I would love to talk with my former brother-in-law.....he’s French (Peignoir, actually - don’t know if that’s the correct spelling - but, I think it means he’s 1/2 French and 1/2 Arab.) Anyway, he was very smart, and I recently found out he now works here in America for a very large int’l tobacco co.....he would have a take that is probably VERY similar to yours.
I only visited France once a few years ago (I was not impressed in any sort of a positive way) but France's problems are so obvious that I think that anyone who pays even minimal attention to the news can see the problems and their causes, many of which are cultural as well as ideological.
Much like President Bush was a Gift from God at exactly the right time in history for us here in the USA, Sarkozy is exactly what the French need, whether they will admit it to themselves or not. They will put up a noisy fight (crack addicts frequently enjoy their vice and don't care about tomorrow or generations to come) but if Sarkozy is truly made of strong stuff and has a good political base he may have a chance. The great Bush economy here is definitely an incentive to all backward, Socialist nations to pursue tangible reforms.