French President's fake credentials?

[ham]

http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/...23448.html

Prestigious French newspaper LE MONDE gives press to a hot controversy debating the degrees that President Sarkozy claims he was awarded in his official biography.

Political Science professor Alain Garrigou claims that Sarkozy, while attending IEP Paris, did NOT obtain the degree (equivalent to a M.A ), contrary to the President's official biography. Garrigou disclosed how Sarkozy "barely passed" his bar exam and also dug out formal evidence from the university's archives (shown in the article) to document how Sarkozy did satisfy some but not all requirements to be awarded the degree.

The university officially declares that Sarkozy obtained his degree meeting the requirements in 2 separate years, yet prof. Garrigou maintains that in order for Sarkozy to do that he ought to have obtained a very seldom awarded permission...which -according to the university- is not so rare an occurrence after all.

Whitewashed political crackpot or genuine, harassed student?

[Virtual Bison]

http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/...23448.html

Prestigious French newspaper LE MONDE gives press to a hot controversy debating the degrees that President Sarkozy claims he was awarded in his official biography.

Political Science professor Alain Garrigou claims that Sarkozy, while attending IEP Paris, did NOT obtain the degree (equivalent to a M.A ), contrary to the President's official biography. Garrigou disclosed how Sarkozy "barely passed" his bar exam and also dug out formal evidence from the university's archives (shown in the article) to document how Sarkozy did satisfy some but not all requirements to be awarded the degree.

The university officially declares that Sarkozy obtained his degree meeting the requirements in 2 separate years, yet prof. Garrigou maintains that in order for Sarkozy to do that he ought to have obtained a very seldom awarded permission...which -according to the university- is not so rare an occurrence after all.

Whitewashed political crackpot or genuine, harassed student?

I was wondering what was IEP Paris. The article was in French and I am linguistically impaired.

I did find the site here

http://www.sciences-po.fr/portail/fr-fr/.../english2/

[ham]

Should be INSTITUT D'ETUDES POLITIQUES (Political Studies Institute).

[Dennis Ruhl]

I wonder if this isn't like the police chief in Virginia who had enough credit for a degree but lacked enough credits in residence, a technicality that was waived? I guess how and when exceptions are made can end up subject to scrutiny. Unfortunately my French is almost 40 years old and apparently it's not like riding a bike.

[ham]

I wonder if this isn't like the police chief in Virginia who had enough credit for a degree but lacked enough credits in residence, a technicality that was waived?  I guess how and when exceptions are made can end up subject to scrutiny.  Unfortunately my French is almost 40 years old and apparently it's not like riding a bike.

In the article some claim that Sarkozy "dropped out" when he became mayor, and in the same sentence claim he got the award:

Pierre Avril précise de son côté que le chef de l'Etat avait en effet projeté une thèse sur les barons du gaullisme, mais y avait renoncé après son élection à la mairie de Neuilly, en 1983. Il ajoute avoir été membre du jury de mémoire de DEA de Nicolas Sarkozy, "avec René Rémond", ancien président de l'université et directeur du mémoire. Une précision qui surprend M. Garrigou et l'université, qui n'exclut pas une confusion avec René de Lacharièrre, alors enseignant du DEA. Pierre Avril se souvient en tout cas que "Nicolas Sarkozy avait obtenu une très bonne note".

So he both dropped out and got a good mark? Garrigou maintains that the missing record he cannot locate in the university's archives and related to Sarkozy's "missing" record is the only one missing in over 40 years. PV=Procès Verbal.

"Mais le PV de la deuxième session, en février 1980, est le seul qui manque sur quarante années d'existence du DEA", assure M. Garrigou.

Weird...French universities are known to act pronto to revoke the degrees of revisionists...apparently as fast as they are to whitewash or "put on the right track" the 'right' people...