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St Jean de Cole for a great day out & get your hanging baskets!!!!

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Not just horse jumping & dressage & cross-country but scones & strawberry jam & cream & proper tea. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who the Mac

Who the mac does she think she is , macing here and there, making a mac nuisance of herself.

Mac off!

St George's day today

Saint George
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St George
Born
between ca. AD 275 and 281
Died
ca. AD 303, Lydda, Palestine
Venerated in
Christianity
Major shrine
Church of Saint George, Lod
Feast
April 23

Attributes
Lance, Dragon, Horseback Rider, Knighthood, St George's Cross
Patronage

Amersfoort, Netherlands; Aragon; agricultural workers; archers; armourers; Beirut, Lebanon; Scouts; butchers; Cappadocia; Catalonia; cavalry; chivalry; Constantinople; Corinthians (Brazilian soccer team);Crusaders; England (by Pope Benedict XIV); equestrians; Ethiopia; farmers; Ferrara, Italy; field workers; Genoa; Georgia; Gozo; Bulgaria; Greece; Haldern, Germany; Heide; herpes; horsemen; horses; husbandmen; knights; lepers; leprosy; Lithuania; Lod; Malta; Modica, Sicily; Moscow; Order of the Garter; Palestine; Palestinian Christians; plague; Portugal; Ptuj, Slovenia; riders; saddle makers; sheep; shepherds; skin diseases; soldiers; syphilis; Teutonic Knights; Venice [1]
Saints Portal


In Christian hagiography Saint George - The Saint who killed the Dragon (ca. 275-281–April 23, 303) was a soldier of the Roman Empire, from Anatolia, now modern day Turkey, who was venerated as an Islamic and Christian martyr. Saint George is the most venerated saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Immortalised in the tale of George and the Dragon, he is the patron saint of Canada, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, the cities of Istanbul, Ljubljana and Moscow, as well as a wide range of professions, organisations and disease sufferers.

Contents[hide]
1 Life
2 Veneration as a martyr
3 Hymn of Saint George
4 Sources
5 George and the Dragon
6 Iconography
7 Later depictions and occurrences
8 Colours
9 Patronage and remembrance
9.1 England
9.2 Palestine
9.3 Lebanon
9.4 Georgia
9.5 Bulgaria
9.6 Iberian Peninsula
9.7 Greece
9.8 Brazil
9.9 United States
9.10 India
9.11 Freemasons
9.12 Scouting
9.13 Same sex matrimony
9.14 Other
10 Muslim world
11 Interfaith shrine
12 Etymology
13 Notes
14 See also
15 References
16 External links
//

[edit] Life


There are no historical sources on Saint George.[1] The legend that follows is synthesized from early and late hagiographical sources, such as the Golden Legend, which is the most familiar version in English, since William Caxton's first translation.
George was born to a Christian family during the late 3rd century. His father was from Cappadocia and served as an officer of the Roman army. His mother was from Lydda, Iudaea (now Lod, Israel). She returned to her native city as a widow along with her young son, where she provided him with an education.

St. George being broken on the wheel
The youth followed his father's example by joining the army soon after coming of age. He proved to be a good soldier and consequently rose through the military ranks of the time. By his late twenties he had gained the title of Tribunus (Tribune) and then Comes (Count), at which time George was stationed in Nicomedia as a member of the personal guard attached to Roman Emperor Diocletian.
According to the hagiography, in 303 Diocletian issued an edict authorizing the systematic persecution of Christians across the Empire. The emperor Galerius was supposedly responsible for this decision and would continue the persecution during his own reign (305–311). George was ordered to take part in the persecution but instead confessed to being a Christian himself and criticized the imperial decision. An enraged Diocletian ordered the torture of this apparent traitor, and his execution.
After various tortures, beginning with being lacerated on a wheel of swords, George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia's defensive wall on April 23, 303. The witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians as well, and so they joined George in martyrdom. His body was returned to Lydda for burial, where Christians soon came to honour him as a martyr.

[edit] Veneration as a martyr

A 15th-century icon of St. George from Novgorod

Scenes from the life of St. George, Kremikovtsi Monastery, Bulgaria
A church built in Lydda during the reign of Constantine I (reigned 306–337), was consecrated to "a man of the highest distinction", according to the church history of Eusebius of Caesarea; the name of the patron was not disclosed, but later he was asserted to have been George. The church was destroyed in 1010 but was later rebuilt and dedicated to Saint George by the Crusaders. In 1191 and during the conflict known as the Third Crusade (1189–1192), the church was again destroyed by the forces of Saladin, Sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty (reigned 1171–1193). A new church was erected in 1872 and is still standing.
During the fourth century the veneration of George spread from Palestine to the rest of the Eastern Roman Empire, though the martyr is not mentioned in the Syriac Breviarium[2] and Georgia. In Georgia the feast day on November 23 is credited to St Nino of Cappadocia, who in Georgian hagiography is a relative of St George, credited with bringing Christianity to the Georgians in the fourth century. By the fifth century the cult of Saint George had reached the Western Roman Empire as well: in 494, George was canonised as a saint by Pope Gelasius I, among those "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the earliest text preserving fragments of George's narrative is in an Acta Sanctorum identified by Hippolyte Delehaye of the scholarly Bollandists to be a palimpsest of the fifth century. The compiler of this Acta, according to Delehaye "confused the martyr with his namesake, the celebrated George of Cappadocia, the Arian intruder into the see of Alexandria and enemy of St. Athanasius".

[edit] Hymn of Saint George
A commonly sung tropar in the Romanian Orthodox Church and in other Eastern Orthodoxy churches is the Hymn of St. George:
"Liberator of captives,and defender of the poor,physician of the sick,and champion of kings,O trophy-bearer,and Great Martyr George,intercede withChrist our God thatour souls be saved."

[edit] Sources
A critical edition of the Syriac Acta of Saint George, accompanied by an annoted English translation was published by E.W. Brooks (1863-1955) in 1925. The hagiography was originally written in Greek.

[edit] George and the Dragon

One of the earliest extant depictions of St. George survives in a church at the Russian village of Ladoga.
Main article: Saint George and the Dragon
The episode of St George and the Dragon was Eastern in origin,[3] brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance (Loomis; Whatley). The earliest known depiction of the mytheme is from early eleventh-century Cappadocia (Whately), (in the iconography of the Eastern Orthodox Church, George had been depicted as a soldier since at least the seventh century); the earliest known surviving narrative text is an eleventh-century Georgian text (Whatley).
In the fully-developed Western version, a dragon makes its nest at the spring that provides water for the city of Cyrene in Libya or the city of Lydda, depending on the source. Consequently, the citizens have to dislodge the dragon from its nest for a time, in order to collect water. To do so, each day they offer the dragon a human sacrifice. The victim is chosen by drawing lots. One day, this happened to be the princess. The monarch begs for her life with no result. She is offered to the dragon, but there appears the saint on his travels. He faces the dragon, slays it and rescues the princess. The grateful citizens abandon their ancestral paganism and convert to Christianity.
The dragon motif was first combined with the standardized Passio Georgii in Vincent of Beauvais' encyclopedic Speculum historale and then in Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend, which guaranteed its popularity in the later Middle Ages as a literary and pictorial subject (Whatly).
The parallels with Perseus and Andromeda are inescapable. In the allegorical reading, the dragon embodies a suppressed pagan cult.[4] The story has roots that predate Christianity. Examples such as Sabazios, the sky father, who was usually depicted riding on horseback, and Zeus's defeat of Typhon the Titan in Greek mythology, along with examples from Germanic and Vedic traditions, have led a number of historians, such as Loomis, to suggest that George is a Christianized version of older deities in Indo-European culture.
In the medieval romances, the lance with which St George slew the dragon was called Ascalon, named after the city of Ashkelon in Palestine, now part of modern day Israel. [5]

Saint George and the Dragon, Paolo Uccello, c. 1470. This small one has the look of a griffin or a wyvern.
In Sweden, the princess rescued by Saint George is held to represent the kingdom of Sweden, while the dragon represents an invading army. Several sculptures of Saint George battling the dragon can be found in Stockholm, the earliest inside Storkyrkan ("The Great Church") in the Old Town.

