Sarkozy interview broadcast tonight

A recorded interview plus footage giving a portrait of the president, replaces the usual Bastille Day live interview

PRESIDENT Sarkozy has opted for a recorded interview to be broadcast tonight rather than the traditional live one from the Elysée on July 14.

The president gave a half-hour interview to France 5, which will be shown this evening – the night before the fête nationale. The programme will see Sarkozy reflecting on his first two years and his international priorities, such as the situation in the Middle East. There will also be clips of events like the commemoration of the Normandy Landings with Barack Obama or his trip to Abu Dhabi last year.

Also as part of this evening’s programme, foreign leaders including Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Angela Merkel, will be shown making comments about the president along with some of his close colleagues and advisors. Merkel comments that she thinks he does things a “bit too fast.”

Sarkozy refers to his Mediterranean Union scheme, saying his aims include making the Mediterranean the world’s cleanest sea and putting in place a common security project to “eradicate terrorism.”

The programme will last an hour and is being presented as part of a series of programmes called A Visage Découvert (With Face Uncovered).

Photo: Medef