l’étranger

France’s crisis du jour. Magistrates are shocked because their efforts were questioned by the Minister of the Interior, God forbid!

Last week, France’s Minister of Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, suggested that some magistrates might have been a bit on the lenient side, especially mentioning the Youth Court Center of Bobigny. The judicature stood up and requested Mr. Sarkozy to back off, eventually calling on France’s president Jacques Chirac.

It is granted that France obeys the doctrine of the separation of powers. But has Nicolas Sarkozy really crossed the line by bringing up something that most people would agree with?

On one hand, reading the French press religiously (from either side of the political spectrum) unambiguously shows that the population wants a “new deal” and calls for a drastic change. But the CPE episode proved once again that changing anything in France is a tough task: Instead of ‘68-like demonstrations where the goal was to actually change things, 2006 anti-CPE ones were all about “keeping everything the way it is”.

Which brings us to the other side of the argument: Do French really want anything to change at all? Maybe always asking for change is just a trait. The grass is always greener on the other side so one has to be realistic when requesting changes. Higher salaries don’t go hand in hand with job security, productivity is not a direct consequence of less working hours.
This is leading us astray.

Was such a professional outcry necessary? Nicolas Sarkozy did not stigmatize magistrates even though they claim so. In a country where petty crime has grown exponentially, I don’t find it that awkward for a Minister to express such feelings. Mr. Sarkozy’s flamboyant personality has put him in the spotlight these past years and that probably is the main reason for the backlash. The dust will settle down soon.