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Reluctant praise mixed with genuine admiration for Zorro-Sarko |
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Monday, 12 November 2007 |
Nicolas Sarkozy has left the French media “gasping for breath" as Socialist Jean-Louis Bianco put it censoriously, by personally fetching three journalists and four Spanish aircrew imprisoned in Chad since October 25, caught up in the Arche de Zoë affair. According to Bianco the President of France should not feel obliged to go dashing around the world rescuing journalists and aircrew from Chadian jails. The grumpy French media have been obliged to express unanimous if reluctant approval for the personal intervention of the Head of State.
Even 'Libération', which always has plausible reasons for disapproving of anything Sarkozy does or says, expressed satisfaction (welcome aboard "Air Sarko"). They made up for a favourable editorial by a background feature on President Déby of Chad as a master tactician, a veritable African Bismarck, who had manœuvered the French President into his dramatic dash to N’Djamena.
The Communist organ 'L’Humanité' likewise felt obliged to admit that the release of the journalists and aircrew was a good thing but qualified this by saying that the President had been obliged to make up for the “calamitous” attitude of the French government. He was, said 'L'Huma', “less keen to negotiate with employees who will be striking in the next few weeks”. Expect transport strikes all over the country from November 13 on with a mass mobilisation of transport workers and other employees disgruntled by the recent and upcoming reforms.
Bizarrely, 'Nice-Matin' sarcastically regretted that “a French citizen was not imprisoned in Burma and then a few monks might have lived a few years longer”. Similarly 'Sud-Ouest' joked about the President’s pay rise, “working more to earn more and doing it on a Sunday!” Not surprisingly the conservative 'Figaro' was less constrained, describing “a welcome diplomatic success for the Head of State”. Charles Bremner of 'The Times' unconvincingly suggested that the French President had been forced to go to Chad to eat humble pie. Humble pie is not really a Sarkozien dish. Perhaps the most sensible remark came from Hervé Chalbier from the news agency Capa, one of whose journalists was released, “I could not care less who did what, what matters is that the journalists are out!”
Robert Morcom-Harneis
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