Sarkozy under fire over claims he paid for opinion polls
Elysée Palace denies it financed surveys which the media ran as independent
Tuesday 21 July 2009
Latest in Europe
On Facebook
From the blogs
Bahrain: One year on
I am used to endless lies and criticism from the BNP and its favourite blogster, as well as Islamist...
HIV orphans in Thailand prepare for the future
In Baan Gerda, a community for HIV infected or affected youngsters in Northern Thailand, a group of ...
Online House Hunter: England’s most romantic places
Our Online House Hunter goes in search of romance this Valentine's Day...
Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one
To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...
The main French opposition party, the Socialists – delighted to have an issue to distract from their own internal back-stabbing – have accused the President of "scandalous collusion" with parts of the media.
The Elysée Palace, dismissing calls for a parliamentary inquiry, has rejected the cries of scandal as far-fetched. "We order opinion polls. If newspapers buy the same ones, what can we do?" said M. Sarkozy's chief aide and secretary general, Claude Guéant.
The revelations, made by the official financial watchdog, the Court of Auditors, are nonetheless deeply embarrassing. In the past two years, M. Sarkozy's office has paid €1.5m for private opinion polls, almost half of which were indistinguishable from those which were published elsewhere.
At best, the Elysée was wasting public money by paying for surveys which were already available for free on media websites. At worst, it was paying to influence the questions asked in the fortnightly Politiscope polls, which were presented as independent by the centre-right newspaper Le Figaro and the 24-hour news channel, LCI.
The Elysée also paid for 14 other polls which appeared in other parts of the print media.
The episode has caused great unease at Le Figaro, a newspaper which supports M. Sarkozy but whose journalists are jealous of their political independence. The editorial director, Etienne Mougeotte, rejected suggestions that its fortnightly Politiscope polls had been funded by the Elysée. He said that the newspaper had an annual contract with the polling organisation, OpinionWay.
But the journalists at the newspaper have declared their "consternation" and have called on Le Figaro to "put an end to co-productions... which gravely damage [our] credibility".
OpinionWay has been accused by politicians of the left and centre of being too close to President Sarkozy – an allegation it rejects. The surveys commissioned by the Elysée Palace were part of a consultancy contract awarded to Publifact a company run by a former journalist and friend of the President, Patrick Buisson.
OpinionWay and the Elysée Palace reject the allegations, saying the presidency was paying for other, more detailed, demographic questions.
- 1 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 2 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 3 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 4 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 5 Amanda Knox set to break her silence – and pocket a fortune from book deal
- 6 Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 1 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 2 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 3 Kate Allen: It's time for America to put an end to this shameful scandal
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 6 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 8 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 9 Rhodri Marsden: What we like and what we don't like are often closer than you'd think
- 10 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
No secularism please, we're British
Working as a jail torturer ruined my life
New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro




Comments