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Testimony: France in the Twenty-first Century

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Newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy has written an extraordinary guidebook that applies just as well to America's challenges as those of France. Every presidential candidate in both parties should read it.

Sarkozy's opponent, Segolene Royale, should have won the French Presidential election and become the first woman President of France. After all, the center-right had held the French Presidency for 12 years. The incumbent President was tired and unpopular. In a normal year the outcome would have been obvious. The opposition left should have won.

Two things stopped the left: an idea and a man.

The man: Nicolas Sarkozy. The idea: France needed profound fundamental change and the left was the party of reactionary defense of a failing old order.

The scale of the French challenge is stated bluntly by the then candidate and now President of France: "I am convinced that the French now want their leaders quickly to undertake reforms that will make it possible to encourage work, improve education, make government more effective, better integrate minorities and restore France's full global role."

Using a web-based campaign to avoid the filter of the French media, Sarkozy hammered away for three years on the need for change. He distinguished himself from President Chirac and in the end it was Sarkozy who stood for a new future while the socialist Royale was defending the reactionary past.

Ironically, Sarkozy has more faith in American reform and renewal than do American politicians and commentators. He asserts: "Beyond all these characteristics of American society, what I admire most is its capacity to recognize its own weakness and to start correcting them right away. America's strength is that it was able, in each case, to identify its own weaknesses, and decide together as a society to remedy them, and then to take action without useless nostalgia about the past."

Every Presidential candidate should read Testimony to have a better understanding of the scale of leadership that is possible.

And every American citizen should read Testimony to have an understanding of what they should demand from the candidates in 2008 and expect from them in 2009.

I was fortunate to come across this book just before Nicolas Sarkozy was to be elected the next French president. Both Intrade and NewsFutures (prediction markets) were assigning a probability over 80% that Sarkozy would win. When both these different prediction markets agree on such a high probability; you can truly deem it a sure thing.

Nicolas Sarkozy is a unique French politician as he is the first pro-American one ever. Also, he is most critical of France on most counts. And, he views himself as a positive agent of change that will change France's course. This renders this book unique in the history of French politics. Such an unabashed pro-American tack has never been undertaken by any other French politician.

In foreign policy, he observes that France main identity is one of anti-Americanism at every turn to present a counter force to American hegemony. He does not see this position as serving France's own interest over the long term. This antagonism for one thing has rendered the UN Security Council completely dysfunctional. It has also impaired many other supranational institutions such as NATO. Thus, his book is part of his political effort to reduce the political distance between the two countries. If the future French President can be pro-American at a time when our current administration is most unpopular both domestically and overseas since Nixon's, it bodes extremely well for the prospect of Franco-American relations.

Culturally, he feels France has been too obsessed about protecting its own language. Instead, he feels it is critical for the French to all become more fluent in English so as to more readily adopt technologies associated with this language. He recognizes that English (and not French) has become the de facto Esperanto of commerce, technology, and science. And, he feels French citizen should take this opportunity to participate in all the mentioned domains more actively by accepting this fact instead of becoming more isolated from the rest of the World.

Sarkozy considers France to be in a fiscal mess. France flavor of socialism (very high tax rates, even higher social entitlements and government expenditures resulting in large chronic deficits) is not sustainable. Mixed with a rapidly aging society, France has a fiscal social entitlement problem that makes the U.S. counterparts (Social Security, Medicare) look like a fiscal walk on the beach. Indeed, social entitlements grab a significantly larger portion of tax revenues and GDP in France than they do in the U.S. As a result, Sarkozy feels that France economic climate has really hurt business, and more specifically job creation. He has a point. Job creation has been very weak for decades. Similarly, the unemployment rate has remained stuck between 8.5% and 12% for decades. In France, you have more economic incentives (overly generous unemployment compensation) to remain unemployed vs working. Businesses have very strong incentives not to hire people (nearly impossible to let go of employees). Sarkozy wants to change all that by reducing tax rates, reducing unemployment benefits, and reducing labor law restrictions such as the 35 hour work week limit (the lowest on the planet).

Sarkozy's ambition and political vision remind one of Margaret Thatcher in the eighties. Will he be as successful as she was? Can the French truly be steered in a pro-American, pro-business, anti-socialist fashion? Sarkozy's political challenges are immense because the French are so much more entrenched in their views than the Brits were at the time. Although Thatcher's political steering was remarkable it was not impossible.

