Two ministers lead Sarkozy's party list for EU elections[fr][de] 

In a weekend full of political intrigue, France's ruling UMP party outlined its strategy for the 2009 elections at the party's National Council in Paris. The centre-right party currently holds 18 seats in the European Parliament, significantly less than the 31 seats of its main rival, the centre-left French Socialist Party. 

In selecting the candidates who will top the party's electoral lists for France's eight constituencies , two rules had to be respected: equal representation between men and women and representation of all regions. As a result, lengthy debates dragged on until the French President himself was moved to intervene. At the end of the day, "Sarkozy decides everything," one UMP official told EurActiv France. 

Dati: A demoted 'winner'? 

Sarkozy claimed to be assembling a team of "winners" to mount a genuine UMP assault on the 2009 elections. According to another UMP official, Sarkozy wants to send well-known politicians to Brussels in a bid to improve the way the French electorate perceives the European Union. 

Dati and Barnier are certainly among the most high-profile "winners" in his electoral stable. Current French Agriculture Minister Barnier, who will run alongside Dati at the top of the UMP list in the populous Ile-de-France (Paris) region, told party members that Europe, having previously been a "problem", is now "the solution". 

Sarkozy, meanwhile, told the Council that "the decision to put Rachida and Michel at the top of the most populous region in France is truly historic". 

However, many political analysts perceive Dati's nomination in the European elections as a demotion, even a disgrace, for the justice minister. 

Dati, a long-time Sarkozy ally, was one of the French president's most high-profile appointees when she took office in 2007, a symbol of France's cultural diversity and the country's first top cabinet minister of North African origin. 

Having been the subject of recent media controversy following her return to work less than a week after giving birth to her first child, it is an open secret that Dati has no desire to leave her current position. It is believed that Dati reluctantly agreed to accept the demotion in exchange for guarantees of a future leading role in national politics. 

Schizophrenia in the South West 

In a further twist, leading MEP Alain Lamassoure was not selected to head the UMP list in France's south-west region, with the party instead preferring former Mayor of Toulouse Dominique Baudis. It is believed that Sarkozy considers Baudis to be a better "electoral locomotive" than Lamassoure, despite the latter's high profile work in the European Parliament, notably his involvement in drafting the Lisbon Treaty. 

Given that the top two on each list must respect equal gender representation, Lamassoure could not be given second position, but rather third place instead.

Lamassoure expressed his displeasure at the decision, denouncing it as "completely schizophrenic" given the high-profile work he does for the party in Europe. He lashed out at the "bad use" of the party's talents, and confirmed that he would not campaign on behalf of Baudis.

Lamassoure made clear it was "out of the question" for him to appear third on the UMP list and it is thus believed that he will no longer run for office in the European Parliament. Instead, he is actively lobbying for a different high-profile position, perhaps as France's next European commissioner or high representative to the UN, or even as a government minister, sources told EurActiv France.