Understanding France: Ségolène Royal – Nicolas Sarkozy + Niger has ejected French diplomats

Hi everyone, and welcome to this regular column: ‘Understanding France’ – a weekly snapshot of the big stories in France.

This column is a new collaboration between my publication, The French Dispatch, and Judy’s MyFrenchLife.org Magazine as she publishes on a wide array of subjects helping readers understand and experience France beyond the cliché.

Weekly, via this column, you’ll not only receive a taste of major events in French and European politics but also receive the opportunity to get a deeper understanding of each of these topics over on The French Dispatch should you wish to do so.

Ségolène Royal in 2007 (Photo by Guillaume Paumier)

This Week’s Dispatch:

• Ségolène Royal announced her leadership bid for a “united left”
• Nicolas Sarkozy is being sent back to criminal court for illegal financing and corruption, and;
• Niger has ejected the diplomats of France, as well as other Western and African diplomats

Ségolène Royal

Ségolène Royal appears to be working in concert with the far-left firebrand, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, in order to further entrench the recalibration of the left-wing in France and to further move power away from the center-left. Having recently seen her reputation take a beating due to an anti-COVID vaccination campaign, as well as her repeated attempts to maintain political relevance through a series of poor appearances, she now seems to want to take a leadership position for the upcoming European elections in 2024.

Nicolas Sarkozy

Turning to the right, Nicolas Sarkozy finds himself being sent to court yet again for the corruption scandal related to his 2007 Presidential Election Campaign, with the accusation that he collaborated with former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s government to illegally finance his campaign, and he appears to be dragging several prominent politicians with him.

The geopolitical situation in Niger

Finally, the geopolitical situation in Niger continues to spiral out of control, with the Nigerian government demanding that the Ambassadors of France, Germany, Nigeria, the United States of America, and the Ivory Coast leave the country within 48 hours. However, there now appears to be some panicking amongst the Junta, which seems to be rowing back some of these demands while trying to get itself out of a tight bind by focusing the ire of its supporters on the French state.

That’s all for this week.

Will you be following the new ‘Understanding France’ column with Julien Hoez?  Please leave your feedback and questions or comments below for Julien or me, Judy.