[edit] Iconography
St. George is most commonly depicted in early icons, mosaics and frescos wearing armour contemporary with the depiction, executed in gilding and silver colour, intended to identify him as a Roman soldier. After the Fall of Constantinople and the association of St George with the crusades, he is more often portrayed mounted upon a white horse. At the same time St George began to be associated with St. Demetrius, another early soldier saint. When the two saints are portrayed together mounted upon horses, they may be likened to earthly manifestations of the archangels Michael and Gabriel. St George is always depicted in Eastern traditions upon a white horse and St. Demetrius on a red horse[6] St George can also be identified in the act of spearing a dragon, unlike St Demetrius, who is sometimes shown spearing a human figure, understood to represent Maximian.

[edit] Later depictions and occurrences

Moscow has probably more sculptures of St. George slaying the dragon than any other city: the iconography is even represented on Moscow's (and Russia's) coat of arms.
During the early 2nd millennium, George came to be seen as the model of chivalry, and during this time was depicted in works of literature, such as the medieval romances.
Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, compiled the Legenda Sanctorum, (Readings of the Saints) also known as Legenda Aurea (the Golden Legend) for its worth among readers. Its 177 chapters (182 in other editions) contain the story of Saint George.

[edit] Colours
Main article: St George's Cross
The "Colours of Saint George", or St George's Cross) are a white flag with a red cross, frequently borne by entities over which he is patron (e.g. England, Georgia, Liguria, Catalonia etc).
The origin of the St George's Cross came from the earlier plain white tunics worn by the early crusaders.
The same colour scheme was used by Viktor Vasnetsov for the facade of the Tretyakov Gallery, in which some of the most famous St. George icons are exhibited and which displays St. George as the coat of arms of Moscow over its entrance.

[edit] Patronage and remembrance
In 1969, Saint George's feast day was reduced to an optional memorial in the Roman Catholic calendar; the solemnity of his commemoration depends on purely local observance. He is, however, still honoured as a saint of major importance by the Eastern Orthodox Church and in Oriental Orthodoxy.

[edit] England

A 2006 gold proof half sovereign by the Royal Mint depicting St George killing the dragon
The cult of St George probably first reached the Kingdom of England when the crusaders returned from the Holy Land in the 12th century. King Edward III of England (reigned 1327 – 1377) was known for promoting the codes of knighthood and in 1348 founded the Order of the Garter. During his reign, George came to be recognised as the patron saint of England; prior to this, Saint Edmund had been considered the patron saint of England, although his veneration had perhaps waned since the time of the Norman conquest. Edward dedicated the chapel at Windsor Castle to the soldier saint who represented the knightly values of chivalry which he so much admired, and the Garter ceremony takes place there every year. In the 16th Century, William Shakespeare firmly placed St George within the national conscience in his play Henry V in which the English troops are rallied with the cry “God for Harry, England and St George.” On June 2 1893, Pope Leo XIII demoted St George as Patron Saint for the English, relegating him to the secondary rank of 'national protector' and replaced him with St Peter as the Patron Saint of England. The change was solemnly announced by Cardinal Herbert Vaughan in the Brompton Oratory. This papal pronouncement served to exclude the Catholic Church in England from a day which is part of English tradition. In 1963, in the Roman Catholic Church, St George was further demoted to a third class minor saint and removed him from the Universal Calendar, with the proviso that he could be honoured in local calendars. Pope John Paul II, in 2000, restored St George to the Calendar, and he appears in Missals as the English Patron Saint.
With the revival of Scottish and Welsh nationalism, there has been renewed interest within England in St George, whose memory had been in abeyance for many years. This is most evident in the St George's flags which now have replaced Union Flags in stadiums where English sports teams compete. Nevertheless, St George’s Day still remains a relatively low-key affair with the City of London not publicly celebrating the patron saint. However, the City of Salisbury does hold an annual St George’s Day pageant, the origins of which are believed to go back to the thirteenth century.

[edit] Palestine
Saint George is the patron saint of the Palestinian Christians, who lay claim to him as Saint George was from Palestine. In the areas around Bethlehem, where Saint George is said to have lived in his childhood, many Christians and many Muslims as well have a picture of St-George (known as Mar Girgius) in front of their homes, for his protection. See bottom sections

[edit] Lebanon
Saint George is the patron saint of Beirut.[7] Many bays around Lebanon are named after Saint George, particularly the Saint George Bay in Beirut.
The Bay of Saint George in Beirut is believed to be the place where the dragon lived and where it was slain.[8] In Lebanon, Saint George is believed to have cleaned off his spear at a massive rocky cave running into the hillside and overlooking the beautiful Jounieh Bay. Others argue it is at the Bay of Tabarja. The waters of both caves are believed to have miraculous powers for healing ailing children.[9]
An ancient gilded icon of St. George at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Beirut has been a major attraction for believers, Copts, Greek Orthodox, Catholics, Maronites and some Muslims, for many centuries.[10] Many churches are named in honor of the saint in Lebanon:
The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George, Centre Ville, Beirut, Lebanon
The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George, Souk El Gharb, Lebanon
The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George, Tripoli, Lebanon
The Greek Catholic Church of Saint Georges of Bmakine, Souk El Gharb, Lebanon
The Maronite Catholic Cathedral of Saint George, Centre Ville, Beirut, Lebanon
The Maronite Catholic Cathedral of Saint George, Ehden, Lebanon
Holy Monastery of Saint George, Deir El Harf, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Ain Bourdai, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Beit Mery, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Edde, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Faitroun, Keserwan District, Mount Lebanon, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Kfeir, Mount Hermon, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Khonchara, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Nahr Barada, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Qlaia, South Lebanon, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Rmaich, South Lebanon, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Sarba, South Lebanon, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Sarine, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
Saint Georges of Zouk Mikael, Keserwan District, Mount Lebanon, Lebanon
Triple Church of St. George, Tabarja, Lebanon

[edit] Georgia

Alaverdi Monastery of Kakheti, in Georgia
Saint George is a patron saint of Georgia. According to Georgian author Enriko Gabisashvili, Saint George is most venerated in the nation of Georgia. An 18th century Georgian geographer and historian Vakhushti Bagrationi wrote that there are 365 Orthodox churches in Georgia named after Saint George according to the number of days in a one year. [11] There are indeed many churches in Georgia named after the Saint and Alaverdi Monastery is one of the largest.
The Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates St. George's day twice a year, on May 6 (O.C. April 23) and November 23. The feast day in November was instituted by St Nino of Cappadocia, credited with bringing Christianity to the Georgians in the fourth century. She was from Cappadocia like Saint George and was his relative. This feast day is unique to Georgia and it is the day of St. George's martyrdom.

