The fundamental problem of French politics is that each of the two main political parties, the right's UMP and the left's Socialists, function entirely on holding political or government office. And an average politician holds several of them, typically member of parliament coupled with a mayoralty or adjunct mayoralty.
As such, the major political parties are well-honed office giving machines and elections simply decide how the offices will be distributed between the two parties (with leftovers for the smaller parties who cooperate with the bigger two).
Sarkozy, president of France, is de facto head of the UMP, and therefor president of giving out offices to members of his party (and now even to Socialists).
And as president of this whole system (the machine), Sarkozy has done absolutely nothing since taking office two months ago to change the general scheme of things. Sarkozy is not interested in reducing the pool of offices, especially the more expensive ones at higher levels. The stability of his leadership and the support of his political troops depends on it.
That is why the much anticipated rupture is so far only skin deep. The UMP isn't a society of bankers and entrepreneurs who want a more liberal society economically. It's a party of office holders who happen to decide generally with old people, whites and the rich. The socialists are a party of office holder who think generally with the rent payers, social liberals and the middle class. It's not a very big difference because the office-holding (the French state) isn't actually being put into question. Despite Sarkozy's noise-machine, he continues to represent the state, i.e. the office holders.
Two months in, the French president remains as ever Chairman of the Bureaucracy, with his Prime Minster as CEO.
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