Testimony - France, Europe and the World in the 21st Century

Testimony - France, Europe and the World in the 21st Century

by Nicolas Sarkozy (translated by Philip K. Gordon)

Harper Perennial, HK$150

French President Nicolas Sarkozy promises to take France, and Europe, in a new direction, while seducing Washington with the promise of a fresh start in Franco-American relations. Testimony, a translation of Sarkozy's best-selling Temoignage, reworked for US readers and with a generous dollop of autobiographical detail from his earlier Libre, is far from being filled with philosophical musings about the glory of France. It declares an intention to overhaul the country's economy, education system and labour laws, and flags a substantial change in its geopolitical stance. He wants to end relations with 'opaque' African states, he feels 'close to Israel' and is less forgiving than previous presidents towards Russia and China. This paperback edition has been updated to take Sarkozy beyond his electoral win - the title has been broadened to Testimony - France, Europe and the World in the 21st Century, from merely France. Let no-one say Sarkozy is a man of limited ambition. He's frank about France's failings, bluntly telling his compatriots that they need to work harder and be less arrogant. France, he says, 'cannot act like the Gallic village surrounded by Roman camps [because] only in Asterix does the Gallic village win'.