Sat, 01/26/2013 - 17:15

Sarkozy’s second son has propelled himself back into the media spotlight, this time taking on the role of university professor… before finishing his own law studies.

Power-hungry and resolute, Jean Sarkozy is much like a younger, taller, blonder, version of his father. At the grand-old age of 26, he has already accomplished a career in politics, married a wealthy heiress, and produced two grandchildren for Nicolas.

Now, he’s set to become a law professor at the Créteil University of East Paris (UPEC).

The controversial news emerged this week when a fan of the Sarkozy clan, who appears to be studying at UPEC, came across a document (right) with Jean Sarkozy listed as a teacher in next term’s class. Seemingly thrilled by the news, the student uploaded the picture to Twitter in order to share the ‘good news’ with his Sarkozy-supporting friends.

Soon enough, the tweet was picked up by some less than Sarkozy-supporting Twitter-users, sparking indignation among leftwing and socialist critics of the former president and his powerful tribe. Pointing out that the young Sarkozy had taken two extra years to complete his degree and had never actually practiced law, many of the tweets included hash-tags #joke, #OMG and #mdr (literally – ‘dying of laughter’).

@Jerome06

"[Nicolas] Sarkozy still has a long reach... With just a Bachelor's degree, Jean Sarkozy is the new law professor at Créteil University!"



@RemiMathis

“Despair at Paris’s Créteil Uni: the new teacher is someone who took five years to get his degree (after failing twice in prep)...”

Troublesome offspring

It’s not the first time Jean Sarkozy has been ambushed by the public in his attempts to over-achieve. In 2009, at just 23 years old, he was forced to reject a position as director of an influential public agency after his father was accused of nepotism and turning France into a banana republic. (He was, nonetheless, appointed to the board of directors.)

But on the whole, Jean is still the least troublesome of Sarkozy’s three sons. Pierre, 28 (right), who spends most of his time DJ-ing in Ibiza, cost his dad’s reputation dearly when he ‘fell ill’ at a nightclub in Ukraine last January. Panicked Papa-Sarkozy sent a state-owned Dassault Falcon jet (only to be sanctioned in cases of public interest), to pick up the troubled DJ, who said he had a stomach upset. That stomach cost tax payers more than 30,000 euros.

And then there’s 15-year-old Louis, who made a mockery of Sarkozy’s strict youth policies when he threw a tomato and a marble at a police officer from his window at the Elysée Palace last spring. The officer complained. Little Sarko was not amused…