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Interview with french president Nicolas Sarkozy

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 Publié le 07 juin 2007
Actualisé le 07 juin 2007 : 18h09
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Interview with french president Nicolas Sarkozy

Martine Archambault/Le Figaro
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By Nicolas Beytout, Alexis Brezet, Bruno Jeudy, and Pierre Rousselin

 
What lessons have you learned from your first month at the Elysee [president's office]?
 
I have tried to use this month so that - if the French people grant me a majority in the National Assembly - my government can set to work immediately after the general election. I was elected on the basis of a strong, consistent blueprint based on frankness and truth. My duty is to implement this blueprint. I have had occasion to say that I will not allow anyone to distort it, in the economic and tax field. I want to say equally forcefully, so that everyone fully understands it, that the same will apply to my commitment to an irreproachable Republic and an exemplary democracy.
 

 
You are referring to your proposal to grant the chairmanship of the Finance Committee to the opposition... 
 
Among other things. I fully understand that this commitment, which I have made to the French people, could upset certain traditions and perhaps hamper certain ambitions, but this is unimportant in view of what is at stake. My duty as president is to rally together a majority, and the majority's duty is to open up. Unless the majority opens up, it is doomed. The president cannot represent a party or plan. So this commitment will be honoured immediately after the general election. But I will go further.
 

 
How? 
 
I am thinking about Parliament's working methods. I have in mind the rights of the opposition, which must at last have a status. I have in mind the way appointments are made, the assessment of all officials on the basis of their results. I also have in mind the place that must be allotted to sustainable development and to the role of the Economic and Social Council. I believe in this policy. I will implement it. I am happy to have in my government men of such quantity as Bernard Kouchner [foreign minister], Jean-Pierre Jouyet [secretary of state for European affairs], Eric Besson [secretary of state for forward planning and assessment of public policies], and Martin Hirsch [high commissioner for active solidarity against poverty]. They have been courageous. If the opportunity presents itself, I will propose that other representatives of the left and centre join us. My intention with this opening up was not to create an effect. I want to thoroughly reform our country in order to modernize it. Because there will be major changes, I need a large majority.
 

 
This is likely, judging from the opinion polls... 
 
Nothing has been won yet. It is not over yet. Certainly this is no time to allocate posts, which have not yet been gained. I urge all leaders of the majority to struggle until the last minute, as I myself did, between the first and second rounds [of the presidential election].
 

 
By calling for a large majority, are you not providing ammunition to those who accuse you of "wanting absolute power"?
 
People who say that are other ones who struggled alongside [former Socialist President] Francois Mitterrand to grant him the majority that he enjoyed. "Absolute power" did not bother them when it was for the left. What does it mean, when 20 out of 22 regions are held by the left, when over half the departments are held by the left, when so many municipalities are held by the left? I am not thinking about whether the majority will be too great or too small. I am struggling to secure the Parliamentary support that will enable me to implement the blueprint endorsed by the French people. I am struggling to have a majority that will help me to implement the mandate that had been entrusted to me.
 

 
Will you be introduce electoral reform for general elections?
 
After the election I will receive all the political groupings represented in the National Assembly, the Senate, and the European Parliament...
 

 
Including the National Front?
 
Why should I exclude it, if it has elected representatives? I will listen to everyone's proposals. If there is a consensus in favour of a minor element of proportional representation, we will discuss it. I have no preconceptions.
 

 
Will you carry out a reshuffle after the general election?
 
Secretaries of state will join us. Let me make it clear right away that only a small number of them will be appointed; the size of the government will not be doubled - far from it. I would add that they must meet criteria of diversity as regards their geographical background and their political background, and must be representative of this plural France. Furthermore, parity is an objective that I will not relinquish.
 

 
How would you describe your relations with [Prime Minister] Francois Fillon?
 
I would like to pay tribute to what he is doing. He has done an excellent job, and I have had very confident and very friendly relations with him. We have built the blueprints together, and we are implementing it together. We are complementary. We are on the same wavelength. During the past month I have not had a single disagreement with him.
 

 
But frictions did emerge when the budget minister raised the issue of tax relief on loans or that of a "pause" in the struggle against deficits...
 
As regards this latter point, I will not let anyone say that we will not honour our European commitments on controlling public spending. I never used the word "pause." France has made commitments, and it will honour them. In order to reduce deficits, it is necessary to reduce spending and increase revenue. I am committed to a plan to raise the value of labour. I say that this policy will enable us to achieve the growth that we lack. But this approach is not exclusively one of savings. I confirm the rule whereby half the public appointments will not be renewed, starting with the 2008 budget. I confirm that we will reform special regimes [social security scheme] in 2008. I also confirm that we will have to make further economies in sickness insurance. 
 

 
Will the extraordinary session [of Parliament] extend into August?
 
July will be devoted to priority legislative proceedings. August will be a month of vacation. In the immediate term I want to pass very strong economic and financial legislation that will display the consistency of our policy.
 

 
Will this not amount to an interim budget?
 
No. An interim budget entails introducing new items of expenditure. What I want to do is to create the conditions for a new economic strategy.
 

 
Will you be making a break with established custom on 14 July [French national day]?
 
On 14 July I will invite a military detachment from each of the 26 EU countries to march along the Champs Elysee. That will be very symbolic. The garden party will be limited to the unfortunate and, more generally, to all those who have suffered ordeals. I will also invite all those who have performed an act of bravery. In the evening, at the Champs de Mars, we will hold a grand concert in honour of France and Europe.
 

