Sarkozy and Villepin: A Tale of Two Classes

The two men's political feuding goes back more than a decade. In 1995, Sarkozy betrayed longtime mentor Jacques Chirac by throwing his support behind a rival conservative candidate in the presidential election. Chirac won, named Villepin, his former campaign director, as his Elysée chief of staff and banished Sarkozy to a humiliating political exile. Sarkozy's punishment finally ended in 2002 when Chirac, eager to exploit the younger man's well-known hard-line attitude on law and order, tapped him as Interior Minister. Sarkozy's efforts there and in later Cabinet posts boosted his popularity just as he was consolidating his control of the conservative Union for a Popular Majority (UMP) ahead of the 2007 presidential race. Chirac, however, remained furious over Sarkozy's earlier disloyalty and backed Villepin as the next President. It was in that atmosphere of antagonistic maneuvering that the Clearstream scandal erupted.

Dueling Political Castes
The current brawl is more than a personal feud. It pits the older, cosseted caste of statesmen and dignitaries against a younger, feistier generation more driven by election victories and policy results than diplomas and refinement. The split is perfectly personified in Sarkozy and Villepin. Born and raised abroad to a diplomat father and a judicial official mother, Villepin attended the élite schools that produce France's top civil servants. True to his family's aristocratic roots, the suave, permatanned Villepin is famous for writing poetry and studies of Napoleon. Despite winning praise as Foreign Affairs and then Interior Minister, when he was Prime Minister Villepin's arrogance turned off both politicians and the public. (Read: "The 100-Day Benchmark: It All Started with Napoleon.")

His rival, by contrast, is the son of an immigrant father who abandoned his family. A mediocre student who earned a law degree and built a successful legal practice through sheer determination, Sarkozy was, until recently at least, defiantly proud of his lowbrow tastes and crude manner. It connects him with ordinary people, he says, and gets things done. (Still, Sarkozy's not above accusations that he exploits his power to help friends and family. Critics say Sarkozy is moving to install his 23-year-old son Jean as president of the authority overseeing the massive La Défense finance and business center west of Paris.)

France's class divisions have little to do with a split between the political right and left. The differences and animosities between the old and the new can be found across the spectrum. "Some follow the tradition of élitist French politicians and leaders like Villepin, who honor philosophy, literature and oratorical skill, and regard intellectual performance as the primary political tool," says Rozès. "Others, like Sarkozy, are distrustful of that cliquish, insider atmosphere, and define and construct themselves by action, pragmatism, doing things." (See pictures of Paris expanding.)

During Sarkozy's presidency, the ranks of the second category have swelled. Other politicians have sought to copy the President's man-of-action persona. But members of the more élitist group, which has traditionally dominated politics, are hoping the current trial can win it back lost ground.

Good luck with that. Even Sarkozy's opponents concede that his pragmatism and push to modernize France — just as millions of regular French voters have modernized their own lives — are a large part of his appeal. Time-honored formalities, and the type of scheming in smoke-filled back rooms that the Clearstream scandal conjures up, are increasingly irrelevant in a country that now embraces everything from McDonald's to reality TV. (See the top 10 political sex scandals.)

"Neither of these men is entirely true to the profile each projects, but both are so exceptional and unique that their confrontation is bound to be spectacular," says political analyst Jean-Luc Parodi. If Villepin is found guilty he would likely face a 10-year ban from public office and an irreparable blow to his reputation. Acquittal would allow him to continue his attacks on Sarkozy, and would add credibility to his claim that he is the victim of a presidential persecution campaign. The verdict could prove just as important for French society.

Read: "Amid Cries of Nepotism, Sarkozy Backs Appointment of Son to Key Job."

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