White George on Georgian COA
There are also many folk traditions in Georgia that vary from Georgian Orthodox Church rules, because they portray the Saint differently than the Church does and show the veneration of Saint George in common people of Georgia. Different regions of Georgia have different traditions and in most folk tales Saint George is adored as Christ himself. Kakheti province has the icon of White George. White George is also seen on the current Coat of Arms of Georgia. Pshavi region has the icons of Cuppola St. George and Lashari St. George. Khevsureti region has Kakhmati, Gudani, Sanebi icons dedicated to the Saint. Pshavs and Khevsurs used to call Saint George the God while they prayed in the Middle Ages. Another notable icon is Lomisi Saint George in Mtiuleti and Khevi provinces of Georgia. [11]

Statue of Saint George in the Freedom Square in Tbilisi, Georgia
An example of folk tale about St. George: Once Jesus Christ, prophet Elijah and St. George were going through Georgia. When they became tired and hungry they stopped to dine. They saw a Georgian shepherd man and decided to ask him to feed them. First, Elijah went up to the shepherd and asked him for a sheep. After the shepherd asked his identity Elijah said that, he was the one who sent him rain to get him a good profit from farming. The shepherd became angry at him and told him that he was the one who also sent thunderstorms, which destroyed the farms of poor widows.
After Elijah, Jesus Christ himself went up to the shepherd and asked him for a sheep and told him that he was the god, the creator of everything. The shepherd became angry at Jesus and told him that he is the one who takes the souls away of young men and grants long lives to many dishonest people.
After Elijah and Christ's unsuccessful attempts, St. George went up to the shepherd, asked him for a sheep and told him that he is Saint George who the shepherd calls upon every time when he has troubles and St. George protect him from all the evil and saves him from troubles. After hearing St. George, the shepherd fell down on his knees and adored him and gave him everything. This folk tale shows the veneration of St. George in the Middle Ages provinces of Georgia and similar tales are told in the northern mountainous parts of the country.[11]
An interesting facts are Georgian sources, some of which are testified by Persian ones, that Georgian Army during the battles were led by the knight on the white horse who came down from the heaven. Catholicos Besarion of Georgia also testified this fact.

Cross of St. George, Russian imperial decoration for military heroism.

[edit] Bulgaria
Possibly the most celebrated name day in the country, St George's Day (Гергьовден, Gergyovden) is a public holiday that takes place on 6 May every year. A common ritual is to prepare a whole lamb and eat lamb, which is an ancient practice possibly related to Slavic pagan sacrificial traditions and the fact that he is the patron saint of the shepherds.
St. George's Day is also the Day of the Bulgarian Army (made official with a decree of Knyaz Alexander of Bulgaria on 9 January 1880) and parades are organised in the capital Sofia to present the best of the army's equipment and manpower.

[edit] Iberian Peninsula
On the Iberian peninsula, Saint George also came to be considered as patron to the Crown of Aragon and Catalonia, Valencia and Majorca; (Spanish language: San Jorge, Catalan language: Sant Jordi) and Portugal (Portuguese language: São Jorge). Already connected in accepting George as their patron saint, in 1386 England and Portugal agreed to an Anglo-Portuguese Alliance. Today this treaty between the United Kingdom and Portugal is still in force.
His feast date, April 23, is the Day of Aragon (Spain) and is also the a very important holiday in Catalonia, where it is traditional to give a rose and a book to the loved one. This, together with the anniversary of the deaths, in 1616, of Cervantes and Shakespeare, has led UNESCO to declare April 23 World Book and Copyright Day.

[edit] Greece
In Greece, St. George is the patron saint of the Hellenic Army. His image adorns all regimental battle flags (Colours), and military parades are held in his honour on 23 April every year in most army garrison towns and cities.

[edit] Brazil
In the religious tradition of the Afro-Brazilian Candomblé, Ogoun (as this Yoruba divinity is known in the Portuguese language) is often identified with Saint George in many regions of the country, being widely celebrated by both religions' followers.

[edit] United States
The United States Armor Association ("a non-profit organization with over 6,000 members dedicated to disseminating knowledge of the military art and sciences, with special attention to mobility in ground warfare"[12]) "recognizes its finest tankers and cavalrymen" with a bronze medal of the Order of St. George.[13]. St George is also known to be the patron saint of the Boy Scouts of America.[14]

[edit] India
There are numerous churches dedicated to St. George in India (especially in Kerala) practising Oriental Orthodoxy.

[edit] Freemasons
The Freemasons consider St. George one of their primary patron saints. The United Grand Lodge of England holds its annual festival on a day as near as possible to St. George's Day, and St. George is depicted on the ceiling of the Grand Lodge Temple on Great Queen Street, London. A number of Masonic lodges around the world bear the name of St. George.

[edit] Scouting
St George's Day is also celebrated with parades in those countries of which he is the patron saint. Also, St George is the patron saint of Scouting. On St George's day (or the closest Sunday), Scouts from around the world generally take part in a parade and some kind of church service in which they renew their Scout Promise. The St. George Award is the highest rank attainable by a Baden-Powell Scout, a world-wide Scouting movement founded in England.

[edit] Same sex matrimony
It has been suggested that St George become the patron saint of civil partnerships and other forms of same-sex matrimony because of the fact that he is referred to as the "bridegroom of Jesus" in the Coptic tradition.[15] Bridal imagery is a common theme throughout the New Testament and in the history of the Church, and St. George's position as a bridegroom is not unique.

[edit] Other
In Italy, Saint George is the patron saint of Reggio Calabria. He is also apparently the patron saint of skin disease sufferers and syphilitic people.[2] In Colombia there is a school called Gimnasio Campestre which honors St. George and where they recite his hymn every Friday.

[edit] Muslim world
In Islamic cultures, the Prophet or Saint al-Khidr or Khizar; according to the Quran a companion of the Prophet Muwsa Moses, is associated with Mar Girgis (St. George), who is also venerated under that name by Christians among mainly Muslim people, especially Palestinian people, and mainly around Jerusalem, where according to tradition he lived and often prayed near the Temple Mount, and is venerated as a protector in times of crisis. His main monument is the elongated mosque Qubbat al-Khidr ('The Dome of al-Khidr') which stands isolated from any close neighbors on the northwest corner of the Dome of the Rock terrace in Jerusalem.

