The 27-year-old has made it clear in recent weeks that a strategy like Trump’s, fusing a campaign focused on a no-holds-barred approach to immigration with bold rhetoric, could find a receptive audience in France given the Republican candidate’s success siphoning Black, Latino and female voters from the Democratic party.
“The Muslim vote, in particular, offers an opportunity, as this population is often more conservative and at odds with the sexual wokeism of the left,” Sarkozy wrote on a Belgian news website that had just made him its star columnist.
On Saturday, Sarkozy will enjoy something of a coming-out party. He is to be the guest of honor at the Paris Christmas party of the Jeunes Républicains, the youth wing of his father’s political party, Les Républicains. Organizers have been widely promoting his appearance.
But while Sarkozy has gained attention among the right’s young intelligentsia, he’s yet to prove to the old guard that he is a natural leader.
Behind the scenes, Sarkozy has already been building connections with key figures on the French right, including outgoing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, signaling his ambition for a future in politics, several political operators familiar with his plans told POLITICO.
He met with Retailleau last month at the interior ministry, during which he was treated to a tour of the building’s private flats where he had lived as a child when his father was interior minister, two people with knowledge of the visit said.
