Jean is a regional councillor in the city of Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and registered as a first-year law student at Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University in 2007.

Nicolas Sarkozy attempted to parachute David Martinon, his presidential spokesman, into the mayorship of Neuilly-sur-Seine where the president had formerly served as mayor.

After a poll showed that Martinon was not very popular and would lose the election, Jean Sarkozy publicly broke rank and said it was impossible to continue backing his father's mayoral choice.

Jean Sarkozy announced he was running for office himself as the UMP candidate for regional councillor in the electoral district of Neuilly-Sud.

"[6] The President of Medef replied to these criticisms saying she believed it was "fantastic that a young and motivated man" may want to be at the head of the largest business district in France.

In 2009, the cartoonist Siné came under sharp criticism and was sacked from Charlie Hebdo after accusing Jean Sarkozy of converting out of ambition, as well as being sued by the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA).

[11] In 2007, Le Canard enchaîné, an investigative weekly newspaper, reported that French police had gone to extraordinary lengths to try to find his scooter when it was stolen, including taking DNA samples from his helmet.