French ‘new philosophers’ support Rightist Nicolas Sarkozy

By Stefan Steinberg:

Prominent French intellectuals rally to presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy

3 March 2007

With less than two months to go to crucial French presidential elections, a number of prominent French intellectuals have declared their support for the right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP—Union for a Popular Movement).

A number of these intellectuals, who are loosely associated with the movement of so-called “new philosophers,” are routinely described in the press as “leftist,” although they broke with any form of leftist or socialist politics a long time ago.

Nevertheless, the fact that such figures as the writer and nouveau philosophe Andre Glucksmann, author Pascal Bruckner and Max Gallo, a novelist and former spokesman for former French president Francois Mitterrand, are now openly backing Sarkozy’s campaign is of considerable significance.

That the so called ‘new philosophers’ are called ‘philosophers’ while they mostly write superficial Rightist political fare, is problematic in itself.

So, apparently, for them, Sarkozy‘s racism against immigrants in France, his links to neo-Fascists in Italy, his corruption scandals, etc. are not problems?

Sarkozy accused of links with Le Pen: here.

See also here.