Public anger as Sarkozy Jnr eyes plum job
Outraged critics say the brash bid by student Jean Sarkozy, 23, is an affront to France’s egalitarian values.
Left-wingers criticised the prospect of the wealthy “Sarkozy clan” intertwining itself even more intimately with big business.
Yesterday President Sarkozy said his son had been “thrown to the wolves”.
Asked to comment on the political and media storm swirling around Jean, the president replied: “It is never right for someone to be thrown to the wolves, without reason and in an excessive manner.
“You run after controversies, sometimes even ahead of them,” he told reporters.
Jean Sarkozy’s conservative backers insisted yesterday that he was qualified to chair EPAD, the quasi- governmental agency that manages the La Défense financial district on the western outskirts of Paris.
The EPAD board chooses its next chairman on December 4.
Some 150,000 people commute to work in the sprawling complex of skyscrapers that houses the headquarters of some of Europe’s biggest companies, such as oil giant Total and bank Société Générale.
Jean Sarkozy, who is studying law at the Sorbonne, is the main candidate for the EPAD chairmanship – a job his father once held.
“If he did not have the name he has, would he be where he is today?” asked Socialist Ségolène Royal, who lost the presidency to Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. Speaking on RTL radio, she said she was “shocked” by the bid.
She said with the power, influence and money involved in the role, future elections could be swayed in the Sarkozys favour.
More than 40,000 people had added their names to an online “petition” by last night, urging Jean Sarkozy to drop his bid.
“Presiding (over) such an institution requires competence and experience,” reads the appeal, launched by Christophe Grebert, a centrist politician from nearby Puteaux. “We urge you to finish your law studies and do a few internships in companies... before, perhaps, one day, who knows, rebidding for this job.”
The job is highly visible, yet largely symbolic. The 18 members of EPAD’s board are volunteers who give the final “yes” or “no” to investors who want building permits or administrative favours in La Défense.
The only requirement is being a member of central or local government. Jean Sarkozy was elected last year to a regional council representing part of the Paris suburb of Neuilly, where his father served as mayor for 19 years.
Responding to attacks on his candidacy, Jean Sarkozy said whatever he accomplished in life, “my legitimacy will always be on trial”.
Asked by Le Parisien newspaper if he had talked with his father about his plans, he said: “Of course I informed those who are close to me, that’s normal. That said, I’m following my own path.”
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