Nicolas Sarkozy and the Legacy of Bonapartism. The French Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of 2007

Abstract

The victory of Nicolas Sarkozy and his party in the elections of 2007 is best explained by reference to the notion of Bonapartism, which has a long history in French politics. Sarkozy's authoritarian populism, with its right- and far-right-leaning ideology and programme, nevertheless has eclectic references, which helped undermine other candidates and parties. In particular, the National Front was greatly weakened by Sarkozy, as he carefully incorporated into his campaign language and views which would appeal to FN voters. The Socialists, meanwhile, were fraught with divisions and despite Ségolène Royal emerging from the elections with a respectable result and the PS overall with an increased number of seats in the Assemblée nationale, they were well short of victory. This will produce further self-analysis for the PS and questions as to how to re-invent the party as a more credible governmental force. The elections were disappointing for the far left, particularly after the strong results in 2002, but voters were more cautious in 2007, keen to avoid the near-farce of the 2002 presidential second round.

Notes

[1] I would like to thank both James Shields and an anonymous reader for some very helpful and detailed comments on an earlier draft of this article.

[2] Losurdo (1993) argues that in the late twentieth century there emerged what he describes as ‘soft’ Bonapartist political leaders who come to power in order to pursue a neo-liberal economic agenda and claim legitimacy based on fairly flimsy democratic bases.

[3] Eric Dupin (2007) argues, largely by contrast with myself, that Sarkozy represents a synthesis of Bonapartism, Orleanism and the counter-revolutionary right.