"Commentary: France's Sarkozy and Turkey Ahmet O. Evin September 25, 2007 -- Nicholas Sarkozy's oft-repeated, blunt statements throughout his presidential campaign brought the Turkish issue into the center of French politics, reinforcing it as one of the predominant concerns of European integration. Both the Turkish public and leadership have become accustomed to voices raised against Turkey's membership of the European Union by, for example, Giscard d'Estaing and, more recently, by almost the entire spectrum of Austria's political leadership. But Sarkozy's obsession with Turkey, in the context of French domestic politics, appeared to have been driven more by personal convictions than policy considerations. Many Turks, in short, came to view Sarkozy as an unrelenting Turcophobe."
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