Several weeks ago, the eldest son of Nicholas Sarkozy, Jean, announced his bid to head a prominent public agency, EPAD. EPAD oversees the important La Défense business district on the outskirts of Paris. EPAD’s out-going chief, Patrick Devedjian, had reached the mandatory retirement age of sixty-five. Prior to heading EPAD, Devedjian was first mayor of Antony, France and subsequently elected to Parliament. In recent years, his star has been firmly hitched to that of Nicholas Sarkozy. Jean Sarkozy, twenty-three, is a second-year law student and already on the city council of Neuilly, France – a wealthy suburb of Paris and from whence his own father launched his political career.
EPAD, Public Establishment for Installation of La Défense, may not be familiar to most Americans, but it is an important agency in France, a political plum. La Défense is home to 2,500 head offices and most of the major corporations in France. It is also midway through an ambitious nine-year redevelopment initiative.
The young Sarkozy’s announcement was met with derision and anger. Some characterized his bid for the appointment as more “befitting a banana republic”, while others decried the blatant nepotism as “the act of a monarch” and dubbed the president’s son, “Prince Jean.” Some of these criticisms came not from the Socialists, but from members of the UMP, his father’s party. Others urged Jean Sarkozy to complete his studies and prove himself before attempting to head such a prominent agency. Throughout France, Sarkozy’s quest for the appointment sparked a debate about meritocracy and the future of the French republic.
Yesterday, Jean Sarkozy announced that he would no longer be seeking the appointment as head of the EPAD, but would run for an elected seat on the board. Newspapers across France published a rash of stories about Jean’s “sacrifice,” and on behalf of France breathed a sigh of relief. They were premature.
There was no sacrifice. The fix was in. Despite the fact that more than 66% of Frenchmen strongly objected to Jean Sarkozy’s candidacy, 30 of the 45 members of the Nanterre department council, all members of Nicholas Sarkozy’s political party, voted to elect Jean Sarkozy to EPAD board.
Nicholas Sarkozy’s electoral appeal has been based in large part on his reputation as an outsider, his own man. But recently, that reputation has taken a battering. In addition to the pointed criticism of his son’s ambitions, Sarkozy has been roundly criticized for his behavior during the Clearstream trial. Dubbed the “trial of the century”, Sarkozy’s behavior at the trial’s onset was viewed as decidedly un-presidential. Furthermore, Nicholas Sarkozy has been accused of orchestrating his son’s seat on EPAD in order to further his own political ambitions and secure additional campaign contributions for future campaigns.
Time will tell if these fears are legitimate.
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