Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has paid tribute to former prime minister Edouard Balladur, who died on Monday at age 97, in an exclusive interview.
Sarkozy, who served as president of France from 2007 to 2012, spoke to French news channel LCI on Tuesday, one day after the former head of government passed away on August 31. He described commenting on the death of a man he loved deeply and regarded as family as a personal ordeal.
Sarkozy said he owed a great deal to Balladur. He noted that while French citizens lost a familiar figure from their daily lives, the death was a personal wound and source of grief for him. He added that Balladur did not match his reserved public image, describing him as a sensitive, sentimental, and affectionate person.
Balladur served as prime minister of France from 1993 to 1995 under Socialist President Francois Mitterrand. The period marked France's second modern cohabitation, during which a conservative prime minister governed alongside a left-wing president.
Before serving as prime minister, Balladur had been a prominent economic advisor and senior official. He served as finance minister from 1986 to 1988 during France's first cohabitation government, establishing himself as a key architect of conservative economic policy in France.
Hostage crisis in Neuilly-sur-Seine
Recalling their first major shared experience, Sarkozy spoke about the May 1993 nursery school hostage crisis in Neuilly-sur-Seine, located in the Hauts-de-Seine department. At the time, Sarkozy was mayor of the town and a minister in the government led by Balladur, when an armed man held children hostage inside a classroom.
Sarkozy recounted how Balladur contacted him after learning he had entered the classroom, ordering him to stop. Balladur warned him about the danger of a cabinet minister being killed, but Sarkozy replied that he had to disobey the prime minister because his intervention was working and children were being freed.
The hostage standoff in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a wealthy western suburb of Paris, became a major news event across France. Sarkozy gained national prominence during the crisis when he personally entered the school building to negotiate with the hostage-taker and escort young children to safety.
Political partnership and presidential campaigns
Sarkozy said their shared political journey extended across many other key events over the decades. He highlighted Balladur's defeat in the 1995 presidential election against rivals including Jacques Chirac, as well as Sarkozy's own presidential victory in 2007 and his election defeat in 2012.
Sarkozy explained that he initially accompanied Balladur in politics before Balladur accompanied his own life from start to finish, always remaining by his side. Reflecting on his mentors, Sarkozy noted that while Chirac taught him political energy, Balladur taught him how to work rigorously on policy files. He described Balladur as a highly demanding and cultured leader.
The 1995 presidential election was a pivotal moment for the French center-right, as Balladur and Chirac ran competing campaigns for the presidency. Sarkozy's decision to back Balladur over Chirac caused a notable divide within conservative politics before Sarkozy eventually secured the presidency twelve years later.
