| Page 2 of 2 < |
Sailing Isn't So Smooth For Sarkozy
President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy, left, is resting with his family off Malta aboard a yacht that belongs to a billionaire friend. Critics have seized on the trip as an image of excess from a politician who promised to be the "president of the people."
(By Lino Azzopardi -- Associated Press)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
"The problem with his rich industrialist friends like Bolloré is that they're liable to ask for something in return," said Hervé Nathan, an editorial writer for the weekly magazine Marianne, which wrote scathing articles about Sarkozy during the campaign.
One of the guests at Sarkozy's private victory dinner Sunday night at the venerable Fouquet's brasserie on the Champs Elysee was France's most famous rock singer, Johnny Hallyday, who moved to Switzerland to escape France's high taxes. Hallyday announced Wednesday that he'll be moving back to France soon because of Sarkozy's promise to cut taxes for the country's wealthiest citizens.
Back on the jogging trail, Sarkozy said that "after what my family has gone through, I had to be with them in a quiet place."
The French news media have been rife with speculation that his marriage is on the rocks. He and his wife, Cécilia, split two years ago after she was photographed holding hands with her purported lover in New York, and though she and her husband have reconciled, she was largely absent from his campaign. She has indicated she has no burning desire to play the role of first lady of France.
The Malta trip was hardly a romantic interlude, however. Their entourage aboard the yacht included five bodyguards, a 17-member boat crew and a handful of close political advisers.
Sarkozy, who was scheduled to return to Paris on Wednesday night, is not the first political leader to be chastised for emulating the celebrity lifestyle. Last December, the British press lambasted Prime Minister Tony Blair for sponging off Robin Gibb by spending a family holiday at the former Bee Gees star's multimillion-dollar mansion in Miami. Bill Clinton was much criticized for mooching off friends with summer houses on Martha's Vineyard.
Such comparisons were not lost on the French. The daily newspaper L'Independent du Midi said Wednesday that Sarkozy "will be our first American-style president," noting that he is a "great admirer of the country where money and luxury are considered as mandatory symbols of success."
Researcher Corinne Gavard contributed to this report.
