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Tue 06 Jun 2007Presidential politics in FranceTo believe Article 20 of the French constitution, it is the government, not the president, which "determines and conducts the nation's political affairs". The reality is somewhat different. Notwithstanding the assembly's right to sack the government, the latter is in practice a creature of the Élysée's occupant.And Sunday's National Assembly elections, in effect a third round of the recent presidentials, very much confirmed what Le Monde and others have called the "présidentialisation" of French politics. "L'etat c'est moi," Louis XIV is supposed to have said, a presumption that President Nicolas Sarkozy might be tempted to share, although he would be unwise to articulate it publicly.