France: judges clear way for Sarkozy to rename UMP party Les Républicains

Judges in Paris have cleared the way for Nicolas Sarkozy to rename his rightwing UMP party Les Républicains (the Republicans) as he prepares a bid to win back the French presidency in 2017.

The choice of name had sparked furious criticism from the French left which accused Sarkozy of staging a hostile takeover of national heritage. Socialists argued that French people of all political persuasions call themselves republicans and support the values of liberty and freedom of the French republic.

They said it wasn’t fair for the right to take the monopoly of the term. The leftwing daily Libération called the proposed name-change a “semantic hold-up”.

But an urgent court challenge brought by leftwing associations under the banner “We are the Republicans”, as well 140 individuals – including a family who have the surname Républicain – has been thrown out by a Paris court. Christophe Lèguevaques, one of the lawyers who defended the legal challenge, said: “We are all Republicans according to the first article of the French constitution ... which states that France is an indivisible republic. And here, two thirds of the population are being excluded.” The groups may consider launching an appeal.

But Sarkozy, who returned from retirement last autumn to head the rightwing opposition after losing the presidency to François Hollande in 2012, will now plough ahead with his sweeping rebranding operation. The massive marketing exercise is key to Sarkozy’s drive to turn the party into his personal war machine for a bid to reconquer the Elysée in 2017. The name Les Républicains will be put to an electronic vote of party members this week before a party congress on 30 May.

But Sarkozy, 59, faces several hurdles in his quest for the presidency, including opposition from Alain Juppé, a former prime minister and seasoned politician, who will run against him in the party’s primary race to choose its candidate next year.

More potentially damaging is the latest corruption investigation hanging over Sarkozy’s head. He is accused of conspiring with his lawyer to give a magistrate a lucrative job in Monaco in exchange for inside information on another corruption inquiry related to his campaign financing.

In July, Sarkozy was charged with corruption, influence peddling and violation of legal secrecy in the case – and became the first former head of state to be taken into police custody for questioning.

A French court recently confirmed that wiretapped recordings of Sarkozy talking to his lawyer could be used as evidence in the ongoing investigation. If the case were to come to criminal trial before the presidential vote, it could be seriously damaging. Sarkozy, who denies all allegations, faces a theoretical maximum of 10 years in prison if found guilty, but legal experts say a custodial sentence is unlikely even in the event of a conviction.

Sarkozy, bolstered by an excellent showing for his party in recent local elections, mocked the left for challenging his party’s new name and criticised Hollande, who despite low approval ratings is predicted to stand for re-election in 2017. “François Hollande and the left have lost. They don’t know where they’re going, they’re discredited, they have no line,” Sarkozy said

Sarkozy’s recent policy proposals include banning the Muslim headscarf from universities and he has insisted people who receive certain social welfare benefits should have to work for them.

The party faithful is expected to vote in favour of the Les Républicains name change. But some commentators have complained the name sounds too American and similar to the US Republican party. Sarkozy, a fan of George W Bush, reportedly did not choose the name to copy the US, but rather because his pollsters advised him that acronyms had fallen from favour among voters who are increasingly distrustful of the political class.

His team reportedly felt voters preferred bold words such as Spain’s Podemos (we can), and Les Républicains could be presented as a kind of citizens’ movement rather than a plain political party. It is also marks an attempt to counter the rise of Marine Le Pen’s far-right Front National and attack her as anti-republican.

However, a poll last week found that 68% of French people and 40% of UMP sympathisers thought a political party should not have the right to take ownership of the word Républicain.

The name change is also designed to draw a line under years of internal disputes in the UMP and ongoing funding scandals surrounding the party.