By Prensa Latina
Paris : French people criticized President Nicolas Sarkozy’s public life and viewpoints on religion, which they described as “excesses in his functions.”
Two weeks after his wedding with singer and ex model Carla Bruni, which was broadly covered by the yellow press, 82 percent of those polled said Sarkozy’s attitude does not suit the image of a head of state.
According to an OpinionWay survey, published in the rightwing newspaper Le Figaro, the French said media coverage of the president’s romance with the Italian artist, who has resided in France for several years, is inappropriate.
Sarkozy, whose popularity has dropped to 39 percent, was harshly criticized for stating that faith is public and students should learn about the 11,000 French Jewish children killed during the Holocaust.
He was backed by the first secretary of the opposition Socialist Party, Francois Hollande, but other political leaders castigated the president, especially from laical sectors interested in keeping religion and political discourse separated.
“The president should not become a sort of preacher, as he is doing now,” Socialist Senator Jean-Luc Melenchon said.
For his part, former Presidential Candidate Francois Bayrou predicted a clash between the values of France and those of Nicolas Sarkozy. “I’m a practicing Catholic and it is offensive to see Sarkozy involved in these issues,” he noted.
“The French have the impression that Nicolas Sarkozy is taking less care of them than of his private life,” said OpinionWay Political Studies Director Bruno Jeanbart.