Sarko the Red

Mark Mardell|09:16 UK time, Wednesday, 13 May 2009

UMP campaign bus LYON:

The rally for President Sarkozy's UMP party was stylish and smooth, but witnesses to this were thin on the seats. The well-groomed, middle-aged and older were scattered throughout a large and very smart auditorium.

Perhaps potential supporters had as much trouble finding it as we did. Although it is meant to be Lyon's biggest venue it wasn't showing up on the GPS.

A man getting out of his car for a jog round Lyon's lovely central park dismissed us rudely. "Don't disturb me," he grumbled as we asked for directions. A young man with a wispy beard was much more helpful when we interrupted a long kiss with his androgynous girlfriend, pressed against her bike. Perhaps he needed the air. Anyway my election slogan is: "Trust snoggers, not joggers".

With his help we found a soulless underground car park that took us into one of those huge modern complexes that bring the word "regeneration" to mind. You can find your way around, navigating by the orange giant or massive green penguin, huge plastic-looking statues littered among the nearly empty swanky restaurants. An ideal space, except there seems very little reason for anybody to be there.

The rally itself featured a large comfortable set with UMP candidates sitting comfortably and attentively, jumping to their feet to give polished (if not always fascinating) answers to questions about the economic crisis, swine flu, the euro and French troops abroad.

But the highlight was from the man who wasn't there. A punchy, powerful film featuring Nicolas Sarkozy, delivering his verdict on the financial crisis in a grave rumble. President Nicolas Sarkozy

It's intriguing. When I spoke to the Socialists, the official opposition, about the supposed rise of radicalism (see yesterday) they wanted to talk about how they were the only real alternative to the UMP and how this wasn't an election where you could vote for the left in the first round as there is only one round. Sound tactics, but hardly a clarion call to the dispossessed.

President Sarkozy, on the other hand, was stressing how he wants to restrict and reform capitalism, find a new capitalism, how he led Europe in telling Washington there had to be new rules.

We've had Sarko the American, during the election campaign, for his praise of Anglo-Saxon economic liberal values. We've had the hyper president. We've had the bling-bling president. Now Sarko the Red arise!