 
What about the traditional presidential interview?
 
There will be a press conference, probably shortly before 14 July.
 

 
You have announced a law against "golden parachutes." How would it work?
 
The system, a very simple one, would involve linking golden handshakes - which must be approved by a general meeting of shareholders - to the outgoing manager's performance. No performance, no reward.
 

 
Does the president support any candidates to the positions of National Assembly speaker or UMP [Union for a Popular Movement] floor leader? 
 
No. But the president can tell his friends: before engaging in rivalry over who should preside over what, perhaps it would be wiser first to gain a majority.
 

 
What do you think about the dispute between [former Prime Minister] Jean-Pierre Raffarin and [former Minister] Patrick Devedjian over the management of the UMP? 
 
I am no longer UMP chairman and it is not for me to voice any opinion about this. It is not unreasonable for a political grouping to reorganize when the president of the Republic has emerged from its ranks. But this issue of party statutes is of no interest to the French people, or to the president.
 

 
But the UMP is nevertheless your political family. 
 
It is my family of origin, but I am no longer UMP chairman. The president cannot be a member of a political party. At the same time, my duty is to continue to heed those who elected me and who must be able to tell me things.
 

 
You pledged to define the role performed by your wife after the election. What is the situation in this regard?
 
We talk about it a great deal, she and I. She will have the opportunity to present a vision of her role soon, once things have properly settled.
 

 
Have you had any contact with [outgoing President] Jacques Chirac since his departure?
 
No.
 

 
"Russia's greatness should lead it to display wisdom and composure"
 

 
You will not be opposing Turkey's accession to the EU, at the European Council session in June. Have you changed your mind?
 
My priority in Europe is to obtain a simplified treaty. But if I raise the issue of Turkey at the same time, there will be no simplified treaty. I have not changed my mind: Turkey has no place in Europe. But the date is December, not June. I have engaged in discussions with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to make him understand that my position is in no way directed against the Turks, but concerns the essential issue of Europe's borders. After the June European Council session I will propose a strategy that will make it possible to find a way to avoid splitting Europe and at the same time to stop pursuing the membership strategy.
 

 
What is the status of the negotiations with a view to a simplified European treaty?
 
This is moving ahead, because some of our partners realize that France, by electing a president who has had the courage to commit to parliamentary ratification, holds the key to resolving the European crisis. It still remains to agree on the substance of the certified treaty. It cannot be a constitution, which the French people did not want. It must have substance - a stable president of the European Council, a European foreign minister, broader areas subject to qualified majority voting, and a reference to fundamental rights. Nobody now is saying that this is impossible anymore.
 

 
What do you expect from the G8?
 
I am hoping for an agreement on a quantitative target for greenhouse gas reductions. There can be no compromise on this. I am a friend of the United States, a staunch ally, and a friend with no hidden agenda.
 

 
But I say to it: let us make an effort. The world's foremost power cannot fail to set an example in preserving the balance of our planet. The second challenge is to mobilize more wealth in favour of Africa. Who cannot see that there is a connection between these two challenges? In Darfur populations have been displaced because of the drought, which leads to barbaric confrontations.
 

 
I want to pursue a different African policy, which involves speaking frankly to the Africans. I believe in the right to universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010. But I want to speak honestly to the Africans: their problems do not come solely from outside Africa.
 

 
What needs to be done in Darfur? Humanitarian corridors? Sanctions against Khartoum?
 
There are 200 refugee camps in Darfur, in a country the size of France. This is the rainy season... But we cannot stand by idly watching. There is a pressing need to deal with the three dimensions of this tragedy - security, by dispatching an UN-African Union force; the resumption of political negotiations; and, last, humanitarian aid in every possible form. I will be discussing this at G8, and at my request Bernard Kouchner will be going there in a few days' time.
 

 
How are you approaching your meeting with Vladimir Putin? 
 
It is very important to have good relations with Russia. It is a great people, a great nation. I am not unaware of Mr Putin's difficulties, his problems and his successes. I am very interested to see him, listen to him and to understand him. What motivates him? Russia has again become a great world country. This should lead it to display wisdom and serenity. I will tell Mr Putin that friendship also involves frankness. He is right to talk about his disagreement with the United States over the antimissile system. I do not consider this unfriendly. He must therefore not consider unfriendly the questions put to him about human rights, and about the market economy in Russia. I will meet with him with the desire that we understand another one another and that he, too, accept that not everyone necessarily holds the same view.
 

 
Is it a good idea to deploy this antimissile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic? Why have the Europeans not talked about it?
 
This shield cannot be effective against Russia's missiles, precisely because of its proximity. It is perhaps aggressive vis-a-vis Russia politically, but it is not so militarily. Certainly, it would have been better to have some European consultation. Mr Putin is right to tell us that Russia's national feeling must be understood, but I ask him to think further about this. Let us understand Poland's history, let us understand the Czech Republic's history.
 

 
The Ingrid Betancourt dossier is moving ahead. Are you hoping for an early solution? 
 
Not at the moment. I want to pay tribute to President Uribe who, by releasing Rodrigo Granda, made what I realize was not an easy gesture for him. What we have done was necessary, but it was not sufficient. Further discussions will be held. I can say no more. The priority is to have proof that Ingrid Betancourt is alive. Then we can take further initiatives.
 

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