[edit] Interfaith shrine
There is a tradition in the Holy Land of Christians and Muslim going to an Eastern Orthodox shrine for St. George at Beith Jala, Jews also attending the site in the belief that the prophet Elijah was buried there. This is testified to by Elizabeth Finn in 1866, where she wrote, “St. George killed the dragon in this country [Palestine]; and the place is shown close to Beyroot. Many churches and convents are named after him. The church at Lydda is dedicated to St. George: so is a convent near Bethlehem, and another small one just opposite the Jaffa gate; and others beside. The Arabs believe that St. George can restore mad people to their senses; and to say a person has been sent to St. George’s, is equivalent to saying he has been sent to a madhouse. It is singular that the Moslem Arabs share this veneration for St. George, and send their mad people to be cured by him, as well as the Christians. But they commonly call him El Khudder —The Green—according to their favorite manner of using epithets instead of names. Why he should be called green, however, I cannot tell—unless it is from the colour of his horse. Gray horses are called green in Arabic.” [16] A possible explanation for this colour reference is Al Khidr, the erstwhile tutor of Moses, gained his name from having sat in a barren desert, turning it into a lush green paradise. See above for the association of Al Khidder and St George.
William Dalrymple reviewing the literature in 1999 tells us that J.E. Hanauer in his 1907 book Foklore of the Holy Land: Muslim, Christian and Jewish "mentioned a shrine in the village of Beit Jala, beside Bethlehem, which at the time was frequented by all three of Palestine’s religious communities. Christians regarded it as the birthplace of St. George, Jews as the burial place of the Prophet Elias, Muslims as the home of the legendary saint of fertility known simply as Khidr, Arabic for green. According to Hanauer, in his day the monastery was “a sort of madhouse. Deranged persons of all the three faiths are taken thither and chained in the court of the chapel, where they are kept for forty days on bread and water, the Eastern Orthodox priest at the head of the establishment now and then reading the Gospel over them, or administering a whipping as the case demands.’[17] In the 1920’s according to Taufiq Canaan’s Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine, nothing seemed to have changed, and all three communities were still visiting the shrine and praying together."[18]
Dalrymple himself visited the place in 1995 "I asked around in the Christian Quarter in Jerusalem, and discovered that the pace was very much alive. With all the greatest shrines in the Christian world to choose from, it seemed that when the local Arab Christians had a problem – an illness, or something more complicated: a husband detained in an Israeli prison camp, for example – they preferred to seek the intercession of St George in his grubby little shrine at Beit Jala rather than praying at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem or the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem."[18] He asked the priest at the shrine "Do you get many Muslims coming here?" The priest replied, "We get hundreds! Almost as many as the Christian pilgrims. Often, when I come in here, I find Muslims all over the floor, in the aisles, up and down."[18][19][20]
The Encyclopædia Britannica quotes G.A. Smith in his Hist. Geog. of Holy Land p. 164 saying “The Mahommedans who usually identify St. George with the prophet Elijah, at Lydda confound his legend with one about Christ himself. Their name for Antichrist is Dajjal, and they have a tradition that Jesus will slay Antichrist by the gate of Lydda. The notion sprang from an ancient bas-relief of George and the Dragon on the Lydda church. But Dajjal may be derived, by a very common confusion between n and l, from Dagon, whose name two neighboring villages bear to this day, while one of the gates of Lydda used to be called the Gate of Dagon.”[21]

[edit] Etymology
The name George comes from Latin Georgius, from Greek Georgios "husbandman, farmer," from geo "earth" + ergon "work".

[edit] Notes
^ The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge omitted Saint George.
^ Butler.
^ Robertson, The Medieval Saints' Lives (pp 51-52) suggested that the dragon motif was transferred to the George legend from that of his fellow soldier saint, Saint Theodore Tiro. The Roman Catholic writer Alban Butler (Lives of the Saints) was at pains to credit the motif as a late addition: "It should be noted, however, that the story of the dragon, though given so much prominence, was a later accretion, of which we have no sure traces before the twelfth century. This puts out of court the attempts made by many folklorists to present St. George as no more than a christianized survival of pagan mythology."
^ Loomis 1948:65 and notes 111-17, giving references to other saints' encounters with dragons. "To Loomis's list might be added the stories of Martha . . . and Silvester, which is vigorously summarized (from a fifth-century version of the Actus Silvestri) by the early English writer, Aldhelm, abbot of Malmesbury (639-709), in his De Virginitate (see Aldhelm: The Prose Works, pp. 82-83). On dragons and saints, see now Rauer, Beowulf and the Dragon." (Whatley 2004). Saint Mercurialis, the first bishop of the city of Forlì, in Romagna, is often portrayed in the act of killing a dragon.
^ Incidentally, the name Ascalon was used by Winston Churchill for his personal aircraft during World War II, according to records at Bletchley Park.
^ The red pigment may appear black if it has bitumenized.
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1937546.stm
^ http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197106/st.george.the.ubiquitous.htm
^ http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197106/st.george.the.ubiquitous.htm
^ http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197106/st.george.the.ubiquitous.htm
^ a b c Gabidzashvili, Enriko. 1991. Saint George: In Ancient Georgian Literature. Armazi - 89: Tbilisi, Georgia.
^ The U.S. Armor Association homepage. Retrieved on Jan. 17, 2007
^ U.S. Armor Association Awards Program. Retrieved on Jan. 17, 2007
^ St. George, Patron Saint of Scouting. Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
^ http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biog1/geor1.html The quotes on this page are from The Martyrdom and Miracles of St. George of Cappodocia: The Coptic Texts, E. A. Wallis Budge, (London: D. Nutt, 1888), p282 and 320-321
^ Elizabeth Anne Finn (1866). Home in the Holyland. James Nisbet and Co., London, 46-47.
^ Folk-lore of the Holy Land, Moslem, Christian and Jewish, by J. E. Hanauer 1907. Retrieved on Jan. 18, 2007
^ a b c William Dalrymple. From the Holy Mountain: a journey among the Christians of the Middle East. Owl Books (March 15, 1999).
^ Who is Saint George?. St. George's Basilica. Retrieved on Jan. 17, 2007
^ H. S. Haddad. "Georgic" Cults and Saints of the Levant. Retrieved on Jan. 18, 2007
^ (1910) Encyclopædia Britannica - eleventh edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Co., New York, NY. Retrieved on Jan. 18, 2007

[edit] See also
Khidr
Georgslied, 9th-century Old High German poem about the life of Saint George
Knights of St. George
Bristol, England, which has a district christened Saint George and also a park bearing that name
St. George's Day
Diada de Sant Jordi
Paladin
Dragon Hill, Uffington
St George's Church, churches dedicated to St. George
The Magic Sword, 1961 film loosely based on the legend of St. George and the Dragon

[edit] References
Brooks, E.W., 1925. Acts of Saint George in series Analecta Gorgiana 8 (Gorgias Press).
Burgoyne, Michael H. 1976. A Chronological Index to the Muslim Monuments of Jerusalem. In The Architecture of Islamic Jerusalem. Jerusalem: The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
Alban Butler, Butler's Lives of the Saints, vol. 2, pp. 148-150. "George, Martyr, Protector of the Kingdom of England" (on-line text)
Gabidzashvili, Enriko. 1991. Saint George: In Ancent Georgian Literature. Armazi - 89: Tbilisi, Georgia.
Loomis, C. Grant, 1948. White Magic, An Introduction to the Folklore of Christian Legend (Cambridge: Medieval Society of America)
Natsheh, Yusuf. 2000. "Architectural survey", in Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City 1517-1917. Edited by Sylvia Auld and Robert Hillenbrand (London: Altajir World of Islam Trust) pp 893-899.
Whatley, E. Gordon, editor, with Anne B. Thompson and Robert K. Upchurch, 2004. St. George and the Dragon in the South English Legendary (East Midland Revision, c. 1400) Originally published in Saints' Lives in Middle English Collections
(Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications) (On-line Introduction)

[edit] External links

French Elections ~ Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article or section contains information about one or more candidates in an upcoming or ongoing election.Content may change dramatically as the election approaches and unfolds.

