A year has passed since Nicolas Sarkozy announced his return to frontline politics, and the political landscape in France is still recovering from the shock. His rivals for the leadership of the French right have watched while their cordially disliked ex-leader consistently outmanoeuvred them. They had made the mistake of believing in the sincerity of Sarko’s farewell speech in May 2012 when, following his defeat in the presidential election by François Hollande, he said: ‘From now on I will seek to serve my country in other spheres.’
Delighted by his departure, his colleagues seized the opportunity to reform the UMP, a coalition of the Gaullist and the anti-Gaullist right devised to ensure that Jean-Marie Le Pen, then leader of the Front National, never came to power. Two ex-prime ministers, Alain Juppé and François Fillon, rewrote the party’s constitution and instituted an American-style primary election to be held in November 2016, six months before the end of President Hollande’s term.
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