Paris - The day after dropping his candidacy for chairman of the board of directors of an influential public body, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's 23-year-old son was elected a simple member of that board, France Info radio reported Friday. By a vote of 30 to 15 by members of the departmental council of the region of Hauts-de-Seine, Jean Sarkozy became a member of the board of directors of EPAD, the public body that manages Europe's largest business district, La Defense.
Late Thursday, Jean Sarkozy ended two weeks of controversy by telling France 2 television that he would not be a candidate for chairman of the EPAD board.
In renouncing the post, Jean Sarkozy said he had been the target of a "campaign of manipulation and disinformation," and that he decided to drop his candidacy to dispel any "suspicions of favoritism."
Critics had said that he was too young and inexperienced to head a public body that manages hundreds of millions of euros, and accused his father, the president, of nepotism.
The chairman of the EPAD board will be elected on December 4.
