據英國《每日電訊報》1月22日報道，法國前第一夫人貝爾納黛特?希拉克當天透露，尼古拉斯?薩科齊有意在2017年參選總統。與此同時，薩科齊在沉寂將近兩年后首次在社交媒體上傳了自己的照片，似乎確有東山再起之意。

80歲高齡的貝爾納黛特?希拉克是前總統雅克?希拉克的夫人，長期以來一直是薩科齊的支持者。她起初不想正面回答有關薩科齊是否將在2017年參選總統的問題，僅表示“但愿如此”，并稱他是唯一有聲望競選該職位的右翼政治家。在被追問薩科齊是否明確告訴她自己有參選意圖時，她說，“嗯，我不能告訴你。如果我說了，他會怪我的。”但在記者的一再追問下，她只好承認了。

22日當天，薩科齊在社交媒體Instagram上傳了一張照片。照片里，他在位于巴黎第八區的辦公室附近的咖啡館里喝咖啡。圖片配上了文字說明：祝店主新年快樂，謝謝你的咖啡。這是薩科齊21個月以來首次上傳照片，反響強烈。支持者留言說：“回來吧，尼古拉斯，我們需要你。”

評論家指出，照片發布時，正值薩科齊黨內競爭對手聯手阻止他參加黨內總統候選人初選之際。法國《觀點》雜志上個月報道稱，薩科齊告訴朋友們：“問題不在于我是否想回來，而是我不能不回來。我別無選擇，這就是命運。”

薩科齊日前對現任總統奧朗德偷情一事發表了評論，嘲笑他被拍到戴著頭盔去會情人。此舉或許也是在為2017年大選鋪路。

Bernadette Chirac let slip on Wednesday that there was no question Nicolas Sarkozy intended to make a political comeback, as the former president reactivated a social media account to post a photograph of himself to supporters.

France’s 80-year-old former first lady, was initially evasive when asked whether she thought the man who succeeded her husband, Jacques Chirac, as French president intended to have another crack at the job in 2017. “I hope so,” she told Europe 1 radio, adding that he was the only Right-winger with the stature for the post.

When pressed on whether he had made his intention clear to her, she said: “Well, I’m forbidden from saying so. I’m telling you, he’s going to tick me off.”

Did that mean the response was “oui”, the reporter insisted. “Well of course,” she finally exclaimed.

Mrs Chirac has become a prominent supporter of Mr Sarkozy after a long stretch of frosty relations following his supposed insubordination towards her husband while in office. Since his defeat in the 2012 elections, Mr Sarkozy has made sure he is not forgotten by sending a series of “postcards” to the French — from appearances at his wife Carla’s concerts to this week calling a mayor in the Var region to offer support after floods.

In the Instagram photograph on Wednesday, his first uploaded on the online picture-sharing website in 21 months, Mr Sarkozy can be seen laughing as he sips a coffee in a café near his offices in the 8th arrondissement. “Happy New Year to the shopkeepers of the district and thank you for the coffee,” reads the accompanying message.

The post has received a flood of messages of support, such as: “Come back Nicolas, we need you.” Commentators noted that the photograph appeared amid reports that Mr Sarkozy’s party rivals are joining forces to block him from circumventing party primaries.

Last month, Le Point reported that Mr Sarkozy had told friends: “The question is not to know if I want or don’t want to return. I cannot not return. I don’t have a choice. It’s destiny. Destiny.”

（來源：中國日報網愛新聞iNews 編輯：丹妮）