Ten day ago, I posted an article about the imminent promotion of President Nicolas Sarkozy's son to manage France's wealthiest business district and how it was drawing howls of protest and derision due to the fact that:
- Jean Sarkozy is only 23 years old,
- He is only a second year law student
- He clearly wouldn't be considered if his name "wasn't Sarkozy".
 
And now, my friends, after 10 days of relentless and heavy protests and sarcastic comments by the majority of the people (for example, we suggested that Louis, the third son - only 10 - might be a credible option to succeed Ban Ki-Moon at the head of the United Nations), I'm very pleased to say that...
 
 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hu7mzKSNehN3bDAggpimU...
By Rory Mulholland (AFP) – 15 hours ago
 
 
PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy's 23-year-old son Jean, at the centre of a bitter row over alleged nepotism, on Thursday abandoned his bid for a job managing France's wealthiest business district.
 
"I will not go for the presidency" of the EPAD agency overseeing development in La Defense district west of Paris, where top French firms are headquartered, the second-year law student told France 2 television.
 
Jean Sarkozy, who said he would still seek election to the board running the area, slammed critics who he said waged a campaign of "manipulation and disinformation" against him.
 
The blond-haired fledgling politician, dubbed "Prince Jean" by the press, said he wanted to avoid a "tainted victory" and any "hint of favoritism."
 
His decision is a setback for his father, who had defended his son -- even saying he had been "thrown to the wolves" -- despite concern among his own rightwing supporters who feared a voter backlash.
 
Opposition Socialist party spokesman Benoit Hamon said Jean's decision showed that "the president of the republic has retreated under the pressure of the indignation of an immense majority of the French." (...)
 
His bid for the La Defense job drew howls of derision and protest across France and beyond. Le Monde, France's newspaper of record, said the attempt was the "act of a monarch."
 
The Socialists had formally urged the president "to abandon this disastrous project that has already made France a laughing stock among democracies."
 
Jean Sarkozy has risen from a little-known Sorbonne University student to a major player in his father's former fiefdom in less than two years. But he has always rejected suggestions his father was behind his meteoric rise.
 
An online petition launched by a local opposition leader calling on Sarkozy junior to withdraw his candidacy for the La Defense EPAD job quickly gathered thousands of signatures.
 
"Finish your law studies, gain experience in business and one day, perhaps, you can re-apply for a position once held by your father," said the petition launched by the centrist Democratic Movement. (...)