PARIS (AFP) -- "Let Them Eat Cake!" said Nicolas Sarkozy after winning the French presidency on Sunday from the yacht of a billionaire crony. Sarkozy also told his French countrymen to start working harder while cruising in an open air hot tub on the deck of the 200-foot yacht off Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.
Billed as France's Margaret Thatcher by some and as France's Little Hitler by others, Sarkozy plans to eliminate social benefits for the working poor and extend working hours in a neo-fascist regime. He will also reduce taxes for the rich and increase them for everyone else.
He proudly describes himself as "George Bush's French Poodle, just like Tony Blair!"
The sight of Sarkozy mooching off his rich billionaire buddy in a floating palace is the first scandal of his presidency, as unemployed and disenfranchised French youth continue to riot and burn cars in protest at his election.
"I have no intention of apologizing for my life of luxury," a defiant Sarkozy, 52, told journalists. "I won the election using fraudulent voting machines just like other neoconservative politicians. And my billionaire buddies own most all of the media outlets and advertising agencies in France so I can do and say anything I want. L'Etat, c'est moi!"
The gleaming white yacht Paloma has 12 staterooms and is owned by billionaire Vincent Bollore, who also owns an advertising company, television station, transportation and other businesses. He has personal wealth estimated at $2.1 billion.
"Just wait until I Americanize France and make the rich richer and the poor poorer as I kill off the middle class like Bush did!" Sarkozy shouted as he zoomed away into the Med on one of the yacht's jet skis.
"I will also support Israel's ongoing theft of Palestinian land and I'll crush the Moslem immigrants in France too!"
