Denis Olivennes analyses Sarkozy's unpopularity

The French president's unpopularity is increasing as the Bettencourt affair unfolds. He should be more respectful regarding French sensibilities, the managing director of the leftist French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur Denis Olivennes writes in the liberal weekly Die Zeit: "Sarkozy wanted to break with all the pomp and distance that have monarchist traits. … But he was soon being accused of trivialising the importance of his office … . In this old Catholic country Nicolas Sarkozy broke with the hypocritical relationship France has with money. … This [Bettencourt] affair reveals the tacit understanding that exists between the milieus of the business world and the political Right and has brought the disastrous identification of the president with the rich to a climax. … Nicolas Sarkozy must now however solve a difficult equation: he must stick to his policy of so-called 'rupture' to be able to continue to offer the country movement instead of stagnation - but by no means too much of it or he risks offending people's sensibilities. At present he still hasn't found the right dosage."

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