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

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Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and Napoleon III press review presented by Equy and Mouillard for the Liberation publication is interesting to cite: the British Guardian accused of nepotism the Sarkozy Dynasty, the German Focus resumed the situation as following: a young man of 23 is to become the chief of an institution that manages billions, his name: Jean Sarkozy, his qualification: two law’s semesters, and finally the Italian Il Corriere Della Sera asserted that the candidacy of Sarkozy II, the Young, represents a dynastic continuity in Neuilly (2009). At this point, the matching with Napoleon III is almost pointless since this latter was in a proper dynastic and imperial dynamic that is somehow legitimated by his very status. In parallel, the Sarkozy’s method of handling the different political factions of the country since his accession to power resembled strangely Napoleon III’s. As explained before, Louis Napoleon had to deal with the inexistence of Bonapartism as a political party per say: he federated all the diverging political circles of influence under his banner in order to strengthen his power. Such reasoning was curious since the Emperor established his authority so firmly, especially in the first decade of his rule, that he could have afforded the luxury of bypassing this maneuver. Sarkozy followed the Emperor’s steps at this regard, though for different reasons. Being the “President of all the French” following his own saying, Sarkozy estimated that he was beyond the party’s restrictions so rooted in the French practice of politics. This Bonapartist’s conception according to which the supreme leader’s has not only the primacy over but also the profound desire of erasing all the political cleavages under his rule is central to the two leaders. As explained by Duhamel, “they (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte and Nicolas Sarkozy) give a careful attention to consolidate their power through seducing their adversaries and convincing them to rally their troupes: it is one of their common specialties. Used to been obeyed and admired, they A website dedicated to this project is available starting Dec 7 th 2010 at: http://www.aui.ma/personal/~Y.Assaoui/ 26
Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and Napoleon III do not save their efforts to affirm even further their dominion and ascendancy over the politicians they lust for” (2009). Sarkozy at this regard undertook a redefinition of the French traditional cleavages via the “ouverture” policy he followed. Lévy and Skach considered the latter as a “blurring of the political boundaries” deeply rooted in Napoleon III’s tradition (2007). The French president actually proceeded to several cross-spectrums appointments within the government he formed after his accession to power. A panel of Leftist politicians was thus poached including: Bernard Kouchner as a Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet as State Secretary for European Affairs, Eric Besson as State Secretary of Forecasting and the Evaluation of Public Policy, Jean-Marie Boeckel as State Secretary for Cooperation and Francophone Relations, and even Martin Hirsh as High Commissioner of Solidarity. As a result, many observers noticed a double-strata phenomenon: the decline of the party identification coupled to the rise of personalization. This “unprecendented personalization of the Presidency in the history of the Fifth Republic” (Rieff, 2009) is severely judged by Bickerton who considered it as “a product of the emptiness of French political life, the death of ideas giving way to the dominance of personalities” (2009). Louis Napoleon’s own political circumstances, and again the inexistence of Bonapartism as a political party, explain partly the strong personalization approach he developed. Sarkozy at this regard detached himself from the UMP as a careful political tactic. He used his party almost as a control stick to achieve his presidential undertaking, and simply turned his back afterwards. To put things simply: if the UMP membership had exploded under Sarkozy’s lead and reinforced both the position of the party as the wealthiest in France regarding its A website dedicated to this project is available starting Dec 7 th 2010 at: http://www.aui.ma/personal/~Y.Assaoui/ 27
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