John Lichfield: Sarkozy Hits Below the Belt!

President Nicolas Sarkozy was accused yesterday by a former colleague of adopting "fascist" and "violent" rhetoric in his no-holds-barred campaign for re-election this spring. In the first days of his campaign, President Sarkozy has denounced the Socialist front-runner, Francois Hollande, as a "dangerous" and "dishonest" man who does not "like France". The President said that the democratic rights of the French people had been "confiscated" by "elitist" lobbies, pressure groups and trade unions. Proclaiming himself to be the "candidate of the people", Mr Sarkozy said that, if re-elected, he would call for a series of referendums on reforms to break the stranglehold of a "tiny elite". His words were condemned as a dangerous lapse into "demagoguery" yesterday by opponents and political commentators. They were also criticized by senior colleagues, including the former center-right Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin. A former Environment Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin. A former Environment Minister, Corinne Lepage, said that she was "scandalized" by the "violence" of President Sarkozy's language. "This is extremely serious," said Ms Lepage, who hopes to run as an independent candidate in the April and May election. "This is how fascism began its rise in the 1930s. By attacking political parties and representative bodies such as unions and lobby groups." President Sarkozy's supporters retorted that he had been bombarded with personal attacks by the left and far-right for months. He had the right to respond by "defining" the front-runner Mr Hollande as a weak and vacillating politician who would surrender to interest groups.