Nicolas Sarkozy in April, 2007
France

Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (born 28 January 1955 in Paris, France), simply known as Nicolas Sarkozy (/nikola saʁkozi/ — French pronunciation (help·info)), is a French politician, and the head of the right-of-centre party UMP, the French conservative party. He is often nicknamed Sarko by both his French supporters and opponents.
Nicolas Sarkozy is a declared candidate for the Presidency of the Republic in the 2007 election and was chosen on 14 January 2007 as the UMP's candidate. He has been the front-runner since then. Until March 26, 2007 he served as the Minister of the Interior of France.
Contents[hide]
1 Personal life
1.1 Family background
1.2 Early life
1.3 Family
1.4 Studies
2 Political career
2.1 General traits
2.2 Career
2.3 Raffarin government
2.3.1 First term as Minister of the Interior
2.3.2 Minister of Finance
2.4 Villepin government
2.4.1 Second term as Minister of the Interior
2.5 Action as UMP's leader
2.6 Criticism and controversy
2.7 Candidacy for President
3 Timeline of career
4 Quotations
5 References
6 External links
6.1 Official websites
6.2 Press
6.3 Related contents
7 Bibliography
//

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Family background
Nicolas Sarkozy is the son of a Hungarian immigrant, Pál Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa[1] (Hungarian: nagybócsai Sárközy Pál; some sources spell it Nagy-Bócsay Sárközy Pál; Hungarian pronunciation (help·info)), and a French mother, Andrée Mallah. Pál Sárközy was born in 1928 in Budapest into a family belonging to the lower aristocracy of Hungary. The family possessed lands and a small castle in the village of Alattyán (near Szolnok), 92 km (57 miles) east of Budapest. Pál Sárközy's father and grandfather held elective offices in the town of Szolnok. Although the Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa (nagybócsai Sárközy) family was Protestant, Pál Sárközy's mother, Katalin Tóth de Csáford (Hungarian: csáfordi Tóth Katalin), grandmother of Nicolas Sarkozy, was from a Catholic aristocratic family.
As the Red Army invaded Hungary in 1944, the family fled the country. They returned to Hungary at the end of the war but all their possessions were seized. Pál Sárközy's father died soon afterwards and his mother, fearing that, as a class enemy, he would be drafted into the Hungarian People's Army and sent to Siberia, urged him to leave the country and promised she would eventually follow him and meet him in Paris. Pál Sárközy managed to flee to Austria and then Germany while his mother reported to authorities that he had drowned in Lake Balaton. Eventually, he arrived in Baden Baden, near the French border, where the headquarters of the French Army in Germany were located, and there he met a recruiter for the French Foreign Legion. He signed up for five years, and was sent for training to Sidi Bel Abbes, in French Algeria, where the French Foreign Legion's headquarters were located. He was due to be sent to Indochina at the end of training, but the doctor who checked him before departure, who happened to also be Hungarian, sympathized with him and gave him a medical discharge to save him from possible death at the hands of the Vietminh. He returned to civilian life in Marseille in 1948 and, although he asked for French citizenship only in the 1970s (his legal status was that of a stateless person until then), he nonetheless gallicized his Hungarian name into "Paul Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa".
Paul Sarkozy moved to Paris where he used his artistic skills to enter the advertising industry. He met Andrée Mallah, Nicolas Sarkozy's mother, in 1949. Andrée Mallah, then a law student, was the daughter of Benedict Mallah, a wealthy urologist and STD specialist with a well-established reputation in the mainly bourgeois 17th arrondissement of Paris. Benedict Mallah was originally a Sephardic Jew from Thessaloniki (Salonica), Greece. According to Jewish genealogical societies, the Mallah family of Salonica anciently came from Provence in southern France, which they had probably left at the time of the Jewish expulsions in the Middle Ages. Benedict Mallah, the son of a jeweler, left Salonica, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1904 at the age of 14 to attend the prestigious Lycée Lakanal boarding school of Sceaux, in the southern suburbs of Paris. He studied medicine after his baccalaureate and decided to stay in France and become a French citizen. A doctor in the French Army during World War I, he met a recent war widow, Adèle Bouvier (1891-1956), from a bourgeois family of Lyon, whom he married in 1917. Adèle Bouvier, Nicolas Sarkozy's grandmother, was a Roman Catholic like the majority of French people. Benedict Mallah, for whom religion had reportedly never been a central issue, converted to Catholicism upon marrying Adèle Bouvier, which had been requested by Adèle's parents. Although Benedict Mallah converted to Catholicism, he and his family nonetheless had to flee Paris and take refuge in a small farm in Corrèze during World War II to avoid being arrested and delivered to the Germans.
Paul Sarkozy and Andrée Mallah settled in the 17th arrondissement in Paris and had three sons: Guillaume, born in 1951, who is an entrepreneur in the textile industry, Nicolas, born in 1955 and François, born in 1957 (an MBA and manager of a healthcare consultancy company[3]). In 1959 Paul Sarkozy left his wife and his three children. He later remarried twice and had two more children with his second wife.

[edit] Early life
During Sarkozy's childhood, his father refused to give his former wife's family any financial help, even though he had founded his own advertising agency and had become wealthy. The family lived in a small mansion owned by Sarkozy's grandfather, Benoît Mallah, in the 17th Arrondissement. The family later moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine, the wealthiest commune of France immediately west of the 17th Arrondissement just outside of Paris. According to Sarkozy, his staunchly Gaullist grandfather was more of an influence on him than his father, whom he rarely saw. His grandfather, a Sephardi Jew by birth, was a convert to Roman Catholicism, and Sarkozy was, accordingly, raised in the Catholic faith of his household. Nicolas Sarkozy, like his brothers, is a baptised and professing Roman Catholic.



Sarkozy's father Paul did not teach him or his brothers Hungarian. No evidence suggests that there was an attempt to enculturate the Sarkozy siblings with their paternal ethnic background.
Sarkozy has said that his father's abandonment shaped much of what he is today. As a young boy and teenager, he felt inferior in relation to his wealthy classmates.[citation needed] He did not feel fully French at the time (his father is said to have told him once that a Sarkozy never could become President of France, that such things happened only in the United States), suffered from insecurities (his physical shortness, his family's lack of money, at least relatively to their 17th Arrondissement or Neuilly neighbours), and is said to have harboured a considerable amount of resentment against his absent father. “What made me who I am now is the sum of all the humiliations suffered during childhood”, he said later.

[edit] Family
Sarkozy is married to Cecilia Sarkozy. They have a son, Louis. The couple separated temporarily in 2005 when Cecilia Sarkozy left her husband for Richard Attias, an events organiser with whom she spent time in New York. Sarkozy for his part became friendly with journalist Anne Fulda. The Sarkozys reunited in early 2006.

[edit] Studies
Sarkozy was enrolled in the Cours Saint-Louis de Monceau, a private Catholic middle and high school in the 17th Arrondissement, where he was reportedly a mediocre pupil. Later he obtained a bachelor's degree in law from the Université Paris X Nanterre. He attended the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (more commonly known as Sciences Po), but did not graduate. After passing the bar exam, he became a lawyer specializing in French business law.

[edit] Political career

[edit] General traits

Nicolas Sarkozy speaking at the congress of his party
He is generally recognized by the right and left as a highly skilled politician and striking orator. Supporters of Sarkozy within France emphasise his charisma, political innovation and willingness to "make a dramatic break" amidst mounting disaffection against "politics as usual"; Some see him as wanting to depart from traditional French social and economic principles in favour of American-style economic reform. Overall, he is generally considered to be somewhat more pro-US than most French politicians.
Since November 2004, he has been president of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), France's major right political party, and he is Minister of the Interior in the government of Dominique de Villepin, with the honorific title of Minister of State, making him effectively the number three man in the French State after President Jacques Chirac and the prime minister. His ministerial responsibilities include law enforcement and working to co-ordinate relationships between the national and local governments. Previously, he was a deputy to the French National Assembly. He was forced to resign this position in order to accept his ministerial appointment. He previously also held several ministerial posts, including Finance Minister.

