President Sarkozy?

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He is an unlikely success story. The son of a Hungarian immigrant, he eschewed the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, which traditionally trains the country's administrative, business and political élite. Instead, he studied political science at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, and later law at the Paris University's suburban Nanterre campus. At 17, he got into politics through conservative youth organizations, and at 22 won a seat on the municipal council in the posh Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. In 1983 he was elected its mayor, and five years later joined Parliament. Sarkozy's commitment and dedication helped make him a Chirac protégé; for a time he even dated Chirac's youngest daughter, Claude.

But in 1993, when he was 38, Sarkozy became Budget Minister and spokesman in the government of conservative Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. In the 1995 presidential race, he ditched a 20-year allegiance to Chirac to back Balladur, who was then riding high in the polls. But Chirac ended up in the Elysée, and Sarkozy found himself in the political wilderness.

	Is France reformable? My reply is without hesitation 'yes.' France not only can reform, it's waiting for it — NICOLAS SARKOZY

The episode poisoned their relationship. The two men "hate each other," one Sarkozy adviser says bluntly. "Chirac will never forgive Sarkozy for Balladur, and wants to block his career." Chirac, 72, has not said whether he will seek a third term in 2007, but a clash with Sarkozy seems inevitable.

By April 2002, Chirac was having some of his own popularity issues, and Sarkozy had restored enough of his luster for a return to government. But he brought more than just new energy and unbridled ambition to the Interior Ministry; he brought his wife, Cécilia, who is a key adviser. In a nation where political wives are rarely public figures, Madame Sarkozy's presence raised eyebrows. But as her considerable — some say inordinate — influence has become known, she's increasingly viewed as a political figure in her own right. "She's been central to my life and my career for 17 years," Sarkozy says. "Why should I pretend otherwise?"

Throughout his career, Sarkozy has impressed colleagues and voters with his refreshing mix of intelligence, straight talk and ideology-free pragmatism. "The rigidities of ideology limit your choices when the best solutions might involve a mix: more liberalism where best, intervention when necessary," he explains. But that mix can seem a bit muddled at times.

Behold the believer in free markets. As Finance Minister, on Sept. 1, Sarkozy decided to sell off a €4.6-billion chunk of France Telecom, reducing the government's stake to under 50% for the first time; on Sept. 2 it was finished. Last month he moved to waive inheritance taxes on sums below €100,000 per estate, suspended a 3% corporate tax, and withstood stiff protests from unions to lay the groundwork for the partial privatization of Electricité de France. He also deplores France's 35-hour workweek, and says it must be changed to allow those who want to work more to do so.

And consider the blatant interventionist. Sarkozy brokered the €2 billion state bailout of engineering giant Alstom, angering E.U. members who called it an unfair protectionist subsidy. He also coerced Franco-German pharmaceutical giant Aventis into merging with French competitor Sanofi-Synthelabo, neither of which is state-owned, to thwart takeover plans by Swiss rival Novartis. "I'm conservative, liberal-inclined and I believe in market economics," Sarkozy says. "But when an issue lands on my desk, I don't spend time wondering what [David] Ricardo, Adam Smith or [Friedrich] Hayek would have done. Ideologies have been replaced by principles of realism and pragmatism, and I don't rule out the possibility to intervene when intervention is called for."

Last month Sarkozy was in interventionist mode when he contended that low corporate tax rates in the European Union's 10 new member states were unfairly sucking jobs from the west. His solution was as simple as the supermarket price cut: either the low-tax E.U. nations raise their rates or risk losing billions in E.U. development aid (see Au Revoir Les Jobs). "I'm not against outsourcing per se, I'm just demanding that the competition driving it is fair," Sarkozy says. "Nations can't claim to be rich enough to do away with taxes, while also claiming to be poor enough to ask other nations to provide funds for them. As with insecurité, the experts say, 'Outsourcing is a good thing. It leads to progress. Don't worry about it.' But the nation is scared." Sarkozy now proposes to grant €1 billion in tax breaks to companies that keep outsourceable manufacturing and service jobs in France, or relocate them to one of 20 "competitiveness zones" to be established around the country.