 praised Sarkozy's speech and called him a "citizen of Africa", which raised criticism by some in the South African media.

Religion

In 2004, Nicolas Sarkozy published a book called La République, les religions, l'espérance ("The Republic, Religions, and Hope"), in which he argued that the young should not be brought up solely on secular or republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...

 values. He also advocated reducing the separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....

, arguing for the government subsidy
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...

 of mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s in order to encourage Islamic integration into French society. He flatly opposes financing of religious institutions with funds from outside France. After meeting with Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....

, Sarkozy was criticised by some for meeting with a member of the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...

, which is classified as a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...

 (secte translates "cult") in France (see Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France). Sarkozy stated that "the roots of France are essentially Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

" at a speech in Rome in December 2007. He also called Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 as "one of the greatest and most beautiful civilizations the world has known" at a speech in Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...

 in January 2008. Both comments drew criticism.

Sarkozy visited Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 on 20 December 2007, and formally received the title of Honorary Chanoine of the Basilica of St. John Lateran
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...

, which is automatically conferred to each French President. On his visit to the Pope, Sarkozy was accompanied by French comedian Jean-Marie Bigard
Jean-Marie Bigard
Jean-Marie Bigard is a French comedian and actor. Known for his often rogue humour, he has given presentations at the largest entertainment facilities in France, including the Palais omnisports at Paris-Bercy and the Stade de France...

, was late, and text-messaged during the audience. This behaviour has led some people to advance that he is not cultured enough to be in office.

August 2007 vacations

Sarkozy then went in vacation to the United States, taking his family to Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is approximately long and from wide , covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of ....

 in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

. He was expected to stay in the 11-bathroom shorefront mansion of former Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 executive Michael Appe. However, he interrupted his vacation for a one-day trip to France after the death of Cardinal Lustiger, former archbishop of Paris
Archbishop of Paris
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...

, whose funeral he was to attend. A presidential plane flew him on 10 August to Paris and then back to America. He visited President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 in Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,720 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area....

, and returned to France by commercial jet on 21 August.

Gaddafi's visit

From 10 to 15 December, Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...

 visited Paris. It was a polemical official trip. The Secretary of Human Rights, Rama Yade
Rama Yade
Rama Yade is a French politician who served in the government of France from 2007 to 2010. She was Secretary of State for Sports and married to Joseph Zimet - son of Yiddish singer Ben Zimet, an adviser to Secretary of State Jean-Marie Bockel.- Early life :Yade was born in Ouakam, Senegal. She...

, argued that it was not acceptable for France to receive on its territory a man that did not respect human rights. Foreign Affairs Ministry Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...

 supported her and did not meet Gaddafi.

Personal life

Nicolas Sarkozy was also much criticised at the beginning of 2008, with his divorce and then with his remarriage with singer and ex-model Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is an Italian-French songwriter, singer, actress, and former model...

 in January 2008. Indeed, he appeared as over-mediatised and omnipresent, and criticism of hyperpresidency were common. In February 2008, at the annual Salon of Agriculture, Sarkozy declared "Casse toi pauv’con !" (which can be translated as "beat it, you poor twat"), to a visitor that had refused to shake his hand. He was much criticised for this episode.

As his personal popularity was decreasing very rapidly since his election, his party lost the local elections in March 2008.

French local elections 2008

Sarkozy's conservative party braced for a possible setback as voting got under way on March 16, 2008 local elections which was seen as the new conservative leader's first electoral test and a barometer of the strength of his Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...

-party, which was hoping to hang on Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 and Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

. Ten months after his election, France's economy remains sluggish and Sarkozy had backed off from many of the sweeping reforms that he promised on the campaign trail. A UMP loss March 16, 2008 could weaken Sarkozy's bid to live up to his promises of economic, social and institutional reforms. The municipal elections coincide with a recent plunge in Sarkozy's popularity. His ratings steadily slipped in the wake of a series of angry public outbursts, a widely publicized divorce, and a quick courtship and marriage to former model and singer Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is an Italian-French songwriter, singer, actress, and former model...

.

