Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...

Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and Napoleon III
On the constitutional reform chapter, Sarkozy followed the same path as Napoleon III; he
engaged a process of reforming of the constitution to counter the “crisis of representation” he
so strongly denounced in his presidential program, before finally backing up. As a matter of
fact, and as explained by Lévy and Skach in 2007, Sarkozy “appointed 13 sages to a committee
headed by former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur and entrusted with undertaking the task of
reflecting on the modernization of the Fifth Republic”. After this committee’s presentation of its
recommendations, Sarkozy realized that the application of such reforming will endanger his
quasi-monopoly of power (since it proposed some amendments relative to the executive
branch). Accordingly, this committee was “thanked for its enlightened remarks” (Sarkozy’s
speech in date of 15 th December 2008), but the constitutional reform stopped there, with no
prospect of being enacted anytime soon, at least under Sarkozy’s presidency.
From the latter, Sarkozy and Napoleon III are very resembling in their court-like approach: both
preferred short-circuiting their traditional partners (mainly the government, parliament, and
senate) and delegated (relatively) their power to a very close circle of collaborators. This
mechanism of governance, described by the French Leftist publication Marianne as the “archaic
monarchization of the mode of governance” (2010), ends up with a problematic democratic
deficit; obvious for Napoleon III, yet more insidious for Sarkozy. As stated by Derbyshire, “the
appointments of Le Douaron and Lambert show the importance that Sarkozy attaches to having
advisers and collaborators who "owe him everything", and in whom he places the kind of trust
he rarely, if ever, shows to his ministers; in this arrangement, the adviser plays courtier to
Sarkozy's prince” (2010). As a matter of fact, Eric Le Douaron and Christian Lambert are both
former high police officers (the first for instance was the chief of the RAID unit of intervention)
A website dedicated to this project is available starting Dec 7 th 2010 at: http://www.aui.ma/personal/~Y.Assaoui/
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