Encountered on the streets, Anna, Bertrand, Nicole, or Frédéric, whether young or older from Nice, voted for Nicolas Sarkozy for various reasons. Whether happy or disappointed, they all agree on one thing: they do not understand the “lynching” by the media.
“When Marianne headlines with ‘Damn, 4 years…’, I don’t understand. It’s really disproportionate!” exclaims Anna. This 21-year-old student gave her vote to Nicolas Sarkozy, but not her blind allegiance: “It’s not about worshipping an idol one day, then insulting him the next. He is the president of the republic, and we have given him 5 years to succeed. It’s his turn to play, but he can’t revolutionize everything with a magic wand. I trust, I’m waiting until the end of the term!” Anna would have liked to vote for Dominique Strauss-Kahn. She wanted “anything but Ségolène” and doesn’t regret her vote. The infamous “Get lost, poor jerk!” made her smile. She didn’t expect much from Nicolas Sarkozy, except that he would strive hard, “And that’s what he’s doing, with some courage!” What does Anna hope? “That Nicolas Sarkozy doesn’t lose confidence: he was elected for his projects, he must continue to realize them.”
What happened when he was in the voting booth is not our business, Bertrand doesn’t really want to elaborate on the subject. However, he ends up confessing that he is not very proud of having voted “Sarkozy-passionately”. He liked the character over the campaign. “Back then”, he even felt like becoming an activist. “Sarko was the man for the job! He seemed upright and competent. We thought everything was going to change.” Grumpy, Bertrand is angry at his president. A retired resident of Nice, he has always voted right and does not plan to change. In the municipal elections, he cast a UMP ballot, just for the sake of form. He is part of the disappointed ones who still don’t always understand the new political generation, the one that opens government doors to the opposition and flaunts their remarriages in glossy magazines.
A more transparent, more open policy, that’s what Nicole, 40 years old, liked. But the president has made a lot of communication errors that she finds unacceptable. In the camp of the disappointed, Nicole regrets her vote: “I chose Nicolas Sarkozy by elimination. I already found him unlikable a year ago, but I thought we were not voting for a person but for a program. There are many things I hoped for and he hasn’t started to implement yet.” The ostentation bothers Nicole. Behind her cash register, she apologizes for appearing jealous when she admits that she still hasn’t digested the president’s salary increase: “I expect Nicolas Sarkozy to reduce inequalities. If life improves during his term, I will be happy, for now, I am very disappointed.” Nicole waits, chafes at the bit, and still hopes.
“Nicolas Sarkozy has the merit of lifting taboos, of tackling issues that no one had dared to touch. His reforms are heading in the right direction. But when you decide to change a country, there are necessarily lots of unpopular things. It’s normal for everyone to criticize him.” The speech is nothing new, it’s what the Elysée and government members persistently repeat. But for Frédéric, the words ring true. This 27-year-old UMP activist trusts: “the results will come! I didn’t vote for Superman; I give him the right to make mistakes and time. Happy birthday Nicolas!”
