Bienvenue à Twitter, Monsieur le Président
Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to officially announce his re-election bid in a TV appearance tonight, but the French president, who is trailing in the polls, is branching out into social media as well by launching a Twitter account. With only two posts, the president already has over 43,000 followers. (He’s only following the Elysee Palace’s ...
Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to officially announce his re-election bid in a TV appearance tonight, but the French president, who is trailing in the polls, is branching out into social media as well by launching a Twitter account. With only two posts, the president already has over 43,000 followers. (He's only following the Elysee Palace's official feed.) It's pretty g-rated so far, but it's not hard to imagine the possibilities if the notoriously short-tempered president really embraces the medium.
Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to officially announce his re-election bid in a TV appearance tonight, but the French president, who is trailing in the polls, is branching out into social media as well by launching a Twitter account. With only two posts, the president already has over 43,000 followers. (He’s only following the Elysee Palace’s official feed.) It’s pretty g-rated so far, but it’s not hard to imagine the possibilities if the notoriously short-tempered president really embraces the medium.
Sarkozy is a little late to the game. Front-runner Francois Hollande and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen have already been tweeting for a while.
But not everyone is so thrilled to see him. "Angela Merkel" tweets:
Twitter used to be the one place I was safe from @NicolasSarkozy. #outlooknegative
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
More from Foreign Policy

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America
The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense
If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War
Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests
And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.