There's a double meaning in the film The Conquest. First, the conquest of power at the UMP party and how Sarkozy had to fight his colleagues inside the party so that it was him running for President. He wins the political conquest, but he loses the feminine conquest in that his wife leaves him. It's hard for a President to be single - that's never happened.

All politicians have three ways of expressing themselves - the intimate dialogue that can often be violent and raw, then the dialogue in front of the camera and then big public speeches.

If some actors were more realistic and others bordering on caricature, that would have been imbalanced. It would be as if we saw an airplane in a 3 Musketeers movie.

There's a double meaning in the film The Conquest. First, the conquest of power at the UMP party and how Sarkozy had to fight his colleagues inside the party so that it was him running for President. He wins the political conquest, but he loses the feminine conquest in that his wife leaves him. It's hard for a President to be single - that's never happened.

I'm ready for all forms of dialogue about the film The Conquest. There will be a lot of political talk, but I don't think the film itself will be scandalous. For the French, there are so many emotions relating to Sarkozy and politicians in general that I think the film will generate a lot of passion, whether it be negative or positive. Above all, it's a fictional film. It was important not to make a documentary and to really pay attention to the images. From the choice of the actors to the mise en scene, the film is completely cinematographic. It's not just a boring political movie.

The film The Conquest will be seen on many different levels and the American point of view is always more technical. The French are less technical - it's 'I like it, or I don't like it.' I hope that this film can have a life in the U.S. - it's the grand country of cinema. I grew up with Hollywood movies, so for a French director to have a film distributed in the U.S. is a real opportunity.

There are laws about personal protection so it's rare to see a politician criticized. Normally, according to the law, there's a judicial problem with calling people by their real names.