Nicolas Sarkozy : President of France

[General Duke]

Cheering crowds hail Sarkozy's triumph

 

 

Angelique Chrisafis in Paris

Monday May 7, 2007

The Guardian

 

 

Nicolas Sarkozy celebrates with his supporters. Photograph: Christophe Ena/AP

 

Nicolas Sarkozy was last night handed a mandate to change France after a massive turnout in one of the most divisive presidential election campaigns in the country's history.

As rioting broke out at Bastille, on the other side of central Paris, the rightwing former interior minister promised to make France love itself again. Mr Sarkozy, who was criticised for exploiting racial and social divisions in his campaign and accused of brutality by his opponent, the Socialist Ségolène Royal, declared: "Tonight is not the victory of one France over another." He vowed would represent "all of France and leave no one by the side of the road."

 

But as he talked, there were reports of car-burnings in the suburbs and trouble flaring in Lyon, with police firing flashballs after skirmishes between leftwing activists and Sarkozy supporters.

In a master stroke of political showmanship, Mr Sarkozy staged a huge celebration rock concert to launch his "economic revolution" in Paris's Place de La Concorde, where heads rolled from the guillotine during the first French revolution. But last night, he promised no less than a national resurrection built on hard work.

 

"I want a France where everyone has a chance - but chance comes for those who work for it," he said, echoing his campaign slogan that he would represent the silent France "that wakes up early". There would be a national reconciliation based on everyone, no matter what background, being given equal "dignity and respect".

 

Thousands had rallied, inspired by his calls to "liquidate the legacy of May 1968" ending the nanny state, "political correctness gone mad" and breaking the power of the unions and the 35-hour-week. After a campaign fuelled with hardline rhetoric that unashamedly courted the far-right on immigration and national identity, Mr Sarkozy last night struck a more inclusive tone, but urged to be France to be "proud of its history" and unashamed of its past.

 

Flanked on stage by his idol, the ageing French Elvis, Johnny Hallyday, and his wife Cecilia, whose long absences during the campaign fuelled gossip of another rift in their relationship, Mr Sarkozy savoured the moment he had been working towards all his life. The son of a minor Hungarian aristocrat, his unstoppable ambition had been driven by his sense of victimhood as a child made to feel an outsider because of his foreign name, his height and his parents divorce.

 

His victory by 53% to 47% of the vote was the third consecutive presidential defeat for the Socialist party, which within moments of the first results had already begun tearing itself apart, even though it faces parliamentary elections within a month. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the social democrat moderniser who had been beaten to the candidacy by Ms Royal, said the party had failed to learn the lessons of its last catastrophic defeat to the far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2002.

 

However, Ms Royal showed no signs of stepping aside and vowed to stick it out and rally the battered party.

 

His foreign policy is likely to break the mould of French diplomacy and be more supportive of the US and more pro-Israeli than any previous French leaders. In his first statement last night, he said the United States can "count on our friendship", but added, "friendship means accepting that friends can have different opinions." He urged the United States to take the lead on climate change and said the issue would be a priority for France.

 

Within minutes of the polls closing, Mr Blair and the US president George Bush called him to congratulate him.

 

Mr Sarkozy inherits from Jacques Chirac a nation deeply ill at ease with itself, a stagnant economy, growing debt, acute youth unemployment which has exacerbated serious social unrest in the run-down suburbs. Although he has successfully styled himself as a "clean break" with the past, he has served in government for over a decade, presiding over the finance and the interior ministry during the 2005 riots, the worst unrest in 40 years. The country saw its biggest street demonstrations in a decade last year over the government's plans for a new labour contract.

 

But those confrontations may only be a taster of the clashes to come, with even his own party admitting it may face an autumn and winter of discontent as it tries to push through their ambitious reform programme. Mr Sarkozy hopes next month's parliamentary elections will strengthen his party's majority in the national assembly. Already he has planned an extraordinary parliamentary session in the summer to push through reforms including loosening the 35-hour week, tightening immigration laws and limiting strike powers.

[Fabregas]

Quote:His foreign policy is likely to break the mould of French diplomacy and be more supportive of the US and more pro-Israeli than any previous French leaders.

 

He reminds of Tony Blair although more right wing........

[General Duke]

^^^He is going to have a difficult time with the trade unions and other groups who will oppose his agenda od liberalising the economy.

 

Sarko a son of an immigrant is the fisrt post war leader of France quite historic.

[General Duke]

Sarkozy gets ready for office

 

Sarkozy plans to take over power from Jacques Chirac, the outgoing president, on May 16

 

Sarkozy plans to take over power from Jacques Chirac, the outgoing president, on May 16 [AFP]

Nicolas Sarkozy, the winner of France's presidential elections, has travelled to Malta in order to prepare himself for taking office.

 

"These few days rest were planned to put him more in the mindset of a president after the tumultuous battle," said Claude Gueant, his campaign director told France's RTL radio from Paris on Monday.

 

Speaking before Sunday's vote, Sarkozy said that if he won he would go into retreat "in order to immerse myself in the office, take the measure of the heavy responsibilities that will weigh on my shoulders, and rest after the clamour of the campaign."

 

Sarkozy plans to take over power from Jacques Chirac, the outgoing president, on May 16, Fillon said, not long before France votes in parliamentary elections on June 10 and 17.