The first round French municipal elections, 2008
French municipal elections, 2008
The French municipal elections of 2008 were held on 9 March in that year to elect the municipal councils of France's 36,782 communes...

 on March 9, 2008 gave the rival Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

 a modest lead: 47.5 percent of the vote compared with 44.4 percent for the UMP.
However, with this slight victory, the Socialist Party took over many cities from the UMP, so that it sounded like a defeat for the presidential party and a disapproval of the government.

Foreign policy decisions

NATO

Sarkozy tried to strengthen the ties with the United States after they had been loosened when Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...

 decided not to take part in the Iraq war in 2003.

Sarkozy plans that France will send 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, it was reported March 22, 2008. He demonstrated his commitment to the NATO alliance's Afghan mission during his two-day visit to London, which started on March 28, 2008.

On 3 April 2008, during the Bucharest summit
2008 Bucharest summit
The 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in Bucharest, Romania on 2 – 4 April 2008. Among other business, Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. Republic of Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece...

, Nicolas Sarkozy announced that France was likely to rejoin NATO's military structure (In 1966 France withdrew from NATO's command structure, but not from NATO overall), and confirmed that he would send more troops to Afghanistan.

Arms sales

Sarkozy has used arms sales to court populous nonaligned nations and extend French influence.

Mediterranean Union

Sarkozy said March 14, 2008 he won "unanimous" backing for his plan to forge closer political ties with Europe's North African and Mideast neighbors on the Mediterranean. The agreement came at the end of the first day of a two-day EU summit.

Global warming

On June 8, 2007, during the 33rd G8 summit
33rd G8 summit
The 33rd G8 summit took place at Kempinski Grand Hotel in Heiligendamm in the old Duchy of Mecklenburg in the Northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the Baltic Coast. The group of eight leaders met together from 6 June to 8 June 2007...

 in Heiligendamm
Heiligendamm
Heiligendamm is a German seaside resort, founded in 1793. The small cluster of structures which still survive are reminders of the glory days of days gone by when this part of the Baltic Sea was one of the playgrounds of Europe's aristocracy. It is the oldest seaside spa in Germany...

, Sarkozy set a goal of reducing French CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050 in order to prevent global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

. He then pushed forward the important Socialist figure of Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn , often referred to in the media, and by himself, as DSK, is a French economist, lawyer, politician, and member of the French Socialist Party...

 as European nominee to the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

 (IMF). Critics alleged that Sarkozy proposed to nominate Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the IMF to deprive the Socialist Party of one of its more popular figures.

The Libyan civil war

Sarkozy's government took an unexpected step regarding the 2011 Libyan civil war
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...

: after some initial confusion they supported the National Transitional Council
National Transitional Council
The National Transitional Council of Libya , sometimes known as the Transitional National Council, the Interim National Council, or the Libyan National Council,...

, opposed to Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...

. The main negotiator on behalf of the Libyan people was Mahmoud Jibril
Mahmoud Jibril
Mahmoud Jibril el-Warfally , also transcribed Jabril or Jebril or Gebril, is a Libyan politician who served as the interim Prime Minister of Libya for seven and a half months during the 2011 Libyan civil war, chairing the executive board of the National Transitional Council from 5 March 2011 to 23...

. The influence of the philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...

, who visited Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

, was considered fundamental.

Internationals summits

President Sarkozy was present at the three G20 summits led in 2008 and 2009 in Washington
2008 G-20 Washington summit
The 2008 G-20 Washington Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy took place on November 14–15, 2008, in Washington, D.C., United States. It achieved general agreement amongst the G-20 on how to cooperate in key areas so as to strengthen economic growth, deal with the financial...

, London
2009 G-20 London summit
The 2009 G-20 London Summit is the second meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. It followed the first G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, which...

, and Pittsburgh
2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit
The 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh Summit was the third meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy.The G-20 is the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economiccooperation....

, and made various propositions. Before the London summit, he threatened not to attend it if other leaders did not promise to take decisive measures. He wanted all leaders to be committed to refund the capitalism upon new basis and to introduce more morals in finance. He demanded that environmental concerns be at the center of G20 leaders' preoccupations. He also proposed to reduce the bonuses granted to traders and bankers.

