Louis Sarkozy, the son of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, hopes to launch a new, conservative wing influenced by US politics, Reuters reported.
Louis Sarkozy, 28, spent his teens and early twenties in the United States, which he says shaped his political identity. Now back in France, he hopes to use the mayoral election in the small French Riviera town of Menton to test whether his name and a right-wing political force inspired by Donald Trump’s approach can compete with a powerful far-right rival.
Sarkozy’s political platform is tailored to local issues, such as a housing crisis caused by tourism and the fight against crime. He will run as a non-partisan candidate, but Sarkozy is supported by centrist and centre-right forces, who want to prevent the far-right National Alliance (RN) party from winning the local elections. The young Sarkozy hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father, who used the mayoralty as a stepping stone to the presidency.
However, Louis Sarkozy is also aware that his surname can create resistance. The former president was briefly imprisoned last year and has spent most of his post-presidency years in legal battles that have tarnished his name. Graffiti reading “Son of a Prisoner” appeared on Sarkozy’s Menton residence in February, and the local response is also mixed. RN candidate Alexandra Masson is well ahead of Sarkozy in the only poll conducted in Menton, but Louis is likely to get enough votes to advance to the second round, where cooperation with rivals could pave the way for victory.
He told Reuters that people don’t vote for a surname, but for a project,
and added that his father advises him during the election race.
Louis Sarkozy is well-known in French tabloids as a motorcycle rider, tattooed-armed man who is wary of progressive ideas. He has said he combines classic French liberalism with a conservative approach to immigration and security in the United States. While the up-and-coming politician is tough on crime, he also supports the decriminalization of drugs. He has not explicitly positioned himself as a Trump supporter (an unpopular view in France), saying only that he evaluates the US president’s policies on a case-by-case basis.
The former president’s son has been critical of the Trump administration’s handling of immigration, and has called for forcing immigrants who have arrived in the US legally to join the military, which could reduce the number of migrants. Louis Sarkozy spent four years at a military school in Pennsylvania, which he said gave him an insight into the reality of the US. He criticised Trump’s threats to Greenland, but praised the US president for doing exactly what he promised, adding that Trump is much more popular than he seems.
Louis Sarkozy is a supporter of the US business model, and he has pointed out that France is being held back by restrictive labour laws and a pension system that is no longer fit for purpose. The mayoral candidate said that companies should be allowed to operate more freely, that
the French should be allowed to work – to work until a later age, and to work longer hours, even if this is not a popular decision.
It must be done now, or the International Monetary Fund will force it to do so over the next 25 years.
Sarkozy’s proposed changes to French conservatism mark a shift on the right wing, as the centre-right Les Republicains party seeks to challenge the increasingly popular RN. He called Masson a good candidate but ruled out an alliance with the RN, an opposition party created to make noise. Sarkozy added that the far right would not be able to cope with the responsibilities imposed by power if it were to gain the reins of power at the national level.
Masson’s attitude towards Louis Sarkozy’s arrival in Menton is dismissive, calling the future politician a Franco-American boy with no place to belong. She said locals know she is very involved in local issues.
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