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ince 1958 only Giscard d’Estaing has failed to win a second term, apart from Georges Pompidou who he died in office. Sarkozy, whose popularity slumped while he was in office, staged a determined comeback campaign, reducing Hollande’s lead over him in the polls. But he lost when it counted – on polling day.
It started so well for Sarkozy. He was elected with 53.06 per cent of the votes. Much of the media supported his promise to “modernise” France’s economy and institutions and the message had gone down will with much of the public. His bid for far-right votes paid off well in 2007, too, with the Front National’s Jean-Marie Le Pen receiving just 10.44 per cent in the first round.
Sarkozy could also boast that he hadn’t backed down faced with trade union and left-wing opposition to some of his favourite projects, most notably raising the retirement age.
So what went wrong?