[edit] Career
Sarkozy's political career began at the age of 22, when he became a city councillor in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a wealthy and exclusive western suburb of Paris (in the Hauts-de-Seine département). Member of the Neo-Gaullist party RPR, he went on to be elected mayor of that town, after the death of the incumbent mayor Achille Peretti. Sarkozy had been close to Peretti, as he was his secretary's son. The senior RPR politician in the time, Charles Pasqua, wanted to become mayor, and asked Sarkozy to organise his campaign. Instead Sarkozy profited from a short illness of Pasqua to propel himself into the office of mayor.[2] He was the youngest ever mayor of any town in France with a population of over 50,000. He served from 1983 to 2002. In 1988, he became a deputy in the National Assembly.
In 1993, Sarkozy was in the national news for personally dealing with the “Human Bomb”, a man who had taken small children hostage in a kindergarten in Neuilly. The “Human Bomb” was killed that day by policemen of the RAID, who entered the school stealthily while the attacker was resting.
From 1993 to 1995, he was Minister for the Budget and spokesman for the executive in the cabinet of Prime Minister Édouard Balladur. Throughout most of his early career, Sarkozy had been seen as a protégé of Jacques Chirac. However, in 1995 he spurned Chirac and backed Balladur for President of France. After Chirac won the election, Sarkozy lost his position as Minister for the Budget and found himself outside the circles of power. It is widely believed that ever since 1995 Chirac has considered Sarkozy's siding with Balladur as a form of treason, and that the two men now loathe one another.
However, he came back after the right-wing defeat at the 1997 parliamentary election, as number 2 of the RPR. When the party leader Philippe Séguin resigned, in 1999, he took the lead of the Neo-Gaullist party. But it obtained its worst result at the 1999 European Parliament election. With 12.7% of votes, the RPR list arrived after the dissident Rally for France of Charles Pasqua. Sarkozy lost the RPR leadership.
In 2002, however, after his re-election as President of the French Republic (see French presidential election, 2002), Chirac appointed Sarkozy as French Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, despite the widely acknowledged friction between the two. Following Jacques Chirac's 14th of July keynote speech on road safety Sarkozy as interior minister pushed through new legislation leading to the mass purchase of speed cameras and increased awareness of danger on the French road system.
Following the cabinet reshuffle of 31 March 2004, Sarkozy was moved to the position of Finance Minister. Tensions continued to build between Sarkozy and Chirac and within the UMP party, as Sarkozy's intentions of becoming head of the party after the resignation of Alain Juppé became clear. It became increasingly apparent that Sarkozy would go on to seek the presidency in 2007; in an often-repeated comment made on television channel France 2, when asked by a journalist whether he thought about the presidential election when he shaved in the morning, Sarkozy commented, “not just when I shave”.[3]
In November 2004 after party elections, Sarkozy became leader of the UMP with 85% of the vote. In accordance with an agreement with Chirac, he resigned his position as minister. Sarkozy's ascent was marked by the division of UMP between sarkozystes, such as Sarkozy's “first lieutenant”, Brice Hortefeux, and Chirac loyalists, such as Jean-Louis Debré.
Sarkozy was made Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by President Chirac in February 2005. He was re-elected on 13 March 2005 to the National Assembly (as required by the constitution,[4] he had had to resign as a deputy when he had become minister in 2002).
On 31 May 2005 the main French news radio station France Info reported a rumour that Sarkozy was to be reappointed Minister of the Interior in the government of Dominique de Villepin without resigning from the UMP leadership. This was confirmed on 2 June 2005, when the members of the government were officially announced.

[edit] Raffarin government

[edit] First term as Minister of the Interior

Nicolas Sarkozy, here with then prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, took pains during his first stint as Minister of the Interior to show that he cared about law enforcement (here, with some bicycle-mounted officers of the French National Police).
Towards the end of his first term as Minister of the Interior, in 2004, Sarkozy was the most popular conservative politician in France, according to polls conducted at the beginning of 2004. His “tough on crime” policies, which included increasing the police presence on the streets and introducing monthly crime performance ratings, were popular with many. However, he was criticised for putting forward legislation which can be questioned as an infringement on civil rights, and adversely affected disadvantaged sections of the population.
Sarkozy has sought to ease the sometimes tense relationships between the general French population and the Muslim community. Unlike the Catholic Church in France with their official leaders or the Protestants with their umbrella organizations to speak for them, Islam, with its lack of structure did not have any group that could legitimately deal with the French government on their behalf. Sarkozy felt that the foundation of such an organisation was desirable. He supported the foundation in May 2003 of the private non-profit Conseil français du culte musulman (“French Council of Muslim Worship”), an organisation meant to be representative of French Muslims.[5] In addition, Sarkozy has suggested amending the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State, mostly in order to be able to finance mosques and other Muslim institutions with public funds.[6]

[edit] Minister of Finance
During his short appointment as Minister of Finance, Sarkozy was responsible for introducing a number of policies. The degree to which this reflected libéralisme (a hands-off approach to running the economy) or more traditional French state dirigisme (intervention) is controversial.
In September 2004, Sarkozy oversaw the reduction of the government ownership stake in France Télécom from 50.4% to 41%.[7]
Sarkozy backed a partial nationalisation of the engineering company Alstom decided by his predecessor when the company was exposed to bankruptcy in 2003.[8]
Sarkozy reached an agreement with the major retail chains in France to concertedly lower prices on household goods by an average of 2%; the success of this measure is disputed, with studies suggesting that the decrease was closer to 1%.[9]
Taxes: Sarkozy avoided taking a position on the ISF (“solidarity tax on fortune”). This is considered an ideological symbol by many on the Left and Right. Some in the business world and on the Liberal Right, such as Alain Madelin, wanted it abolished. For Sarkozy, that would have risked being categorised by the Left as a gift to the richest classes of society at a time of economic difficulties.[10]

[edit] Villepin government

[edit] Second term as Minister of the Interior

Secretary Rice with Sarkozy, Minister of Interior of the French Republic after their bilateral at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building
During his second term at the Ministry of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy was initially more discreet about his ministerial activities: instead of focusing on his own topic of law and order, many of his declarations addressed wider issues, since he was expressing his opinions as head of the UMP party.
Main article: Response to the 2005 civil unrest in France
However, the civil unrest in autumn 2005 put law enforcement in the spotlight again. Nicolas Sarkozy made a number of tough declarations. He was accused of having provoked the unrest by calling young delinquents from housing projects "racaille" (chavs) in Argenteuil, near Paris. After the accidental death of two kids, which sparked the riots, Sarkozy first blamed it on "hoodlums" and gangsters. He was then criticized by many on the left wing, and including by a member of his own government, Azouz Begag, Delegate Minister for Equal Opportunities, who disagrees with his policies.[11]
After the rioting, he made a number of announcements on future policy: selection of immigrants, better tracking of immigrants, and a reform on the 1945 ordinance government justice measures for young delinquents.
In spring 2006, Nicolas Sarkozy was to present a bill to Parliament which would reform French immigration rules and procedures.

