Sarkozy given green light to run for president
The trained lawyer has divided opinion in the ruling UMP party
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Sunday, 14, Jan 2007 07:08
France's outspoken interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy has been named as the presidential candidate for the ruling UMP party.
The 51-year-old, who has been the UMP's party leader since 2004, received 69 per cent of the internet vote to succeed president Jacques Chirac despite being the only candidate.
While thousands of supporters attended Mr Sarkozy's extravagant rally in Paris, president Chirac snubbed the event while several party figures revealed they would not vote.
Mr Chirac and prime minister Dominique de Villepin have highlighted Mr Sarkozy's controversial image over the last few weeks, fuelling rumours they would like to see him lose in May's elections.
Mr Sarkozy will lead the centre-right party against popular Socialist candidate Segolene Royal.
Ahead of the result, he told supporters: "Here we are tolerant, we are respectful and we have understood that a big family is a collection of differing opinions but I ask you to respect each other.
"I ask you to come together, and I ask you to greet warmly everyone who comes here, because I will need everyone who comes here, you will need them, France will need them."
Mr Sarkozy has been tough on crime as interior minister and introduced deportations to tackle the number of illegal immigrants.
But his pledges to reform France and call for state help for Muslims to build mosques have been met with scepticism from the public.
Before the 2005 riots in Paris, he infamously branded the youngsters fighting in the suburbs as "rabble".
According to his biographer, one of Mr Sarkozy's biggest influences is UK prime minister Tony Blair.