Is Sarkozy setting himself up for an impossible mission guaranteeing his failure? There is a good possibility of that. But, there is no question that he really gets what the 21st century challenges are. He is ready to tackle those head on. Whether the French are ready remains to be seen.

He has written a unique, courageous, and iconoclastic book. He now has his manifesto in hand. His implementation will tell whether history remembers him as France's turning point or forgets him as just another failed French politician.

Is this the France I thought I knew? After reading Sarkozy's book I have to believe that the French do want to change the direction of their country and perhaps their continent. Knowing it was published in France before his election to the Presidency, I don't know what other conclusion to assume. While I by no means agree with everything he writes below are a few excerpts that I don't think you would have gotten from a traditional French politician.

- The State can't do for you what you're not willing to do for yourself. Pg. 136
- France must again become the homeland for work, merit, responsibility, and fraternity. It must be the country where social advancement is possible, encouraged and desired by all. Page 74

Sarkozy's willingness to admit to certain problems in France and then suggest practical fixes is refreshing. While not at the level of detail as Newt Gingrich's book "Winning the Future" it is similar in that it highlights problems and presents solutions regarding his particular country's state. While some of his solutions don't have a lot of concrete substance around them, I don't necessarily think that was the point of this particular book.

I encountered many issues that parallel our issues in the U.S., such as education, a cradle to grave benefit society and health care to name a few. I find it fascinating that the U.S. is running towards enacting many of the social dependency programs that France and the rest of Europe are starting to run away from because of the inability to afford them and the inferior programs that governments minister.

I think "Testimony" is a worthy book to read to get a glimpse of what the leader of an important European country is thinking. It will be interesting to watch how his administration progresses.

The first thing to remember whilst reading this book is that it is a translation from the French `Temoignage' which was written for a French audience and not a book specifically written for English speaking foreigners. This means that there are many references to people and situations which require knowledge of France and French politics.
However, bearing this in mind and with access to Google nearby, one can get over this minor inconvenience.

`Testimony' is an extremely rich insight into M Sarkozy's mind and he shows a devotion to, and tenacity for, change that France desperately needs. I was in France at the time of his election to President and collected a copy of his manifesto - it is essentially a précis of the book. If he can enact even a small percentage of what he hopes to do, France will become a major player again on the world scene.

He rightly trashes the Socialist Party's nitwit ideas on the 35 hour week, sky-high minimum wages and the like - those that made the rest of the world laugh but at the same time he advocates an inclusive society where all members of parliament, whatever their political colour, are brought into the decision making process.

Almost everything in the world of politics is discussed in his book together with his ideas on their reform - internal affairs, foreign affairs, social security, pensions, tax, state employees, justice - the list is exhaustive. He touches on his private life, his religious views, immigration (he's the son of a Hungarian immigrant) and emigration of the young to the UK. London, he informs us, is the seventh biggest French city.

It is difficult for a Frenchman to argue for his language. He has a go, but not very conclusively. But he does have the good grace to admit that English has become the de facto world language and that rather than taking umbrage at this, one might as well accept it and get on with life.

All this sounds like a man with a great future. It is difficult to read this exciting book and not end up agreeing with everything he says. If he does what he says he wants to do in the book, the future looks bleak for the French Socialist Party and even more so for the Trotsky and other irrelevancies of the left.

With the rise of Nicolas Sarkozy to the French Presidency, this book is a window into his agenda, background, and style. It allows readers to judge the man as he covers much of his public career and many of the events that have been obstacles to his rise. Of particular note are the discussions about his relationship with former President Jacque Chirac and his response in October-November 2005 to the riots in Paris. All that being said, the book was written as a campaign tract, so it is somewhat light on specifics. A reccommended read for any foreign policy wonk.

Determined to bring major changes to French politics and society, President Nicolas Sarkozy does not seem to be at all concerned with maintaining a politically correct image for himself in the process. In fact, a big part of the man's image and charm centers around his willingness to rock the boat any time that helps him achieve his goals. And, much to the dismay of his countrymen, one of the least politically correct things that Sarkozy has done since taking office is to express his admiration for America and many of the things for which this country stands. That alone makes him more of a "maverick" in France than John McCain could ever hope to be in this country.

Testimony is both a detailed explanation of the goals Sarkozy hopes to achieve during his presidency and a description of the societal and political problems that he recognized on his first day in office. Many of Sarkozy's observations about what has caused the French economy and lifestyle to fall behind those of so many other European countries will be of particular interest to American readers who worry about the direction in which this country appears to be heading.

