A dubious piece of Internet gossip has turned into a political debacle for President Nicolas Sarkozy, with a row over his private life taking up energy and goodwill badly needed for difficult economic reforms. French media mostly stayed quiet when the rumor of problems in Sarkozy's third marriage surfaced on the Internet last month. But the presidential office's mishandling of it has become the talk of the town, at a time when his approval ratings are at all-time lows and public debt forecasts at record highs. Initially dismissive of the story, presidential aides fanned the flames this week by suggesting Sarkozy was the victim of a “plot” to destabilize him. A police investigation was launched into the rumor, immediately giving new legs to the story. He now faces discontent from hard-pressed members of his UMP party fed up with using air time to defend the presidential couple instead of explaining reforms, including a politically sensitive overhaul of the costly pension system. “The UMP members of parliament are annoyed, they really didn't need this right now,” Jean-Francois Cope, the party's parliamentary leader, was quoted as saying by newspaper Le Monde. “They are exasperated by this latest outpouring.” The hooplah comes two weeks after the center-right UMP suffered a drubbing in regional elections from voters concerned about issues ranging from crime and security to jobs and a bloated budget deficit that threatens cuts in public services. Sarkozy has barely commented, but his wife, model-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, tried to calm the waves by dismissing the whole story, which she said had reached “ridiculous proportions”. “These rumors are insignificant for us,” she told Europe 1 radio Wednesday. “I do not consider that we are the victims of any plot.” Celine Bracq, deputy director at the BVA polling institute, said Bruni-Sarkozy's strategy of downplaying the story was good, but should have been adopted right from the beginning. “Hers is the right reaction, saying ‘the president is busy with important questions, with crucial issues for France, we're in a period of economic crisis',” Bracq said. “But it's a bit late... launching an investigation for something like that, which means spending money, spending time, that can only have a negative effect on public opinion.” The highbrow Le Monde made bungling at the presidential palace its top story on Thursday with the headline: “Cacophony at the Elysee, between rumors and denials.” Police at one point even brought in the intelligence services, Bernard Squarcini, head of the DCRI domestic intelligence service told news website Mediapart. He said his service had been asked by the chief of police in March to “find out whether the rumors about the presidential couple were part of an attempt at political destabilization”. Whatever the origin of the rumor, the fallout has revived an old portrayal of Sarkozy as a “bling-bling” president with a monarchical style, who is obsessed with his image rather than the country's problems. Using police and spies to track down Web-based tittle-tattle was widely seen as heavy-handed and petty. Former Justice Minister Rachida Dati, once a Sarkozy protege who has fallen from favor, denied media reports linking her to the rumors. Sarkozy's chief-of-staff was quoted as saying she was unwelcome at the presidential palace. But Bruni-Sarkozy brushed off any talk of animosity and said they were still friends. “Conspiracy theories will lead to nothing,” wrote weekly magazine Le Point. “Why not simply laugh off this silliness?” Voters would prefer the president to focus on bigger issues. In a poll published in newspaper La Tribune Thursday, 70 percent said they did not believe Sarkozy would improve the public deficit during his mandate, which runs out in 2012. France weathered the economic crisis better than most of its neighbors, but the government has earned little credit. Sarkozy's approval ratings crashed below 30 percent for the first time in March. And he has not enjoyed any sympathy boost as a result of the Internet rumors. “Nicolas Sarkozy has the image of someone powerful and very active, so playing the victim doesn't work well,” said Bracq at pollster BVA. “In fact, it often has the opposite effect.”
