Interview with Alexis Delaroff

Alexis Delaroff, the President of the French expatriate community in Moscow, shared with Russia Today his expectations about the new French President Nikolas Sarkozy and possible changes in French domestic and foreign policy, and Russian-French relations.

Russia Today: So is this the start of a new epoch for France and how do you think life is going to be in France after 12 years under Jacques Chirac?

Alexis Delaroff: I think it will be a completely different France, I do hope so. Nikolas Sarkozy is the first President that is a baby-boomer. He was born after WW2, so he has not the same basis of thinking. I think what he needs to do, is to boost the economy; this is the main problem in France. All the ways that he will do this, by increasing the work-hours or whatever, is up to him. But the target is not to be happy with the 2% increase, or 2% growth in the economy every year, and we are happy with that today -  which is not normal. We should look at the emerging countries like Russia, which is boosting 7% a year, or China with 11% or even America with its 4-5% growth. I think this is his main target. And he needs to curb this feeling that France is going down. France is indeed going down, but his target, and this is why he has been elected with 53% of voices among 85% of voters, his target now is very clear – to boost the economy, and boost France back to the third or fourth place in the world, where it should stay.

RT: Yes, there is something nice in his slogan I have read about