Word: sonly
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...boldly asked whether the unprecedented powers the French President had consolidated in his hands - Sarkozy had just passed constitutional reforms to expand the President's role - hadn't created a veritable "elected monarchy" within the republic's democratic framework. "Monarchy means hereditary. Do you think I am the illegitimate son of Jacques Chirac, who installed me to the throne?" Sarkozy mockingly retorted, referring to his bitter relationship with his predecessor. "A man as cultivated as you saying something so stupid. Moi, a product of monarchy...
...Twenty-two months later, however, Joffrin might be forgiven for having a quiet chuckle. The Elysée has backed a move to appoint Sarkozy's son Jean to head the administration managing the business district La Défense. Jean is just 23 and a little over a year into his law degree. Appointing him to such a high-profile position smacks of nepotism, cronyism and regal high-handedness, say Sarkozy's critics. "Who for an instant thinks that the nomination of a boy entering his second year of legal studies to the presidency of an institution that manages...
...served as his father's political fiefdom for more than 20 years. The right's lock on the area, they argue, means Jean's subsequent election as president of the conservative group in regional council was simply the work of officials loyal to Nicolas Sarkozy seeking to boost his son's career. That rightist domination within EPAD, opponents say, will similarly produce a pro forma election of Jean by people who view him as the second coming of his father - and the right's potential star in years to come. "This is the appropriation of a country by one family...
...Though he stayed out of the fray at first, President Sarkozy on Tuesday spoke out to protest his son's "being thrown to the wolves." Later that evening, Jean made a rare television appearance to pledge he would seek the EPAD job "to the very end." Elsewhere, he and his supporters sought to turn what opponents called his principal advantage into something he depicted as almost a handicap. "Being called Sarkozy makes things harder, which the violent personal attacks I have faced from the outset have proved," Jean told reporters. "Whatever I say, whatever I do, I will be criticized...
...Thierry Solère, vice president of the regional council the younger Sarkozy sits on, sought to slap down those mocking his limited experience with this praise: "Jean is the son of a political genius, so it's not surprising he's a prodigy." Three members of the Socialist Party's youth movement then marched outside the Elysée demanding President Sarkozy adopt them in the hope that they would find work more easily. (See pictures of Paris expanding...