And supports Finkielkraut:

The storm aroused by French-Jewish philosopher Alain Finkielkraut refuses to subside. On Sunday, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy threw his full weight behind the beleaguered philosopher, who has been forced to remain cloistered at home following the sharp reactions to an interview he gave to Haaretz.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Sarkozy said: "Monsieur Finkielkraut is an intellectual who brings honor and pride to French wisdom ... If there is so much criticism of him, it might be because he says things that are correct."

Read the whole article and you will note that Sarkozy’s comments are seen as a full frontal assault on France’s left-wing elites. This certainly helps to set the stage for a very interesting battle over Chirac’s legacy in 2007, where De Villepin for now appears to be the frontrunner. But Sarkozy has seized upon the discontent in France and has it seems already launched his campaign on a platform of common sense, abandoning the outdated concepts of politically correct thinking. As we've seen elsewhere in Europe - Blair, Fortuyn - that requires a certain amount of political guts and Sarkozy has it in spades.

So, the struggle for the heart of France is not dissimilar to what is playing out in other European nations. An unprecendented and deep rift is opening up between the traditional political elites and a new daring train of thought found on the right and in a very few remote spots on the left. And as Finkielkraut is finding out, the vested interests are not going to give up their ownership of what they consider their truth very quickly, they will hang on to it at any cost.

NOTE: If your French is up to it, here’s the article from Le Nouvel Observateur, “Sarkozy: Finkielkraut un honneur pour la France”

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