PNY contacted the Sarkozy, Royal and Bayrou campaigns and requested an interview with the representative of each campaign. Only the Sarkozy campaign responded.
Guy Wildenstein is the President of the famous Wildenstein Gallery, which has been helping individuals, museums and foundations to build their collections of fine art for the past century. Born in New York from French parents, he has always been involved in the activities of the French community in Manhattan. Guy is board member of different Franco-American institutions such as the Lycée Français, the French-American Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance Française, the Maison de la France at NYU and Columbia, the American society of the Ordre National du Mérite and the American Society of the French Legion of Honor. www.wildenstein.com
Mr. Wildenstein, can the vote of the French expatriates make a difference in the Election of the French President?
Yes indeed, it will…because the number of French expatriates that are registered at the consulates as abroad has increased significantly since the last election in 2002, going from 345.000 to 930.000 voters. In the USA, there are about 100.000 to 120.000 in three main areas: New York, Washington and Miami. So for example, on the East coast, there will be nine locations opened for voting instead of four in 2002. Still, only French citizens that are registered at the Consulates can vote here in the USA. The others will still have to vote in France.
How do you explain this increase of French voters in the USA?
Well, in 2002 everybody was shocked to see Le Pen advance to the second round of the Presidential elections. Voters don’t want to see that happen another time and my guess is that they have decided to get involved even if it means voting from abroad. In addition, everyone saw how just a few votes made the difference in the last US elections in Florida. And last, it seems that the generational change in the candidates -- Nicolas Sarkozy is 52, and Segolene Royal 54--… has both attracted a new generation of voters and given them hope of positive change.
I have to say that I was astonished this past September when we organized a conference with Nicolas Sarkozy here in Manhattan to see that more than 50% of the attendees were young expatriates, which is totally new.
What does Nicolas Sarkozy think about French Expatriates ?
For him, the French who have decided to expatriate, haven’t found in France what they were looking for: the chance to fully express themselves, or the chance to realize the dream of their life. More specifically, he learned during his the visits he has made here that many left with regret, escaping the fiscal strangulation and the lack of flexibility with the 35 hour work week regulations. For those who had made the voluntary choice to come here, let them be the “rayonnement de la France a l’etranger “, (the radiation of France abroad). But for those who didn’t feel that had a choice, “I want to give them the possibility to return” said Nicolas Sarkozy.
Can Nicolas Sarkozy convince them to come back?
The first thing is to re-create the conditions to put France back to work. You cannot be a country of wealth and influence with a population that does not work the same amount of time as the rest of the world, particularly with globalization. Sarkozy wants to reinvigorate the idea of taking pride in work, and encourage and value business success. He also admires the American sense of generosity.
How much contact has Nicolas Sarkozy had with the French expatriates in New York ?
Sarkozy and his team came several times to Manhattan over the last 2 years. Not only is New York a very important area in terms of foreign policy and visibility, but Sarkozy has always admired the French in New York who have overcome the rough and tumble of the system and the difficulty of integration in Manhattan. To succeed here, il faut vraiment en vouloir ! and Nicolas Sarkozy, as a self made-man, is very receptive to that. He started at the bottom and moved up to the ranks little by little.
He has lots of admiration for the United States and is very impressed by the fact that everything is possible here !
What are the specific proposals that Sarkozy has made to help the expatriates?
The biggest proposal is for schooling. For all the students in the French Lycées abroad, the last three years of secondary school from seconde to terminale, (the equivalent of high school), will be free. Those levels really determine the students’ future and that’s why Sarkozy wants to help French expatriates during those years. The number of grants will also be increased for the other classes in primary and elementary school.
Next, Sarkozy wants to put the Consulates at the service of the expat community by reducing the administrative bureaucracy. And finally, Sarkozy wants to eliminate the tax that occurs on the appreciation from the sale of your residence in France.
The Sarkozy campaign has a special website for expatriates at http://francaisdeletranger.sarkozy.fr/
Why did you decide to join Sarkozy campaign?
First, this is a long friendship between the two of us. I have been always impressed by Nicolas Sarkozy. Everyone who saw him on the Charlie Rose Show in March could see how much passion this guy has. You can see right away that he is a man of action just by looking at the flame in his eyes when he talks. And, of course, I was convinced by the soundness of his policies and platform to get France moving forward again. I think he has a real vision on where to take France in the future !
English version of Sarkozy.fr on www.support-sarkozy-france.com
* The Assembly representing French citizens living abroad, includes 155 members representing about two million French expatriates all over the world. The delegates, elected representatives, are entrusted with the task of helping the French expatriate community defending their rights and interests, specially concerning their security and social protection, in front of the French Assembly.
