Sarkozy comes out swinging
...and he's attacking the French/European Left!
Last month I wrote about the former lefty French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut and his surprisingly frank comments pertaining to the French riots. This comes as no surprise, of course, but Finkielkraut has been on the ropes ever since his controversial statements were made public, and, by some accounts, has practically become a recluse of late.
This weekend, however, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy came to the rescue, uttering some surprisingly frank comments of his own.
"Monsieur Finkielkraut is an intellectual who brings honor and pride to French wisdom ... If there is so much criticism of him, it might be because he says things that are correct."
Wow. That took balls for a high-ranking government official to say. But wait, there's more.
"What do you want of him?" he asked the media representatives. "M. Finkielkraut does not consider himself obliged to follow the monolithic thinking of many intellectuals, which led to Le Pen winning 24 percent in the elections. The philosophers who frequent the salons and live between Cafe de Flor and Boulevard St. Germain suddenly find that France no longer bears a resemblance to them."
Sarkozy must have imported that can of whup-ass from Texas.
This is an unprecedented attack on the left wing by the very person who is seen by many French as being the only one capable of preventing the disintegration of the republic. The cafes and bistros of Boulevard St. Germain and the narrow alleyways of St. Germain-des-Pres were traditionally frequented by members of the left, led by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, who would take their morning coffee and read the newspapers there. When the socialists came to power under Francois Mitterand in 1981, the celebrations there were legendary. But of late, the area has lost some of its left-wing color.
Well, somebody had to do it. France (along with much of western Europe) has serious problems which many of its leaders are reluctant to face head-on. If mainstream political leaders don't address these very real concerns, then rest assured someone like Le Pen will. I'm glad that Sarkozy, at least, understands that.