The undergraduate son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has defended himself from charges of nepotism over his bid to head a powerful public agency, but the uproar over his promotion showed no sign of abating on Tuesday. Jean Sarkozy, 23, provoked an outcry amongst opposition parties after announcing last week that he planned to take charge of the EPAD agency, which oversees development of the wealthy La Defence business district on the outskirts of Paris.
Leftist leaders have accused the president of seeking to build a political dynasty and say La Defence, which wants to rival London as Europe's main financial centre, should be entrusted to older, wiser heads. Sarkozy Jnr, the president's second son from his first marriage, denied the charges, insisting he was working his way up the political ladder in an honest fashion.
"Whatever I say, whatever I do, I will be criticised," he said in an interview in Tuesday's edition of Le Parisien daily. "Ever since I entered politics I have always been criticised. When you pursue this profession, you to expect it and prepare for it." The young Sarkozy, who has many of his father's mannerisms but is taller and blond, was elected as a councillor in the Hauts-de-Seine region last year and almost immediately became head of the ruling right-wing majority in the rich Paris suburb.
Such a swift rise for a man only in his second year of a law degree raised eyebrows in France, but his move on the levers of power in La Defence, which is planning a one-billion-euro ($1.5 billion) renovation, was a step too far for many. EPAD, which was headed by President Sarkozy himself between 2005 and 2006, is seen as one of the most important infrastructure agencies in France.
"At the heart of the matter is a downwards spiral towards monarchism," said Jean-Paul Huchon, a senior Socialist and president of the Ile-de-France region which embraces Paris. "Everything is accepted without shame or restraint," he told France 2 television on Tuesday. Newspapers and bloggers have also had a field day, mocking the astonishing rise of the ambitious Jean Sarkozy, while an online petition trying to halt his candidature had raised 43,000 signatures by early Tuesday.