“We are dancing on a volcano”… Sarkozy predicts a financial “tsunami”, perhaps before the presidential election

“We are dancing on a volcano. » Nicolas Sarkozy warns of the risk of a financial crisis in France, which he considers likely to occur “perhaps even before the presidential election” in April and May 2027. In an interview published Friday by Le Figaro, the ex-president evokes a “tsunami” which would threaten the country.

“The question is therefore not whether there will be a financial crisis, but when,” he says. The vote on the 2027 budget, which Sébastien Lecornu's government is trying to have adopted, would not be enough to rule out this risk, according to him. For Nicolas Sarkozy, two levers would make it possible to act: reduce public spending, in particular by reducing the number of civil servants, and increase the length of work over a lifetime, by raising the retirement age.

Favorable for a right-wing primary The former president also supports the organization of a primary to decide between the right and center candidates for the presidential election. He wants it to be “broad”, open to all those who agree to respect the rules. Such consultation is defended by Bruno Retailleau, Gabriel Attal and David Lisnard, but rejected by Édouard Philippe.

Nicolas Sarkozy, who himself participated in the right-wing primary in 2016 before being beaten in the first round, refuses to take sides in the debate. On the other hand, he promises to support the one who has “succeeded in bringing together the most”. He also rules out the hypothesis of a candidacy from Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, for whom he nevertheless says he has “admiration”.

Machine-translated from French