French president who is trailing behind rival François Hollande makes hardline speech on immigration in mega-rally
Nicolas Sarkozy has stepped up his courtship of hard-right voters by threatening to pull France out of the EU's borderless, passport-free Schengen zone unless Brussels clamps down on illegal immigration.
Clench-fisted and dripping with sweat, the French president addressed some 30,000 flag-waving supporters at a vast, highly theatrical rally in a hangar on the northern outskirts of Paris on Sunday. Taking to the stage to a thundering, action-movie-style soundtrack, he gave a demonstration of his trademark political showmanship with a hardline speech on securing the borders of Fortress Europe. He said tightening controls was the "only way to avoid the implosion of Europe".
The rally was seen by many as Sarkozy's last chance to fire up his support-base in a faltering campaign for reelection. He is struggling to reverse the trend in the opinion polls which for months have consistently shown the Socialist frontrunner François Hollande easily beating him in the final presidential vote in May.
Sarkozy has been criticised by political opponents for shamelessly courting supporters of the extreme-right leader Marine Le Pen by proposing a referendum on illegal immigrants, complaining there were "too many foreigners" in France and raising the spectre of unsuspecting French people eating halal meat without knowing it.
At the rally in Villepinte, he maintained his staunchly rightwing approach, but shifted the slant to Europe. He suggested unchecked illegal immigrants would threaten European "civilisation" and "our way of life". He said that if there were no concrete results in Brussels on tightening borders within a year, he would pull France out of the Schengen system, Europe's open-border, passport-free travel regime which involves 26 countries. The free-movement of people is one of the cornerstones of a united, integrated Europe.
Targeting Schengen is not new to Sarkozy. Last year amid a feared influx of immigrants during the Arab spring, he had joined the Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi in demanding tighter controls.
ButSarkozy also risked angering France's European partners by brandishing ultimatums not only on immigration controls but also on a more protectionist approach to shielding European companies from cheap imports and low-cost foreign competition.
He said there must be laws along the lines of the US Buy American Act to require governments to favour European-made products in their purchases. "That way companies that produce in Europe will benefit from European state money". Sarkozy said if Brussels did not act, France would introduce a law. "I want a Europe that protects its citizens. I no longer want this savage competition," he said.
Having begun his campaign four weeks ago by vaunting his closeness to the German chancellor Angela Merkel, Sarkozy clearly wanted to show he could make his own decisions.
He was appealing to what he called the "France who says no" – those disillusioned with politics and tempted by protest votes, such as the 55% who voted no to the European constitution treaty in 2005. A CSA poll in France last autumn found 54% of French people were in favour of more protectionist politics.
Sarkozy championed himself as a saviour and protector of Europe, saying "We had to save Europe and the euro and we did it". Socialists seized on Sarkozy's speech to hammer home Hollande's own promise to renegotiate the new European treaty on budget discipline they say must include measures on growth. The Socialist Jean-Christophe Cambadélis said Sarkozy's stance "showed treaties can be renegotiated".
Sarkozy has six weeks until the first-round presidential vote in April to kickstart a troubled reelection campaign which has seen a mood of gloom among his rank and file as he has failed to gain substantial ground in the polls or shake off his record unpopularity. In a recent visit to the Basque country, he was heckled and booed and had to seek refuge in a bar. Hollande has dominated the debate with his proposal for a 75% tax on incomes over €1m (£830,000), a measure supported by six out of 10 French people.
The Sarkozy super-rally was also designed to showcase famous faces backing the president's reelection bid. The French actor Gérard Depardieu stormed the stage during the warm-up speeches to deliver his support for Sarkozy. He said: "I only hear bad things about this man who only does good."
One local councillor for Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party in the Paris region said the reelection campaign "would not be easy" and everything was hanging on how Sarkozy's mega-rally was received among French voters.
Both Sarkozy and Hollande will now begin a frenzied week of high-profile media appearances before 19 March, when a French law kicks in ensuring all candidates – from the leaders to the Trotskyist Nathalie Arthaud, on less than 0.5% in polls – must have equal airtime on TV and radio.