Russo-Georgian War

During the 2008 South Ossetia war
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....

, Nicolas Sarkozy played a significant role, as he proposed a ceasefire to the conflict that was accepted by both the Russians and the Georgians.

March 2009 visit to Mexico

Sarkozy travelled to Mexico in March 2009. He was hosted in Roberto Hernández Ramírez
Roberto Hernández Ramírez
Roberto Hernández Ramírez is a Mexican businessman. He is a former CEO of Banco Nacional de México , Mexico's second largest bank, just after BBVA Bancomer, from Spain. He is currently a member of the administration board of Citigroup.Chairman of the Board, Banco Nacional de Mexico, S.A...

's hotel, El Tamarindo Beach and Golf Resort, a billionaire who has been accused of involvement in drug trade.

Overseas Protests

There were also protests from November 2008 to May 2009 in the French overseas territories because of the high cost of living there because there is a tax which means imports from France get a tariff added to them. This is combined with the high unemployment and lower salaries compared to Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France is the part of France located in Europe. It can also be described as mainland France or as the French mainland and the island of Corsica...

. They were started in Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

 and spread to Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

 and Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

.

European elections

Despite the very low popularity of President Sarkozy, the UMP party largely won the European elections in May 2009.

Main members of Sarkozy's staff

  • General secretary - Claude Guéant
    Claude Guéant
    Claude Guéant is a French civil servant. The former Chief of Staff to Nicolas Sarkozy, he has been Minister of the Interior since 27 February 2011. He is a member of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement .-Biography:...

  • Chief of the private military staff - Vice-amiral d'escadre Édouard Guillaud
    Édouard Guillaud
    Admiral Édouard Guillaud is a French Navy officer and admiral. He has devoted a significant part of his career to the design of the Charles De Gaulle, and eventually captained her. He currently serves as Chief of the Defence Staff...

  • Special advisor to the President - Henri Guaino
  • Advisors to the President - Raymond Soubie
    Raymond Soubie
    -Biography:Raymond Soubie is a graduate of Sciences Po Bordeaux and of the École Nationale d'Administration. In 1969, he worked as an advisor to Minister of Labour Joseph Fontanet. He then worked for Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre. He also served as an advisor to Pierre Bérégovoy, Edouard...

     and Catherine Pégard
  • Diplomatic advisor and sherpa
    Sherpa (G8)
    A sherpa is the personal representative of a head of state of government who prepares an international summit, particularly the annual G8 Summit. Between the G8 summits there are multiple sherpa conferences where possible agreements are laid out. This reduces the amount of time and resources...

     - Jean-David Levitte
    Jean-David Levitte
    Jean-David Levitte is a French diplomat, formerly the French ambassador to the United States, and currently diplomatic advisor and sherpa to President Nicolas Sarkozy. He has also been named head of the future National Security Council....

  • Deputy secretary general - François Pérol
    François Pérol
    François Pérol, born on the November 6th 1963, is a French banker and high-ranking official.-Biography:In 1994 he was appointed rapporteur then Secretary General of the Interministerial Committee for Industrial Restructuring. Then he was Head of the office of financial markets to the Treasury from...

  • Head of cabinet - Emmanuelle Mignon
    Emmanuelle Mignon
    Emmanuelle Mignon was the French Representative to Andorra from June 2007 to September 2008. Mignon later served as cabinet secretary for Nicolas Sarkozy.-References:...

  • Advisors to the Presidency - Georges Marc Benamou, Arnold Munnich and Patrick Ouart
    Patrick Ouart
    Patrick Ouart is a former French magistrate, and former personal advisor for justice to Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. He is also a former corporate officer at Suez, in charge of ethical issues and corporate gouvernance...

  • Spokesman - David Martinon
  • Head of cabinet - Cédric Goubet

See also

  • Domestic policy of Nicolas Sarkozy
    Domestic policy of Nicolas Sarkozy
    The domestic policy of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency was led by François Fillon's government as soon as the president was elected, and the government appointed by the president...

  • Foreign policy of Nicolas Sarkozy
  • Politics of France
    Politics of France
    France is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...

  • Foreign policy of France
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