French Berlusconi.

[Ms DD]

Sarkozy sweeps aside criticism of his cruise

By Henry Samuel in Paris

Last Updated: 2:49am BST 10/05/2007

 

Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president-elect, shrugged off criticism yesterday of his holiday on a businessman's yacht.

 

 

Nicolas Sarkozy spent three days aboard the luxury yacht

 

 

The three-day cruise with his family had not "cost the French taxpayer a cent", he told reporters after disembarking at Malta before flying back to Paris.

 

"I could have gone to a hotel, but imagine what that would have been like," said Mr Sarkozy, 52, who was elected last Sunday with a mandate to introduce sweeping economic reforms.

 

"Already when I'm on a boat you rented out planes and helicopters to take photos of me," he added.

 

"I have no intention of hiding, I have no intention of lying, I have no intention of apologising."

 

The opposition had accused him of "debauchery" and "tactlessness" for using the private jet of Vincent Bolloré, who has interests in shipping and the media, and for borrowing his yacht.

 

The Paloma is a 200ft "floating palace" with seven cabins for 12 people, 17 crew, giant plasma screens and an on-deck Jacuzzi. It has two jet-skis, kayaks, water skis and diving equipment.

 

advertisement

A spokesman for Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate who lost to Mr Sarkozy, described the trip as "a form of arrogance and even an insult" to the French given that his "campaign was about a France which gets up early, a society at work."

 

After promising to get tough on les "assistés" - people living off the state - Mr Sarkozy "seems to be living off billionaires," the spokesman added.

 

But Mr Sarkozy, who spoke to reporters while jogging on the Maltese coast, said: "Vincent Bolloré, one of the great French industrialists, has never worked for the state and does honour to the French economy. I wish lots of Vincent Bollorés on the French economy, men who are able to invest to create jobs.

 

"You know, it's not a disgrace to have worked hard, to have created a big group, to give out jobs."

 

Before his victory, the former interior minister had announced his intention to "retreat" from public life for a few days to take stock of his new role. Earlier reports suggested that he intended to spend time in a monastery or in Corsica.

 

However, apparently at the last minute, he changed his plans and took his wife, Cécilia and their 10-year-old son Louis to Malta aboard Mr Bolloré's 14-seat Falcon 900 EX jet.

 

Mr Bolloré reportedly accompanied them. They then boarded the Paloma, which Mr Bolloré bought for €2.5 million in 2003 and spent another €5 million on renovating.

 

Mr Sarkozy also raised eyebrows by spending the night of his victory in Le Fouquet's, an exclusive hotel-restaurant on the Champs-Elysées, also owned by a friend. He is reported to have stayed in the presidential suite, rented out at €8,500 per night.

 

Throughout the campaign, Miss Royal and the centrist candidate, François Bayrou, accused Mr Sarkozy of having an unhealthy relationship with France's richest bosses - in particular Martin Bouygues, who owns France's most-watched television channel, TF1.

 

Mr Bouygues was a witness at his wedding and is godfather to his son.

 

Mr Sarkozy was accused by his rivals of being a "French Berlusconi".

 

Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister known for his extravagant lifestyle, agreed with the analysis: "Sarkozy took me as his model," he remarked on Tuesday.

 

One unnamed MP from Mr Sarkozy's UMP party told a newspaper yesterday: "Perhaps the monastery would have been a better idea."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=ZXBHT1NAOO0ZHQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/05/10/wfra10.xml

[N.O.R.F]

I prefer to give him the benefit of doubt. He may be the man to kick those Arabs and Africans into some sort of integration and change the work culture/laws to allow them to get those jobs.

 

Time will tell

[Ms DD]

After three years Sarkozy will either be looking at ruin - the greed and selfishness and violence he will have unleashed will be wrecking France

 

OR

 

we will see that Sarkozy has been having all right wing loonies on and will have been governing from a centrist position like nearly every other French president has.

[Sharmarkee]

From a Hungarian Jewish background, he worked hard to be in the elite league of the French ruling class, and he worked hard to get elected by making the natives and immigrants confront each other, Simply a French NeoCon has emerged to the surface.