The former head of state “wishes” that the Minister of the Interior accedes to the Elysée, he writes in his latest book, four years before the presidential election.
This is a book that could not have come at a better time for Gérald Darmanin. The time of battlessigned by Nicolas Sarkozy, will be released in bookstores on August 22 (Fayard editions), five days before the return to politics organized by the Minister of the Interior in his stronghold of Tourcoing (North).
>> From Darmanin to the Republicans, Nicolas Sarkozy delivers his truths on French politics in his new book
Throughout the pages, certain passages, which franceinfo was able to obtain, are very flattering for the tenant of Place Beauvau, dubbed by the former president. “Will he be able to take another step, even the final step, the one that leads to the presidency of the Republic? I wish him that”writes the former head of state, who finds him “Obvious qualities: clarity in the expression, meaning and understanding of popular aspirations and the energy without which no talent is useful”. A support which is explained by the emotional and ideological links between the two right-wing men, but which is not devoid of political ulterior motives.
Because they are friends
“I have a lot of gratitude for him, because he accompanied me at a time when things were more complicated for me”, writes Nicolas Sarkozy in the continuation of his memories of president. It must be said that the two men have known each other well and for a long time. At 30, Gérald Darmanin is hired in a ministerial cabinet under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy. Then, he became its spokesperson in 2014, in the race for the presidency of the UMP (renamed Les Républicains in 2015). A role he took on again in 2016 during the right-wing primary.
The native of Paris and that of Valenciennes (North) do not miss an opportunity to display their proximity. In July 2020, questioned on TF1 about the accusation of rape against Gérald Darmanin, Nicolas Sarkozy assures that “Gérald is a friend (…) I was able to count on his loyalty and his solidity. I am a loyal person, he can count on my friendship”. Five months later, in December 2020, while the former president is on trial in the wiretapping trial, the Minister of the Interior tells franceinfo to bring him “his personal support”. “Nicolas Sarkozy knows Gérald Darmanin well, he knows that he has the strengths and the abilities to assume high responsibilities, both in times of storms and fighting”boasts Franck Louvrier, LR mayor of La Baule, where the former president will come to sign his book on the day of its release.
Because Gérald Darmanin follows in Sarkozy’s footsteps
Qualities all the more appreciated that the youngest cultivates comparison with his elder, by multiplying the movements and the statements shock. “He is part of this Sarkozy generation and he is one of the best quadras of the right and the center”continues Franck Louvrier. This choice also seems coherent from the point of view of their career and their political program. “They have similar ministerial trajectories, in the Budget then in the Interior, and find themselves on an ideological line”recalls political scientist Olivier Rouquan. “There is at Gérald Darmanin the same desire to place the cursor very to the right, on immigration, national identity, as Nicolas Sarkozy did at the time of the UMP”continues the researcher associated with Center for Studies and Research in Administrative and Political Sciences (Cersa). “Both want to embody a popular fiber, which Gérald Darmanin tries to do, for example, when he tackles the sores-liberals” nearby Figaro.
An attempt to endorse the Sarkozyist legacy which is not unanimous. “He tries to follow in Sarkozy’s footsteps, but he has neither his charisma nor his energy”, tackles an LR frame. The comparison between the two men has its limits: the first was mayor of the wealthy commune of Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine), while the second constantly recalls his anchorage in a popular territory of the North, in Tourcoing.
Because he wants to shake up the calendar of Emmanuel Macron, but also of the right
This sentence of support for Gérald Darmanin agitates the former political family of Nicolas Sarkozy, much less enthusiastic about the other potential candidates on the right. The former president of the party Laurent Wauquiez, who also has views on 2027, is invited to “put yourself in danger by stepping out of your comfort zone”. The other LRs who, like Gérald Darmanin, left the right to enter the government, do not receive so many laurels either. The Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, is soberly hailed for “his seriousness and his ability to work”while Nicolas Sarkozy evokes “competence and joviality” by Jean Castex. “Perhaps some expressed more than others the wish to go to this destination”, understates Franck Louvrier to justify that the Minister of the Interior benefits from the preference of Nicolas Sarkozy in the race for the Elysée. This early support for Gérald Darmanin is therefore part of the method of Nicolas Sarkozy, who said as early as 2003, a year after the start of Jacques Chirac’s second term, to think of the presidential “not only” while shaving.
The book also causes turmoil within the majoritywhile Emmanuel Macron will not be able to run again in 2027. “I have the feeling that Sarkozy wants Darmanin to do to Macron what Macron did to Hollande, and what Sarkozy had done before to Chirac”worries a Renaissance executive, who sees in this support for Gérald Darmanin a way for the former right-wing president to interfere in the succession of the head of state. “He has often staged his good relationship with the president. However, this position can have effects”analyzes Olivier Rouquan.
Because he wants to stay in the political game
Is Nicolas Sarkozy’s pen also guided by his desire to remain at the center of the political game? “He never dropped the case, nor distanced himself from politics”believes our LR executive. “He wants to reunite the right-wing family, which split with Emmanuel Macron’s victory, and perhaps thinks he can play a role in linking those who left and those who stayed”. Pending a possible reconciliation, the release of this book especially allows Nicolas Sarkozy to embark on a hexagonal tour of dedications, from Tuesday.