Sarkozy’s victory is the product of a public-private dichotomy

ONE puzzling and often overlooked feature of the France that elected Nicolas Sarkozy as its new president, and that is now poised to give his political allies a powerful parliamentary mandate after tomorrow’s elections, is its mix of private optimism and public pessimism.

Consider this: France has the highest fertility rate in the EU (averaging at about 2.1 children per woman), even ahead of booming Ireland (1.9).

Yet, despite this, Eurobarometer polls repeatedly show that the French are the most pessimistic of all Europeans when it comes to their country’s future. How can people who are so negative about their common future as a nation go about confidently building their private futures within their families?