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

Neo-Bonapartism? A parallel between Nicolas Sarkozy and Napoleon III
“flood of 150 new newspapers, mostly hostile” (Miller, 1997). Louis Bonaparte’s communication
strategy was from the latter rather innovative, yet always under control; a fact that explains
why “modern scholars have been impressed by his particular form of political manipulation”
stated the Southern State University of California’s report on the French Second Empire, since
he “pioneered a new form of mass politics in which authoritarian politicians could employ
nationalist and populist tactics, to achieve genuine popularity”.
At this point, the well-oiled and thoughtful Bonapartist strategic vision vis a vis the fourth
power has some echoes in Sarkozy’s approach of and relationship with the contemporary
French media. Like the imperial censors who were entrusted with the shaping of the press
headlines and the insertion of flattering articles (Barthelemy, 1889), Sarkozy as well extolled the
virtues of intervening in the media through providing actively to its professionals what he
wanted to see covered. As explained by Cohen, a recurrent pattern of Sarkozy’s communication
strategy was his communicators’ readiness and eagerness in “providing the journalists, week
after week, with some “biscuit” as stated by the media jargon… He (Sarkozy) “releases worthy
news”, he is a scoop-machine” (Cohen, 2006). By this way, being both the source and the
recipient, Sarkozy participates lively in the process of newsworthiness selection, a process
usually reserved to the editorialists. In addition, a similar kind of practice was experimented the
two first years of his presidency before a polemic stopped it sharp in December 2009: the
insertion in the French press of Elysee-sponsored political polls. Here, and as explained by Le
Parisien, the use of the French taxpayers money (estimated at 3,28 million Euros in 2008, and 1
989 million in 2009) for complacent thus questionable polls (they were conducted by an
opinion polls institute affiliated to Le Figaro, which belongs to Dassault, one of Sarkozy’s
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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