French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his once-towering popularity collapsing, acknowledged mistakes that have marred his stormy first year in office but pledged to keep shaking up France and its lumbering economy.
In a wide-ranging televised interview on Thursday, Sarkozy vaunted France’s defense of human rights worldwide — but sought to soften his threat to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics over China’s crackdown on Tibet.
Sarkozy said he would push for an EU-wide accord before deciding whether to attend the ceremony, because France will hold the rotating EU presidency during the Olympics from Aug. 8 to Aug. 24. Such an agreement would be difficult, since the 27-nation bloc is divided over how to respond to the protests in Tibet.
PHOTO: AFP
The boycott idea exacerbated anti-French sentiment in China after violent pro-Tibet protests during the Olympic torch relay in Paris, and three French envoys were sent to China this week to smooth tensions.
Sarkozy’s main goal for the interview was to defend his presidency at home, amid mounting criticism from both those who say his promised reforms have been weak and those who fear he is dismantling the social protections many French hold dear.
“Without doubt, we didn’t explain enough. Without doubt, I myself made some mistakes,” he said.
France “is in a bad mood, you have to take it into account,” he said.
He announced no major new measures, but remained combative.
“Let there be disappointment,” he said, adding the real test will come at the end of his five-year mandate.
Asked if France had changed since he took over, he said, “not enough.”
“For years government has been prioritizing” reforms, he said. “When they’re courageous, they make one. ... I have made 55.”
Observers say the scope of reforms to labor protections, schools and health care in what the IMF ranks the world’s sixth-largest economy hinges on Sarkozy’s will to push them through — and his ability to convince the French of their importance.
Sarkozy blamed French voters’ economic woes on outside forces, noting that the euro has been “at an extraordinary level” since his election compared with the weakening US dollar. He noted that oil prices have doubled since his election last May.
Sarkozy said that growth targets of 1.9 percent for the French economy this year are “perfectly attainable” despite the global economic downturn. The government recently lowered its growth target for this year to between 1.7 percent and 2 percent and estimated that the deficit this year will be larger than expected.
Sarkozy remained firm in his commitment to increasing the French presence in Afghanistan. He also said he “would not give in” in his push to free French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt, held by Colombia’s FARC rebel group for more than six years.
The opposition Socialists were unimpressed with his performance on Thursday, calling him “cynical” and “evasive.”
It has been only a year since Sarkozy was elected on May 6, 2007, and he noted repeatedly in Thursday’s interview that he has four more to go to build a legacy.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
‘BODIES EVERYWHERE’: The incident occurred at a Filipino festival celebrating an anti-colonial leader, with the driver described as a ‘lone suspect’ known to police Canadian police arrested a man on Saturday after a car plowed into a street party in the western Canadian city of Vancouver, killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8pm in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada’s election. A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police wrote on X. The driver was a “lone suspect” known to police, a police spokesperson told journalists at the
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a new naval destroyer, claiming it as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, state media said yesterday. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim attended the launching ceremony for the 5,000-tonne warship on Friday at the western port of Nampo. Kim framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the US and its allies in Asia, who have been expanding joint military exercises amid rising tensions over the North’s nuclear program. He added that the acquisition
RSS