An unprecedented political best seller, Testimony sets out rising political star Nicolas Sarkozy's vision for France. This very untypical French politician takes Gaullist traditionalism and turns it on its head by pointing out that de Gaulle, who changed the entire French political landscape, was anything but a traditionalist.
A notably dynamic minister under President Chirac, Sarkozy is no stranger to controversy. He sets out "what I tried to do, what I want to do in the future and what can be done". Of great relevance to those who wrestle with the worldwide problem of gridlock in western style democracies, he sets out how to get things moving. Spin is rejected in favour of persuasion and clarity of explanation. The media are accepted as inevitable and essential partners. The people must be involved.
There is a wide ranging examination of all the problems facing France: immigration, integration, employment, globalisation, law and order, education, Europe and international relations. There is also a clear expose of the weaknesses of the Fifth Republic and the changes that are necessary. The book is a bench mark of French political debate for the elections in 2007 and a guide for anyone interested where France is heading at a turning point in its history.
It is also an intensely human book that is part biography, scattered with astute and sometimes entertaining comments about political contemporaries, not least Jacques Chirac, by one who whatever his future has already indelibly marked the politics of his country.
Chapter one
April 21st 2002, a maelstrom
The Ministry of the Interior - a ministry facing reality
Good decisions come from the field
The responsibility to convince
A results based culture
Effective diplomacy
Taking the time to think
Total commitment
C.
Chapter two
Power still exists
Lowering prices - an example of action that was possible and fair
Drawing inspiration from the success of others
Doing things differently with Europe
Our world is not condemned to disappear: the Alstom example
The role of ministers
Looking to the long term
Chapter three
The crisis in the inner city suburbs
Semantics
A sterile democratic debate
It is the duty of society to protect its own
Popular is not populist
Ideas caricatured
ZEPs, recognizing the inadequacies, proposing other solutions
Chapter four
The best social model - the one that gives a job to everyone
The need for self examination
Success and initiative discouraged
The middle classes abandoned
Work devalued
A choice: work less or earn more
Chapter five
Clearstream
Responsibility and balance in running the state
The President and the Prime Minister
The question of the Reserved Powers
The public debate of defence policy
The powers of appointment and pardon
Making Parliament a real counterweight
Changing the organisation of government
Not passing our shortcomings on to future generations
The President of the Republic and criminal responsibility
Making sure the system of justice deserves respect
Proud of our history
Chapter six
A society ahead of its politicians
The inevitable failure of the CPE
Abolishing the 'double peine'
Action in a complex society
The divisions shift
Three lives in one
The rhythm of reform
Diversity reinforces unity
...and Jacques Chirac
Chapter seven
Breaking with the things that weaken us
Breaking with lies
Public servants - agents of change
Accepting controlled free trade
Breaking with a France that lags behind
Knowledge is power
Reconciling school with social progress
Breaking away from rigid ideas
Rethinking our international message
The African priority
... and the Americans
Realpolitik and the rights of man
The Arab world
The great international debates
The necessary debate on globalisation
Gaullism today
Conclusion
Authenticity
Building
Appendices
Some dates - Nicolas Sarkozy
Presidential elections and the French Constitution
Election of President of the Republic
Prime Minister and the government
Election campaign
The electoral calendar 2007
Other books by Nicolas Sarkozy
Georges Mandel, Le Moine de la Republique [Editions Grasset, 1994]
Au bout de la passion, l'equilibre - Entretien avec Michel Denisot [Edition Albin Michel 1995]
Libre [Editions XO/ Robert Laffont, 2001]
La Republique, les Religions, l'Esperance [Cerf, 2004]
About Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the President of France.
He was born in 1955 in Paris where he was brought up. He has risen through the ranks of his party and unlike most of his fellow politicians is not a graduate of the elite Ecole nationale de l'administration. He has had a successful career as a lawyer and successively became mayor, Deputy and President of the Conseil-General in the Department of the Hauts de Seine. He first became a minister in 1993.
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