Nicolas Sarkozy painted a dire portrait of the crisis in France yesterday.
Describing France as “one of the rare countries where there is such a lack of hope,” the man who lost the presidency to Socialist leader Francois Hollande in 2012 said he had had no choice but to return to politics.
“Can I say: France is collapsing, people don´t believe in politics anymore, my political family (opposition UMP party) is divided like never before — Ok then I get it, I´ll stay at home?,” he asked in a television interview.
“Not only do I want (to come back), but I don´t have a choice.”
The 59-year-old announced his return Friday on Facebook after months of speculation, setting the scene for a battle among leading centre-right opposition figures for the 2017 general election .
Alain Juppe, who served as defence and foreign minister under Sarkozy, and Francois Fillon, who was prime minister during the former president´s five-year term, have both announced they to contest as well.