Sarkozy is particularly concerned with the jealous criticism directed at so many of France's most successful citizens and the prevalent desire to "level things out" in a manner that would allow everyone to share the country's wealth. As he puts it, "Instead of mobilizing society through those who have succeeded the most, the French prefer to stoke up resentment of those who have more than others, on the assumption that they must have stolen what they have from others!" Any society has a big problem when its biggest "achievers" are seen as targets to be destroyed by those who underachieve in their own lives, an attitude that Sarkozy recognizes in France and one which seems to be more common in America now than ever before.

Regarding his country's tendency to overtax its richest citizens, Sarkozy makes the observation that other countries benefit greatly from the policy because so many of France's best minds and most ambitious people choose to relocate to countries with more reasonable tax laws. "Equality should mean not that we all become poor, but rather that we can all hope to become rich or at least ensure social advancement for our families" is a Sarkozy point that seems to be as misunderstood today in America as it is in France. As Sarkozy goes on to say, "...the main consequence of preventing the most dynamic members of society from getting rich is to make everyone else poor. By trying to ensure equality for everyone you end up penalizing everyone."

President Sarkozy is not afraid to point out the French superiority complex, something that is apparently obvious to everyone other than the French themselves, and how counterproductive that attitude is when dealing with citizens of other countries, including those of Europe. As he correctly says, "By living off our past, by believing that we can get away with anything because we're France, by thinking that we don't have to try as hard as the others do, we are losing influence," something else, I would suggest, for American readers to keep in mind about our own attitudes.

France, as does most of the rest of Europe, has a social welfare system of significantly greater scope than the United States but Sarkozy believes that the system has become more a detriment to, than an advantage for, his country. He makes the common sense observation that, "The French are not afraid of work. But the deliberate inversion of values between work and welfare has caused people to lose their bearings. When someone who works doesn't live any better than someone who doesn't work, why should the one working get up early in the morning?" We are fast approaching the same point in America, I believe, and should learn from the experience of countries like France that got there before us.

With the emergence of Nicolas Sarkozy, America seems to have more in common with the leadership of France now than it has since the end of World War II. Even Sarkozy himself seems to feel that way when he says, "I would like to put special emphasis on our relations with the United States. Our situation is unique. The United States is a country that some of France's elites claim to detest, or at least criticize regularly and in a stereotypical way. This is rather strange for a number of reasons. The United States is a country that France has never been to war against, and there aren't so many of those...and I have no intention of apologizing for feeling an affinity with the greatest democracy in the world."

And, finally, near the end of Testimony, Sarkozy almost seems to be speaking directly to his American readers when he observes, "Democracy dies away when there is no longer any difference between the majority and the opposition, when the left and the right are no longer faithful to their values, and when no one is willing to stand and fight for the policies for which he or she was elected. This is no doubt one of the main causes of the current crisis of politics." And it explains so much of what has happened to the United States in the last two decades, a period during which the merger of our own two main political parties has moved ever nearer.

Testimony is one of the best political memoirs that I have read in the last several years. It explains much about France and one man's hopes for reviving his country, but just as importantly, the book serves as a warning to the citizens of this country that they do not want to continue to the drift toward a lifestyle and political outlook that is eerily becoming more European every day.

A great and easy read. For those Americans who have felt estranged from the French, this book by Nicolas Sarkozy will make you want to eat "French" fries and head to Paris again! Well written with very good ideas -- U.S. leaders could learn something from Sarkozy's approach!

Nicolas Sarkozy's "Testimony" offers a great deal of insight into the man who, after years of being tested in France's bureaucracy, emerges eminently prepared to lead the French to parity with other European economic powers, such as Germany. It is further refreshing to learn about the man who is intent on returning the Franco-American relationship to one of partnership rather than adversarial. Well worth the read if there is any interest in learning about the changes we can expect in France, politically, culturally, and economically.

Irony.

I initially read this to get an understanding of the many seemingly anti-Muslim-racist comments that have been quoted by the press and attributed to Sarkozy. I certainly did get a better and more favorable perspective on Sarkozy.

As a child of immigrant he has a perspective of immigrants becoming assimilated into French culture, much as many immigrants do within the confines of America, but many Muslims defy this stereotype. So Sarkozy has said statements which paint him as this one dimensional racist, yet in actuality he is just a person that lacks understanding.

I also learned more about the many benefits that Sarkozy has done for the immigrant population within Europe and France. I also learned more about the differences between European politics and American politics.

It's been a good and interesting read.