French Presidential Elections: Nicolas Sarkozy Against Foreign Voting and Gay Marriage

Although he has not yet formally declared his candidacy for the presidency, the current French head of state has announced his intentions, which are clearly right-wing, if elected for a second term. Indeed, he has declared himself against gay marriage and the adoption of a child by a homosexual couple. He also opposes voting rights for foreigners (in local elections) and legalized euthanasia.

Dans une interview accordée au Figaro Magazine, Sarkozy explique, notamment, son refus d’accorder le droit de vote aux étrangers – une proposition prônée par le candidat socialiste François Hollande – en affirmant que « ce n’est pas vraiment le moment, avec tous les risques de montée du communautarisme ». Quant à son opposition au mariage et à l’adoption homosexuels, « cette situation risquerait de nous entraîner vers des débordements dangereux » a-t-il souligné.

Reform projects

Sur la question de l’immigration, Nicolas Sarkozy envisage une réforme de la Constitution en proposant de confier à la seule justice administrative les litiges concernant le séjour des immigrés.

He is also considering a reform concerning the regulation of the rights of the unemployed, which would however require a referendum. According to him, "Any unemployed person, without any serious prospect of returning to work, will have to choose a qualifying training course. (...) At the end of this training, which will be compulsory, the unemployed person will be required to accept the first job offer corresponding to the profession for which they have been newly trained," the president specified.