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The Presidential Election of 2007

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Political Leadership in France

Part of the book series: French Politics, Society and Culture Series ((FPSC))

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Abstract

In this chapter, we shall concentrate our analysis on Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, and look in particular at how they used the opportunities provided by the Fifth Republic’s institutions and culture, its ‘settlement’; and how these created the conditions of their leadership ‘performance’. We need also to bear in mind the gender factor, for Royal’s presence: the first major female contender for the presidency throws into relief in a startling way many of the unspoken, implicit characteristics of the presidential settlement.1 In the case of Royal, because her gender and the mediation of ‘the feminine’ in her candidacy, both by the media and by her, was central to her campaign, we shall concentrate upon this aspect. Sarkozy dramatically downplayed her gender (her opponents in the PS strategically should have followed this example). As a woman she raises different and often new aspects to analysis. We therefore need to be aware of not only her role as a woman in politics, but also the representation of her as a female ‘character’ and feminine persona in the political realm, and the wider political and cultural responses to gender.

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Notes

  1. There is a growing literature in this area, see, inter alia, A. Phillips (1991) Engendering Democracy (Cambridge: Polity)

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  6. See C. Amar and D. Hassoux (2005) Ségolène et François: Biographie d’un couple (Paris: Prive), pp.41–82

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  19. According to Malouines and Meeus, she showed ‘la même quiétude inébranlable que les madones de Raphaël’, M.-E. Malouines and C. Meeus (2006) La Madone et le culbuto (Paris: Fayard), p.9.

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  20. A quite astonishing — and compelling — ‘mythological’ and psychosexual treatment of her and her place in French political culture is M. Lambron (2006) Mignonne, allons voir (Paris: Grasset).

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  24. This lyrical and emotional dimension to Royal’s rhetoric would increase even further after she gained the party’s presidential nomination. Some of Royal’s language and style is very surprising. The emphasis in all her speeches upon herself — what she (‘je’) sees, wants, desires — is overwhelming, as is the religious, mystical, and rhetorical interrelationship between ‘je’ and ‘vous’. It is also clear that at her, by PS standards, vast meetings, the audiences adored her. She also characterized herself as needing ‘your’ help, and as an individual — often as a female victim — who had calumny heaped on her but did not care, who was attacked but would go on, etc (e.g. her New Year’s Wishes on her website, January 2007). The sentimentality of some of her more lyrical utterances were on the borderline between emotional and comic, e.g. Villepente 12 February 2007: ‘J’ai entendu vos appels, vos craintes, vos détresses, vos révoltes, mais aussi vos attentes, vos désirs et vos espérances’; ‘Avec moi, plus jamais la politique ne se fera sans vous’ (said twice in a row); ‘Et moi, je ne peux pas, je ne peux pas ne pas m’associer à ce cri, le relayer, lui prêter ma voix et ma volonté’. For those who liked this kind of thing — and many of the Désirs d’avenir followers were ‘her’ people, rather than the party’s, and often new to politics, and desiring of political change — her style was enormously appreciated. For some even more lyrical examples (although we have to point out, no sources are given), see R. Bacqué and A. Chemin (2007) La femme fatale (Paris: Albin Michel), pp.57–60.

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  27. M. Lambron (2006) Mignonne, allons voir (Paris: Grasset), p.11.

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  28. It is Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s contention that Hollande and Royal had plotted her candidacy for years; see J.-L. Mélenchon (2007) En quête de gauche (Paris: Balland), pp.109–178

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  29. E.g. on Radio 15 April 2007, see R. Bacqué and A. Chemin (2007) La femme fatale (Paris: Albin Michel), p.49.

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  31. R. Bacqué and A. Chemin (2007) La femme fatale (Paris: Albin Michel), pp.146–148.

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  32. R. Bacqué and A. Chemin (2007) La femme fatale (Paris: Albin Michel), p.9.

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  33. C. Courcol and T. Masure (2007) Ségolène Royal, les coulisses d’une défaite (Paris: L’Archipel), p.249.

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  49. For one of his books, on Georges Mandel, he was accused of plagiarism, see V. Noir (2005) Nicolas Sarkozy ou le destin de Brutus (Paris: Denoël), pp.194–204.

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  50. V. Noir (2005) Nicolas Sarkozy ou le destin de Brutus (Paris: Denoël), p.184.

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  52. Nb: Noir’s remark: ‘L’ancien maire de Neuilly a placé les journalistes au centre de sa stratégie de conquete du pouvoir’, V. Noir (2005) Nicolas Sarkozy ou le destin de Brutus (Paris: Denoël), p.81.

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  53. There was even a thinly disguised novel published by Valérie Domain (2006) Entre le coeur et la raison (Paris: Fayard).

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  54. See J.-P. Friedman (2005) Dans la peau de Sarko (Paris: Éditions Michalon), p.48.

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  55. For some over the top references to Royal as a near-magical female see G. Ottenheimer (2007) Le sacre de Nicolas (Paris: Seuil), pp.31–35

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  56. M. Lambron (2006) Mignonne, allons voir. (Paris: Grasset)

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  57. G. Ottenheimer (2007) Le sacre de Nicolas (Paris: Seuil), p.81.

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  58. G. Ottenheimer (2007) Le sacre de Nicolas (Paris: Seuil), p.138.

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  59. See C. Courcol and T. Masure (2007) Ségolène Royal, les coulisses d’une défaite (Paris: L’Archipel), pp.187–188.

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  60. G. Ottenheimer (2007) Le sacre de Nicolas (Paris: Seuil), p.239.

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  61. See articles by G. Grunberg, P. Perrineau, F. Matonti and W. Miles on the 2007 presidential elections, French Politics, Culture and Society, 25, 3, Winter 2007, pp.62–122.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aston University, Birmingham, UK

    John Gaffney (Professor of Politics)

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  1. John Gaffney
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© 2010 John Gaffney

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Gaffney, J. (2010). The Presidential Election of 2007. In: Political Leadership in France. French Politics, Society and Culture Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230274785_9

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