Supporters of France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy demanded that his main opponent in his re-election battle apologise Wednesday after he reportedly insulted him at a lunch for political journalists. Socialist flag-bearer Francois Hollande, who will face Sarkozy in April’s election, allegedly called the president a “sale mec” — literally a “dirty guy” and roughly equivalent in force to a term like “nasty piece of work”.
Tuesday’s lunch was supposedly an off-the-record briefing for reporters, including one from AFP, but Hollande’s taunt was partially revealed in the daily Le Parisien, drawing outrage from the right. Le Parisien reported the term as an insult, but other journalists at the lunch interpreted the phrase as part of an imagined dialogue in which Sarkozy described himself in unflattering terms in order to appear tough. Imagining himself in the mind of Sarkozy, Hollande said:
“I’m the president of failure, a nasty piece of work, but in this difficult period I’m the only one capable of handling things. I alone have the bravery.
“He’s going to present himself as Captain Courageous, courting unpopularity. He’s a weak candidate because if that’s how he’s beginning his campaign it’s unimpressive. France deserves better,” he continued. Several of Sarkozy’s ministers and supporters in parliament denounced the insult. Valerie Rosso-Debord of Sarkozy’s UMP party said:
“Frankly, it’s a red card offence. You do not insult the president of the republic.” Interior Minister Claude Gueant branded Hollande’s attack “unacceptable” and several other ministers demanded a public apology from the opposition leader.
Sarkozy is reportedly privately very caustic about Hollande, and his career has also been marked by several insulting outbursts. In February 2008 he was caught on camera telling a member of the public who refused to shake his hand at the Paris agricultural show: “Get lost, you stupid bastard.” Responding to the criticism, Hollande’s spokesman recalled this episode.
“Honestly, if Francois Hollande had said to Nicolas Sarkozy ‘Get lost, you stupid bastard,” he would have had reason to complain,” Bernard Cazeneuve said. “But that’s not the kind of thing Francois Hollande says and Francois Hollande will not be the president of ‘get lost, you stupid bastard’. “This story is false. Francois Hollande is not in the habit of launching insults. He campaigns on the issues,” he continued.
