Nicolas Sarkozy, the law-and-order Interior Minister who wants to be France's next President, rarely passes up a chance to speak before an audience. So when Loïc Le Meur, one of the country's most widely read bloggers, proposed doing a podcast interview with Sarkozy, the answer was
mais, oui.
The Dec. 22 interview has created a sensation in the French blogosophere. It has attracted more than 50,000 views on Le Meur's blog,
www.loiclemeur.com, and has been picked up by scores of other French blogs. Although the podcast is in French, Le Meur has an English-language version of his blog that summarizes the interview.
Not only is it the first-ever podcast by a French political leader, it also marks a startling break with customary etiquette, as Sarkozy and Le Meur address each other with the familiar "
tu" rather than "
vous" during their 30-minute meeting. "Bravo!" read many of the hundreds of viewer commentaries posted on Le Meur's blog over the past few days. Many are heralding the interview as a watershed event, showing that French politicians can no longer afford to ignore the growing importance of nontraditional media (see BW, 7/11/05,
"Let them Eat Cake -- and Blog About It").
__________
Read More / Source:
Business Week
Dec 31, 2005, 12:59 AM