Sarkozy has promised to enact a series of tough reforms to tackle France's mounting economic and social problems.

 

But he will only be able to pass his proposed reforms if his UMP party retains its parliamentary majority.

 

Final results

 

Your Views

"With Sarkozy as president, there will be a new France ... aligned on the US foreign policy, very close to Israel and less concerned with international legality"

 

al_morro, Mexico

 

Final results gave Sarkozy 53.06 per cent of Sunday's vote against 46.94 for Segolene Royal, his rival Socialist candidate.

 

Analysis of the results showed that Sarkozy had won critical numbers of votes in areas where he had been predicted to do relatively badly.

 

Around 52 per cent of women supported Nicolas Sarkozy, while only 48 per cent of women voted for Royal, according to an Ipsos poll conducted on Sunday.

 

In addition, some 46 per cent of blue-collar workers - traditionally leftist voters - also chose Sarkozy, according to a separate Ipsos/Dell poll.

 

The poll also found that 44 per cent of people of modest means voted for him, as did 32 per cent of people who usually vote for the Greens and 14 per cent who normally support the far-left.

[Allamagan]

Originally posted by Geel_Jire12:

Quote:His foreign policy is likely to break the mould of French diplomacy and be more supportive of the US and more pro-Israeli than any previous French leaders.

 

He reminds of Tony Blair although more right wing........

Since he is son of hungarian emigrant, then he must be a jew I guess

[Tahliil]

That fact that he is an extermist on many issues and that he thinks the poor unemployed people of France as scams who needs to b cleaned up with 'high pressure hoses' is honestly frightining enough...

[Ms DD]

The son of a Hungarian immigrant and a French mother of Greek Jewish origin, he was baptised a Roman Catholic and grew up in Paris.

 

May. 7, 2007 22:57 | Updated May. 7, 2007 23:21

Sarkozy gets nearly 90% of Israeli votes

By HERB KEINON

 

French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy received a higher percentage of votes from French citizens in Israel than from expatriates in any other country, according to the French Foreign Ministry.

It said 90.7 percent of French citizens living in Israel outside of Jerusalem voted for Sarkozy, significantly higher than the 53% percent of the vote he garnered in France. According to Israeli diplomatic officials, Sarkozy was viewed by expatriates here as being pro-Israel.

 

Some 6,276 French citizens - or just 19% of eligible French voters in Israel - cast absentee ballots.

 

In Jerusalem, under the jurisdiction of the French Consulate and not the French Embassy in Tel Aviv, some 2,500 people voted, 87% of them for Sarkozy.

 

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert phoned Sarkozy on Monday to congratulate him on his victory. According to the Prime Minister's Office, Sarkozy said: "I am a friend of Israel, and Israel can always count on my friendship."

 

The two men agreed to speak again soon after Sarkozy takes office. Olmert is expected to meet Sarkozy in Paris this summer.

 

In the US, Sarkozy won just under 64% of absentee ballots, in England 53% (the same as he received in France) and in Canada 46%.

 

Of 6,360 Lebanese with French citizenship, 71.5 % voted for Sarkozy, an indication that just as Israelis view him as pro-Israeli, French Lebanese seem to view him as pro-Lebanese.

 

In Syria, some 69% of the 800 absentee ballots went to Sarkozy's challenger, Segolene Royal. One diplomatic official in Jerusalem said Monday that Syrian President Bashar Assad was obviously relieved that French President Jacques Chirac was leaving office, though he would likely have preferred the more inexperienced Royal to Sarkozy.

 

Following the assassination of Chirac's friend and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, the official said, France's attitude toward Syria became completely colored by Chirac's personal distaste for Assad.

 

"Chirac was determined to isolate Assad," the official said. "Sarkozy will also be tough toward Assad and his policy will be coordinated with the US, but it will not be as personal as it was with Chirac."

 

"Today is less bad a day then it was yesterday for Assad in regards to France," the official added.

 

Regarding Franco-Israeli relations, the official said that while Sarkozy was friendly to Israel, "it's not as if the Lubavitcher Rebbe was just elected. Sarkozy is a friend, but he did not just become the mayor of Jerusalem. He needs to think of all the French, and there are objective French interests throughout the Arab world."

 

Nevertheless, the official said there would likely be a change in the relationship.

 

"The tone now is likely to be warmer and more friendly, even when there are disagreements," he said. "We are unlikely to see the coldness and the enmity that we saw during Chirac's tenure... until the point when Chirac developed a chemistry with [prime minister] Ariel Sharon."

 

Vice Premier Shimon Peres also phoned Sarkozy to congratulate him Monday, and told him his victory held out "promise for France, a constructive feeling for the world and hope for the Middle East and all of us."

 

Peres praised Sarkozy for calling, during his acceptance speech Sunday evening, for the construction of a "Mediterranean Union that will link Europe and Africa. What was done for Europe 60 years ago, we will do today for a Mediterranean Union."

 

Peres told Sarkozy this idea was "fascinating."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1178431593424&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[N.O.R.F]

I mean do the young ethnic kids really have it bad or is it just a case of most of them following the crowd?

[General Duke]

^^^They really have it bad, in France there is no real opportunity for these people. Many of them move to London to seek better opportunities.

 

Sarko is gonna have a difficult time I tell ya. But he is strong.