Mayor of Sarcelles

I've been hunting (not very successfully) for information about Dominique Strauss-Kahn as mayor of Sarcelles. He was mayor of that small town from 1997 to 1999, then deputy-mayor until 2007. We have heard so much about his sexual appetites, his power, his wealth, I've been wondering how he performed as mayor. There is an article at Le Post, from February 2011, that describes him as very competent, and as having raised the standard of living among the large immigrant population of Sarcelles. (I am surprised that an immigrant population put him in office.)

Decrease in the public debt, increase in the capacity for self-sufficiency, hence of the town's autonomy, increased investments (more schools, more athletic and cultural facilities…), are indications of the quality of the mayor, especially if you consider that towns with similar demographics evolved less slowly.

The article ends with this summary:

But the example of Sarcelles, besides the leadership ability, the intelligence of strategic choices, and the experience of local life that we find in the performance of the IMF leader, also has the merit of teaching us a little bit more about the DSK of yesterday in order to better understand the DSK of today: a man who has spent almost 20 years of his life running one of the poorest cities of France, welcoming in underprivileged populations, creating jobs for young people, and prioritizing economic development and job creation with his "free urban zones" (ZFU), cannot, in all sincerity, be called peremptorily a friend of the rich or of management… unless you do not believe that a man is the product of his past.

At the very end, the laudatory article provides the sources for its data. According to one source, the 2006 population of Sarcelles was 56,653 inhabitants, of which 46,125, or 79%, were in 3 ZUS's. These are "sensitive urban zones", a euphemism for violence-prone ghetto. I assume this means that the vast majority of residents of Sarcelles are immigrants or children of immigrants.

However, a blog called La Gauche m'a tué (The Left Killed Me) paints a different picture. The blog is devoted to exposing the ways in which the French Left has betrayed the youth of France:

(…) In 1999, before becoming the Bernie Madoff of French politics, DSK was minister of finance and mayor-adjunct of Sarcelles (…) in the department of Val d'Oise. At the time, his hobby was to replace every vacant post in city hall with an "emploi-jeune" (a temporary position for a young person). Sure. Why hire a someone with a definitive work contract at a decent salary when you could make use of the "emploi-jeune", that gives the same person half the salary with no specific duration of employment. It's so much easier and less tiring.

This measure - the biggest large-scale fraud ever invented by the Left, allowed the city of Sarcelles to take on 390 "emplois-jeunes" (a record not yet surpassed) for jobs that no city employee wanted. These jobs ranged from social or cultural mediator to cemetery guard or crime prevention. Of course, when the measure came to an end after Lionel Jospin's defeat, DSK and his subordinate François Pupponi, laid off the 390 workers and sent them to the National Employment Agency, since there were no more positions in Sarcelles.

It turns out that many of the residents of Sarcelles are Tunisians and Moroccans. It also turns out that Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife are the owners of a luxurious estate in Morocco. The following is from 24 Heures, dated February 17, one month before the Fall:

With friends like Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, Dominique Strauss-Kahn doesn't need enemies. Criticized for his "bling-bling" life-style, the head of the IMF was defended by the loyal but limited Cambadélis who said that DSK is not the "caviar Left" but the "couscous Left" (…)

The "couscous Left"… Jean-Christophe Cambadélis thought he was being humorous when he opposed criticisms of (…) the "candidate of the ultra-caviar Left", who is not in step with the realities of the French heartland, with another image - that of a Dominique Strauss-Kahn the elected official of Sarcelles, where there is a large North African community.

(..) but the voters will certainly read something different in Cambdélis' remarks.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his wife Anne Sinclair possess an ultra-luxurious riad in Marrakech… and the couscous they eat during their thousand-and-one-nights receptions have every chance of being absolutely "royal".

Note: Riad is the name of a luxury hotel in Morocco, but it also applies to a large property closed off to the outside world, with an interior courtyard. According to Wikipedia he also owns a home in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and two apartments in Paris:

These are not the only outward signs of wealth that the head of the IMF, who is also a lover of fine watches and beautiful women, enjoys revealing; he is also the owner of a superb apartment on the very posh Place des Vosges in Paris. The private art collection of the Strauss-Kahn couple is also one of the most beautiful (and valuable) in Paris.

If the relationship between DSK and Ben Ali came to light when the Tunisian dictator fell from power, what about the Moroccan establishment, where the level of corruption and depredation of national wealth has nothing to envy of its Tunisian neighbors?

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is perhaps mayor of Sarcelles, but he spends his vacations amidst the extravagant luxuries of the Maghreb… while outside an oppressed and deprived people cry famine!

Below, a photo from January 2011 of DSK and Ben Ali, then leader of Tunisia. Both men have fallen hard. Ben Ali has been replaced by Rachid Ghannouchi, a more dangerous Islamist tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. DSK may be replaced by Christine Lagarde, the French minister of finance who was responsible for opening the doors to Islamic finance in France.


His grandiose life-style became apparent a few days before the scandal broke. DSK was seen getting into a Porsche belonging to a friend. Imagine that! A man so close to the people in a Porsche. Here is what his close collaborator Jean-Christophe Cambadélis said in an interview with JDD:

JDD - Does this send an image of Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the candidate of the rich?

J.-C. Cambadélis - Dominique Strauss-Kahn is an international functionary. He and his wife have a "laïc" relationship with money, unlike Nicolas Sarkozy who dreams about it at night. They deal with all levels of society, they are as comfortable with policy-makers as with the working class of Sarcelles. We need statesmen who speak to everybody.

Note: A "laïc" relationship with money would mean that money is not a religion for DSK. He regards money impartially. It is the first time I've seen "laïc" used this way. Considering what we now know about Strauss-Kahn, we are not likely to see it used this way again.

An article in Le Parisien, dated May 20, announces the creation, in Sarcelles, of a committee supporting Dominque Strauss-Kahn:

(…) The objective: to bring together all those who wish to support Dominique Strauss-Kahn. If for the time being, the site of the meeting remains confidential, the committee intends to extend its influence beyond the Socialist Party and beyond the city. "This is in response to many requests by people who want to support him," explains Jacques Langlade, former chief of staff of DSK in Sarcelles, who has been at his side since 1986. "Ever since last week, emotions have been running high". In Sarcelles, the arrest of the former mayor has had a devastating effect. (…)

I don't know how far beyond the Socialist Party they can go, since from all that I hear, outrage at his arrest is by and large limited to parties of the Left. And even they are reticent on his future.

More revelations keep coming out of both French and English media sources. You may have read about the connection between Eliot Spitzer, former governor of New York and DSK. Here's the report in The Telegraph.

The endless flood of articles continues to stress the fact that the media were engaged in an omertà, that as bad as he his, those who rush to his defense are beneath contempt, and that he has been guilty on many occasions in the past, not merely of seduction, but of criminal acts that were hushed up. Also, as you may have heard, DNA evidence has been found on the woman, confirming that there was a sexual act, but not necessarily violence. One final note, Anne Sinclair has suspended her blog.

Below, the very unusual city hall of Sarcelles.