France

«Passions»: what if Sarkozy was preparing his comeback?

4 reading minutes

written by Jonas Follonier · March 24, 2020 · 0 comment

Tuesday's books - Jonas Follonier

Last year, Nicolas Sarkozy published Passions. A book in which the former President of the Republic opened up a little - but not too much - about his almost four-decade political rise up to his election as President of France in 2007. It was also an opportunity for the man of the right, without leaving the political arena too much, to talk about his friendships and admirations, as well as his love for Carla. But beyond these official outlines, it's hard not to read between the lines the preparation of a major comeback.

It's a book I wouldn't necessarily have bought if someone close to me hadn't given it to me. The advantage of intelligent gifts is that they force us to honor them even when our attention wouldn't otherwise have been focused on them, which can lead to pleasant surprises. Even when a certain amount of boredom is involved, and even when such a story ends in great disappointment, we come away less stupid. Passions is one of those gifts. I read the first few pages with ease but little interest, wondering what reading a political book by a statesman who has disappointed a good part of the French right and who, I was told, doesn't make great confidences about himself or his fellow men would do for me.

Then I got caught up in the game. First of all, Passions is a relatively well-written French-style political book. Even if he's no Stendhal, Sarkozy has a rather fine pen. Despite its recurring clumsiness and its not always well-advised chronology, the style of Passions at its most common, homogeneous and classic. In this, form meets substance: with Sarkozy, there's a permanent desire to show a certain constancy, on the one hand, and a respect for the past, on the other. It's no doubt by design that this book, in literary terms, is part of a kind of tradition: this humble verb echoes the author's political positions and, at the same time, disappears in favor of what is said. A clever and pleasing stratagem.

A French-style political book

The reader is treated to frequent political interludes in which the former head of state stresses the importance of France taking responsibility for its history, both in its baseness and in its hours of glory. Sarkozy also frequently returns to the themes of identity and security, taking advantage of the account of his actions as minister or party president to justify them and reiterate his vision, whose coherence we must at least acknowledge. In particular, we'll remember what we already knew about him, but discover here the day-to-day manifestations of his passion for work, the energy that characterizes Sarkozy, and which, as he himself admits, has both helped and hindered him.

And then, Passions has a touching quality. It shows just how grateful Sarkozy is to his current wife for what she has taught him:

«I've learned that a day without reading, watching a film or looking at an exhibition is a day wasted. I've learned that, in a family, words are fruitful, that silence is like dust pushed under the carpet. I've learned that when you're as lucky as we are, kindness is a duty. I've learned that life is a whole, and that balance lies precisely in knowing how to lead it all.»

We also learn of the familiarity that Sarkozy envisages between politicians and artists, which explains more deeply than the media had said about the Marseille meeting where Johnny Hallyday was in the front row. Sarkozy assumes his side showman, He's a true tribune, as is his ambition, which will never really be satisfied until he's in power:

«For the first time in so long, I felt strangely free of a weight. The weight of this ambition that I couldn't really explain, and that had been nagging at me since I was a teenager. It was as if an anvil had been removed from inside me. I became President of the Republic on my first candidacy.»

Sarkozy 2022

Yet, under cover of these personal reflections and the ministerial and presidential backstage stories he half-opens up to us, especially as regards Jacques Chirac's governments, Sarkozy paints a flattering portrait of himself and his relationship with power, to say the least. Whether he likes it or not, this book reinforces the popularity the author already enjoys with a good part of the right-wing population, giving them just enough to pique their curiosity and keeping quiet just enough to keep himself in the political game.

Better still, if you read the book in detail, you'll see that the only two people who really stand out are Rachida Dati and François Baroin. The former is running for mayor of Paris, and Sarkozy has already assured her of his support. public support. As for the second, he's just about the only one rumored to be the Republican candidate for the 2022 presidential elections. Passions, Could this be Sarkozy's way of paving the way for the honest man who has always been loyal to him, while telling anyone who will listen: if Baroin's candidacy doesn't work out, why not me? After all, the sixth president of the V^th Didn't the Republic declared to Point that between him and France, «it'll never be over»?

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com