Friends and neighbors in France were divided in their opinion on their new president Nicholas Sarkozy. With bemusement, I listened to some complain that it was an insult that he chose to spend his first summer vacation in office in America. Worse yet, to spend some of his precious vacation with U.S. Prez Bush. One of our friends was really upset. " Why did he go to America. What is wrong with France. Why not spend the summer here?" I think what got to my friends was the fact that Sarco was happily munching away at a barbeque at Bush's Texas ranch. Any French prez who would rather eat "des Hamburgers" instead of the many culinary marvels of the french cuisine is suspect in their eyes. So, 100 days after he took office, the French are not quite sure if they should trust this guy.
In time for "la rentrée", the return after a long summer vacation, Sarkozy is talking domestic policy. Here is a good article from Time magazine about the direction Sarko is taking.
Sarkozy Dazzles, But Can He Deliver?
By Bruce Crumley/Paris Time Magazine
Such is the razzle-dazzle of French President Nicolas Sarkozy that he is able to turn a speech to business leaders on such staid topics as labor contracts,taxation,inflation and purchasing power into some truly captivating theatrics. During a nearly 45-minute address billed as the blueprint of the second phase of Sarkozy's economic reforms, the gesticulating, sardonic, often dramatic President drew applause, laughter and even a gasp or two of excitement as he described how he intends to make France a more competitive economy.
"If France has lower growth than other [nations)], it's because we work less," scolded Sarkozy, who promised to further roll back the nation's 35 hour work week — an institution he denounced as an "immense economic mistake" in keeping with the economically sedative labor policies of the left. Sarkozy's Thursday address to France's main employers' organization, Medef, was a tour de force fusing policy objectives with performance art, with Sarko alternately playing stand-up comic and revival-meeting preacher. Playing to a friendly crowd, Sarkozy vowed to further lower taxes, reduce companies' salary-linked labor costs, cut thousands of jobs from the civil service, legalize Sunday trading, generally liberalize France's labor market and adopt a small business act using the American law as his model.
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