[edit] Action as UMP's leader
Sarkozy currently is the president of UMP, the French conservative party, elected with 85% of the vote. During his presidency, the number of members has significantly increased. In 2005, he supported a "yes" vote in the French referendum on the European Constitution.
Throughout 2005, Sarkozy became increasingly vocal in calling for radical changes in France's economic and social policies. These calls culminated in an interview with Le Monde on 8 September 2005, during which he claimed that the French had been misled for 30 years by false promises, and denounced what he considers to be unrealistic policies.[12] Among other issues:
he called for a simplified and “fairer” taxation system, with fewer loopholes, and a maximum taxation rate (all direct taxes combined) at 50% of revenue;
he approved measures reducing or denying social support to unemployed workers who refuse work offered to them;
he pressed for a reduction in the budget deficit, claiming that the French state has been living off credit for some time.
Such policies are what are called in France libéral (that is, in favour of laissez-faire economic policies, although this judgment is made by French standards) or, with a pejorative undertone, ultra-libéral. Sarkozy rejects this label of libéral and prefers to call himself a pragmatist instead.
Sarkozy opened another avenue of controversy by declaring that he wanted a reform of the immigration system, with quotas designed to admit the skilled workers needed by the French economy. He also wants to reform the current French system for foreign students, claiming that it enables foreign students to take open-ended curricula in order to obtain residency in France; instead, he wants to select the best students to the best curricula in France.
In early 2006, the French parliament adopted a controversial bill known as DADVSI, which reforms French copyright law. Since his party was divided on the issue, Sarkozy stepped in and organized meetings between various parties involved. Later, groups such as the Odebi League and EUCD.info alleged that Sarkozy personally and unofficially supported certain amendments to the law, which enacted strong penalties against designers of peer-to-peer systems.

[edit] Criticism and controversy

Since his famous Kärcher remark, Nicolas Sarkozy has been lampooned about his fondness for cleaning out the riff-raff; here, electoral posters of Sarkozy were posted on a Kärcher car wash
Sarkozy's political views have been the subject of some controversy. Generally speaking, he is the bête noire of the left (see below), and is also criticised by many on the right, most vocally by the supporters of Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin, such as Jean-Louis Debré, but also by social Catholics such as Christine Boutin; Boutin however, in the end, gave up her presidential bid and became a political advisor to Sarkozy.[4][5]
Critics on the Left have accused him of being an authoritarian demagogue, ready to trade away civil liberties for political gains. Some of these accusations are echoed by French civil rights organisations. He is also accused, by the Left, of being a populist who favors far-right ideas.[13]
His political style, which relies heavily on communication,[14] and controversial statistics, is highly criticised as combatative and aggressive. Responding to a shooting that killed a 11 years old boy in the banlieue of La Courneuve in June 2005, he vowed to clean the area out “with a Kärcher” (nettoyer la cité au Kärcher), Kärcher being a well-known brand of pressure cleaning equipment), and two days before the 2005 Paris riots he referred to troublemakers of poor suburbs as voyous, and racaille, a slang term which can be translated into English as dregs or riff-raff; this was criticised as sounding uncomfortably close to ethnic cleansing, demeaning to the people that Sarkozy was supposed to help, and potentially stoking unrest.[15][16]
As a Minister of the Interior, Sarkozy systematically has made bold statements following heinous crimes reported in the media. As a consequence, he has been accused in certain cases of failing to respect the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, by trying to apply pressure in certain cases. Most famously, he was criticized not only by the left-wing Syndicat de la magistrature judges' union, but also by the centrist Union syndicale des magistrats, for attacks on the independence of the judiciary.[17]
In September 2005 some youths were acquitted of an arson attack on a police station in Pau, for lack of proof, and Sarkozy was accused of having pushed for a hasty enquiry — Sarkozy had vowed that the perpetrators would be arrested within 3 months.[18] On 22 June 2005, he announced to law enforcement officials that he had questioned the Minister of Justice about the future of “the judge” who had freed a man on parole, enabling him to commit a murder.[19] These comments were criticised by both moderate and left-wing magistrates, especially since Sarkozy, Minister of the Interior and a former attorney, must have been aware that this decision had been taken by 3 judges.
Sarkozy has personal friendships with some of the most powerful figures in the French business world; for example, Martin Bouygues (from the Bouygues group, owner of the TF1 channel, as well as telecommunications and public works companies) and Bernard Arnault (from LVMH) were his marriage witnesses. His brother, Guillaume, is a senior executive of the MEDEF, the foremost business union in France; in 2005, he renounced running for the top position of that union because he said he did not want to hinder his brother's political career.
Sarkozy, a Roman Catholic, has caused controversy because of his views on the relationship between religion and state. In 2004, he published a book called La République, les religions, l'espérance (“The Republic, Religions, and Hope”),[20] in which he argued that the young should not be brought up solely on secular or republican values. He also advocated reducing the separation of church and state, including the government subsidy of mosques in order to encourage Islamic integration into French society.[21][22] He flatly opposes financing of religious institutions with funds from outside France. There has also been controversy over his attitude to the Church of Scientology — which has itself been the subject of significant controversy in France — after meeting with Tom Cruise.[23]
Nicolas Sarkozy is also known for a memorandum bearing his name (the 'circulaire Sarkozy'), that he signed as a Minister for the Interior, on June 13th, 2006. In this decision sent to all prefects of France (his representatives in the provinces), he proposed to hand some immigration papers (eq. of the US green card) to immigrant families with kids integrated in French schools. A strict series of conditions were listed in order to accept the regularization of the situation of these families (proofs of integration in the country, proof of job, etc.). This offer attracted a large number of applications (around 25.000) handed to police services, usually under the advice of charities of specialized social associations. Unfortunately for the applicants, most of the files were refused, while still matching the 'Sarkozy memo' criteria. It appeared later that the minister had fixed, beforehand, a number of "about 6000" files to be accepted, whatever happened. The remaining 20,000 or so people have however been carefully registered in police files, including their personal address, and moreover the kid's school (one of the criteria was providing school certificates). Most criticism is expressed about that 'trap' that these immigrants were sent in. As a matter of fact, the number of manu militari expulsions have increased a lot, since this circular, including shocking cases of parents being arrested when collecting their kids in front of their schools. A couple of cases of kids being arrested in schools have also been reported, as well as teachers usually hiding them in from the police. Some relatively violent arrest attempts lead to resistance from other parents and/or teachers or school headmasters, in particular in Paris (March 2007).[citation needed]
A few weeks before the first round of the 2007 presidential elections, Nicolas Sarkozy started an important controversy when he said, during an interview with philosopher Michel Onfray[24], that he inclined to think that character was largely genetic, famously stating "One is born a pedophile, and it is actually a problem that we do not know how to cure this disease."; he also claimed that suicides among youth was linked to genetic predispositions. These claims were strongly criticized by scientists, including famous geneticist Axel Kahn.[25]; [26]
Sarkozy's marriage was the subject of heavy hints by Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the right-wing Front National. Sarkozy's wife Cecilia left him in 2005 for Richard Attias, an events organiser with whom she spent time in New York. The split made headlines in France at the time. The Sarkozys reunited in the spring of 2006. [27]

[edit] Candidacy for President

This article or section needs to be updated.Parts of this article or section have been identified as no longer being up to date.Please update the article to reflect recent events, and remove this template when finished.

