Turkish accession adds spark to French election

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, was accused by his opponents of lying to voters by campaigning against Turkey joining the block even though he allowed negotiations on its accession to enter a new phase during France’s presidency of the EU last year.

Mr Sarkozy’s governing centre-right UMP party has made Turkey a theme of its campaign to the point of ensuring that its leading candidates issue formal -declarations promising not to let Turkey in.

In a speech on Europe this month, Mr Sarkozy made much of his well-established opposition to Turkey’s membership saying the country did not have the “vocation” to join.

Instead, he called for a “privileged partnership”, the same relationship he espouses for Russia, which is not even a candidate.

Benoît Hamon, spokesman for the opposition Socialist party which supports Turkish accession, accused Mr Sarkozy of “lying” to the public because the president had “systematically given his backing to the pursuit of the negotiation process”.

Two new “chapters”, or policy areas, that form part of Turkey’s accession process entry application were opened up to negotiation during the French EU -presidency.

Paris has allowed the negotiation process to continue, thereby avoiding a direct confrontation with Ankara and supporters of Turkish membership within the EU, but is against opening up chapters which it judges only relevant to full membership, such as the question of monetary union.

Philippe de Villiers, a -conservative eurosceptic, pointed out that Mr Sarkozy had also ensured that a requirement for a French referendum on all new EU entrants was dropped in last year’s reform of the constitution, removing a potential French obstacle to eventual Turkish membership.

The row over Turkey has injected an element of -interest into a low profile campaign in which the main parties seem reluctant to engage in confrontation.

The UMP does not want the campaign to turn into a referendum on Mr Sarkozy’s handling of the economic crisis while the Socialists, under the new leadership of Martine Aubry, are hesitant about investing themselves fully in a battle they appear destined to lose. Recent opinion polls put the UMP on 28 per cent and the Socialists on 22 per cent.

Mr Sarkozy’s electioneering on the Turkish question is carefully calculated. With voters preoccupied with the economy, turnout is expected to fall well below 43 per cent, the rate at the last elections in 2004.

The UMP needs to mobilise its core voters while wooing those tempted to vote for eurosceptic and far-right candidates who together could win 12 per cent, polls suggest.