Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...
Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...
Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and ...
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<strong>Neo</strong>-<strong>Bonapartism</strong>? A <strong>parallel</strong> <strong>between</strong> <strong>Nicolas</strong> <strong>Sarkozy</strong> <strong>and</strong> Napoleon III<br />
“amicable separation” <strong>between</strong> employees <strong>and</strong> firms) within the modernization of the<br />
employment contract” (Clift, 2008). The rationale behind this reforming was his neo-liberal lens<br />
according to which increasing the elasticity of the human capital lightens the workforce’s<br />
burden from the employers. He thus advocated the need for the French workers to show more<br />
professional flexibility; a criterion determined by the market <strong>and</strong> not by the employers in such a<br />
conception. Second, the taxation chapter also obeyed “the hyperglobal (neo-liberal) capital<br />
flight argument: “if we tax labor too much, it delocalizes, if we tax capital too much, it<br />
delocalizes” (Clift, 2008). In the same move, <strong>Sarkozy</strong> launched a very incisive campaign against<br />
the “tax heavens”, either at the European Union or the G20 level (while paradoxically asking for<br />
the implementation of the Tobin Tax on financial transactions). The president also called upon<br />
the “ending of inheritance taxes for all small <strong>and</strong> medium-sized estates that is 90-95% of them”<br />
(Gizzi, 2007). A huge fiscal gift (of approximately 4 billion Euros as estimated by Le Point) was<br />
also proposed to the wealthiest: <strong>Sarkozy</strong> intends to considerably reduce the taxation on the ISF<br />
(Impot sur la Fortune), a gesture aiming at preventing the France’s fortunes from escaping to<br />
more clement countries in terms of taxation (by this way, <strong>Sarkozy</strong> declared in a political talk<br />
show broadcasted by France 2 the 24 th of May 2009, that he was “disappointed” by the<br />
departure of his friend Johnny Halliday to Belgium because of taxation’s concerns).<br />
Another neo-liberal battle fought by <strong>Sarkozy</strong> was his reforming of the social pensions system,<br />
<strong>and</strong> mainly the changing of the pension’s departure from 60 to 62 years. It is worth mentioning<br />
that this very unpopular reform set the French streets ablaze for several weeks, <strong>and</strong> ended up<br />
with a paralyzing shortage in fuel (the workers of the main oil refineries being in strike) but was<br />
forcefully adopted by both of the Parliament <strong>and</strong> the Senate (since the president holds the<br />
A website dedicated to this project is available starting Dec 7 th 2010 at: http://www.aui.ma/personal/~Y.Assaoui/<br />
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