Main article: French presidential election, 2007

Nicolas Sarkozy in 2006

In Toulouse for the 2007 presidential campaign
On 14 January 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy was chosen by the UMP to be its candidate in the 2007 presidential election. Sarkozy, who was running unopposed, won 98% of the votes. Of the 327,000 UMP members who could vote, 69% participated in the online ballot.[28]
As of 2005, many think that Sarkozy is the French Right's best hope for the presidential election in 2007. Polls often credit him with being one of France's most popular politicians. His precise electoral platform is unknown at this point, but Sarkozy's various 2005 declarations give a confident idea of its probable general lines. It is conjectured that he will run on a platform of lower taxes and flexible labour markets; this has been presented as representing a move towards the social and economic model of the United States of America, particularly in the press of that latter country,[29][30][31] which used to present Alain Madelin in a similar favorable light. Sarkozy has sought the advice of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and this is seen by many in France as underlining his intention to pursue an Atlanticist foreign policy and a Thatcherite economic policy.[32][33][34] Sarkozy says he wants to win back the votes of those who "lost their way" swinging towards the Front National, as well as normally left-wing voters frustrated with a lack of action on the Left.[35]
On the other hand, Sarkozy's presidential ambition does not sit well with Chirac. Chirac once hoped to promote Alain Juppé as his successor.[36] However, this plan collapsed when Alain Juppé was condemned by the criminal court in Nanterre for corruption in January 2004. Subsequently Chirac started to push Dominique de Villepin. Villepin became popular in France for eloquently expressing France's opposition to the Iraq war in 2003. But this popularity totally collapsed due to Villepin's handling of the CPE-reform and his supposed involvement in the Clearstream scandal. Michelle Alliot-Marie, also a Chirac protégée, gave up in December 2006.[37]
Sarkozy's ambitions face strong left-wing opposition. He has been portrayed as a political showman “cozy with big business”. The left has also stated that Sarkozy has given tax breaks to the wealthy and to corporations, and that he preys upon the security fears of citizens and uses the police forces for publicity purposes. The left was previously fractured, as seen with the defeat of Lionel Jospin in the 2002 presidential election. However, the election of Ségolène Royal as nominee of the Socialist party for the 2007 presidential elections will likely prevent any new fracture.
On February 2007 Sarkozy appeared on a televised debate on TF1 where he expressed his support for affirmative action for minorities and the freedom to work overtime, but his opposition to homosexual marriage.
On February 7, 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy finally decided in favour of a projected second, non-nuclear, aircraft carrier for the national Navy (adding to the nuclear Charles de Gaulle), during an official visit in Toulon with Defense Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie. "This would allow permanently having an operational ship, taking into account the constraints of maintenance", he explained.[38] This new view on the second aircraft carrier issue comes in conflict with a January report, where he was against a second carrier.[39]
On March 21, 2007 French President Jacques Chirac announced his support for Sarkozy, adding that he had his vote. Chirac pointed out that Sarkozy had been chosen as presidential candidate for the ruling UMP party, and said: "So it is totally natural that I give him my vote and my support." To focus on his campaign, Sarkozy stepped down as interior minister on March 26, 2007.[40]

[edit] Timeline of career
1977, becomes councillor in the town of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
1977, member of the central committee for the RPR.
1978 – 1979, national youth delegate for the RPR.
1979 – 1981, president of the national youth delegates under Jacques Chirac for the presidential election of 1981.
1983, becomes mayor in the town of Neuilly-sur-Seine
1988, national secretary of the RPR, in charge of youth and teaching issues.
Co-director of the list "Union pour les Élections européennes".
1992 – 1993, secrétaire général-adjoint du RPR, chargé des Fédérations. (Assistant secretary of the RPR in charge of constituent interest groups)
Since 1993, member of the RPR political office.
1993 – 1995, Minister for the Budget in the cabinet of Edouard Balladur.
1995 – 1997 spokesman for the RPR.
1998 – 1999, Secretary General of the RPR.
1999, interim president of the RPR.
1999, head of the RPR-DL electoral list of the European elections in June
May 2000, elected President of the committee of the RPR for the département of Hauts-de-Seine
2002 – March 2004, Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
March 2004 – November 2004, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry in the cabinet of Jean-Pierre Raffarin
November 2004, elected the new head of President Jacques Chirac's governing UMP party.
June 2005 – March 2007, Minister of State and Minister of the Interior in the cabinet of Dominique de Villepin.
January 2007, nominated by the Union for a Popular Movement for the 2007 presidential election.
March 2007, quits as Minister of Interior to get fully involved in the 2007 presidential campaign

[edit] Quotations
Merit and labour are values that should be rewarded more and more. We must applaud and be thankful to the France that gets up early.
To be a young Gaullist is to be a revolutionary! (National meeting of UDR in Nice, June 1975)
The Chiraquian EEG is flat. This is no longer [Paris] City Hall, this is the antechamber of the morgue. Chirac is dead, only the 3 last shovelfuls are needed. (before the 1995 presidential elections)
We live in a world where people don't all have the same scruples, where all blows can be given, and where, in order to down somebody, all means can be used. Nothing will lead me astray from the path that I have chosen. (Le Monde, 2005)
How can one be fascinated by those fights of obese guys with brylcreemed buns? Sumo is not an intellectual's sport! (Hong Kong, 9 January 2004; Jacques Chirac has a taste for watching sumo)
June 2005: following these two declarations, Nicolas Sarkozy was reprimanded during the Council of Ministers by president Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
We shall clean the Cité des 4000 [in La Courneuve] with a Kärcher
The judge who freed Mrs. Cremel's murderer will pay for his mistake.
Success and social promotion are not some right that anybody can claim after queuing at some [government office]. It is better: it is a right, a right that one can merit because of one's sweat. (Summer meeting of the Young Populars in La Baule, 4 September 2005)
All these squatted habitations, all these buildings must be closed in order to prevent these tragic events, and this is what I asked of the Prefect of Police because these people are poor human beings who are housed in unnacceptable conditions. After accepting people to whom, sadly, we cannot offer work or housing, we end up in a situation that results in tragedies like these. (France Inter, 30 August 2005, after several cases where poor black immigrant families from Africa had died when the derelict buildings in which they lived burnt down)
Answering a woman asking him if he would help them “to get rid of this scum”: You've had enough, haven't you? Enough of this scum? Well, we're going to get rid of them for you. (Comments preceding the three weeks of urban violence, 25 October 2005)
If you come to France and you wear a veil, if you go to one of the administrative buildings, then that's not acceptable. If you don't want your wife to be examined by a male doctor, then you're not welcome here. France is a country that's open. (Interview with Charlie Rose, televised 31 January 2007)
If living in France bothers some people, they should feel free to leave the country. (UMP meeting 22 April )
Do not assume I would have such a fatitude (sic) (France Inter interview, 18 April 2007). In French, Ne me prêtez pas une telle fatitude. The word fatitude does not exist in French.

[edit] References
^ Pál Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa is not his French name. It is the "westernized", or "internationalized", version of his Hungarian name, in which the given name is put first (whereas in Hungarian given names come last), and the French artistocratic particle "de" is used instad of the Hungarian aristocratic ending "-i". This "westernization" of Hungarian names is frequent, particularly for people with an aristocratic name. Check for example the leader of Hungary from 1920 to 1944, whose Hungarian name is nagybányai Horthy Miklós, but who is known in English as Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya. The French name of Pál Sárközy de Nagy-Bócsa is Paul Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa, where the given name Pál has been translated into Paul in French, and the acute accents on the "a" of Sarközy and the "o" of Bocsa were dropped as these letters never carry an acute accent in French. The trema on the "o" of Sárközy was kept, probably because French typewriters allow this combination, whereas it is impossible to write "a" or "o" with an acute accent using a French typewriter.