Nicolas Sarkozy (b. 1955)

Talk to Nicolas Sarkozy

Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI

Biography

Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa is a French former politician and convicted criminal who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.

In Their Own Words (5)

We live in a world where people don't all have the same scruples, where all blows can be given, and where, in order to down somebody, all means can be used. Nothing will lead me astray from the path that I have chosen.

Le Monde, 2005 , 2005

If you come to France and you wear a veil, if you go to one of the administrative buildings, then that's not acceptable. If you don't want your wife to be examined by a male doctor, then you're not welcome here. France is a country that's open.

Interview with Charlie Rose, televised 31 January 2007 , 2007

The Islamization of Europe is inevitable.

Conversation with Philippe de Villiers, quoted in The Brussels Journal (6 June 2009) , 2009

I understand that people might be poor if they don't have any work, but I don't accept that someone is poor if they've worked really hard.

Interview with Charlie Rose, televised 31 January 2007 , 2007

To be a young Gaullist is to be a revolutionary!

National meeting of UDR in Nice, June 1975 , 1975

Timeline

The story of Nicolas Sarkozy, told in moments.

1983 Event

Elected mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine at 28. He held the post for nearly 20 years. During a 1993 hostage crisis at a nursery school, he personally negotiated with the captor.

Was being mayor at 28 the start of everything? Did personally negotiating during the nursery hostage crisis define your style? Was 20 years in one post patience or preparation?

2007 Event

Won the French presidential election with 53% of the vote. He ran on a platform of economic reform and tougher immigration policies.

Was 53% of the vote the mandate you needed? Did economic reform and tougher immigration feel like the right combination? Was the presidency what you expected?

2012 Life

Lost re-election to Francois Hollande. Became the first incumbent French president to lose since Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1981.

Was losing to Hollande humiliating? Did being the first incumbent to lose since 1981 sting? Was the defeat personal or political?

2021 Event

Convicted of corruption and influence peddling, sentenced to three years with two suspended. The first former French president convicted of a crime.

Was being the first former French president convicted a shock? Does a three-year sentence with two suspended feel proportionate? What does corruption mean when you once held the highest office?