100 Days of Sarkozy

According to a recent opinion poll, 61 percent of the French population rate Nicolas Sarkozy's performance as either "very" or "fairly" good. The survey was conducted by the Ipsos Institute which surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 French adults.

The results were published on Thursday (23.8) in the weekly magazine Le Point and represent a fall of five percent in the new president's popularity rating since the last poll was conducted in July. The percentage of those dissatisfied with his performance rose from 25 to 39 percent.

"Are those voters who expected a clearer break with his predecessor Chirac now becoming impatient?" Le Point asked.

The Thursday edition of the Paris daily Le Parisien remarked that Sarkozy "has entered his first spell of turbulence" due to a darkening economic outlook that could slow down planned reforms. But Le Parisien also pointed out that, according to the Ipsos poll, at the 100-day mark, Sarkozy has the best popularity rating since legendary French leader Charles de Gaulle.

Something to say about everything

The new French president has made domestic politics a main focus. This was demonstrated again this week following the rape of a five year-old boy by a convicted pedophile who had been released before the end of his jail term. Sarkozy spoke in favor of so-called "chemical castration" and pledged to introduce tougher penalties for repeat offenders. This comes just two weeks after the introduction of the current laws.

This is a perfect illustration of Sarkozy's style, said Wolfgang Neumann of the German-French Institute (DFI). "He's very dynamic and always forging ahead. One of his main characteristics is his speed. He has something to say about every aspect of domestic and foreign policy being debated and usually comes up with proposals for new legislation."

This dynamism could well be a reason for Sarkozy's present popularity. This summer he's pushed a number of reforms through parliament. According to Neumann, the most important is university reform which would give higher-education institutions greater autonomy.

"There's also a reform of labor-market law which includes what amounts to the abolition of the 35-hour working week in France," he said.

A sheaf of further laws are waiting for approval, primarily concerning immigration and including restrictions on family reunification. Immigration was an explosive topic in the election campaign, even causing unrest in several suburbs. There are fears that this could be re-ignited as a result of the new laws. However, Neumann believes there will be widespread approval of the new legislation among the French electorate in general.

Is the honeymoon over?

Sarkozy could well find he has a tougher time now he's notched up his first 100 days. Figures released this month show economic growth for the second quarter failing to meet expectations, casting doubt over whether the government can meet its target of 2.25-percent growth for the year.

Also on the agenda are measures to reduce health care costs and the labor-market reform.

"These are all big changes for which there is bound to be opposition within French society," Neumann predicted.

With his penchant for getting involved in every area of politics, Sarkozy is, in fact, overstepping the boundaries of his mandate. "If you look at French politics, there is practically no longer a government in the autonomous sense," says Neumann. "The president has always had a prominent role but in the past has not played such an active role in day-to-day politics."

Sarkozy is strengthened by the absence of any real political opposition. The only force of any significance, the Socialist Party, is internally divided, and several party leaders have even been brought into the Sarkozy government, weakening the center-left party.

Reorientation of foreign policy

When looking at foreign policy under Sarkozy, the most obvious changes are France's changed stance towards the conflict in Iraq and towards the US.

"The fact that Sarkozy spent his summer vacation in the US, with all the accompanying media attention, is more than symbolic," said Neumann. "It's a clear indication that French foreign policy towards the US will change significantly from the Chirac era and we can expect to see relations warming."