AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME
Will Sarko Turn France On Her Head?

SARKOZY ANOINTED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
PARIS January 15, 2007 (Guardian)

SARKOZY ACCEPTS CROWN OF THE FRENCH RIGHT

PARIS January 16, 2007 (Telegraph) - Nicolas Sarkozy was yesterday crowned the official presidential candidate of the French Right.

To the cheers of up to 100,000 supporters gathered at an American-style congress in Paris, Mr Sarkozy was formally nominated to run against the Socialist candidate Segolene Royal in elections in April.

The Parc des Expositions at the Porte de Versailles in western Paris erupted as the number 69 appeared on a giant screen, indicating the percentage of the UMP's 338,000 members who had taken the trouble to vote via the internet in support of the interior minister and president of the centre-Right UMP party.

The outcome was no surprise as Mr Sarkozy was the only official candidate. He scored 98 per cent of all votes cast.

But it was a defining moment for the 51-year-old minister; the culmination of a merciless four-year battle to represent France's mainstream Right as President Jacques Chirac — who was notably absent yesterday — and his allies schemed against him.

CHIRAC SNUBS RIVAL ON HIS DAY OF TRIUMPH

PARIS January 15, 2007 (G&M) - Mr. Chirac did not even attend yesterday's convention, and it is well known that he and Mr. Sarkozy detest each other.

During his new year's addresses, Mr. Chirac made a series of announcements that sound suspiciously like campaign promises. ... Mr. Chirac, 74, has also refused to say whether he will run for a third term.

"I'm going to think about it, and when the time comes I will let you know," he told journalists last week.

... Mr. Chirac's behaviour is all the more intriguing because if he does run, he stands virtually no chance of winning. Most French consider him a has-been, ineffective at best and at worst responsible for the country's high unemployment rate and economic stagnation.

Will Jack's loathing of Sarko get the better of him?

Of course it will! Please stay tuned anyway.

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