Date published: 2007/05/06
The BBC says:
Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy has won the hotly-contested French presidential election, according to early results.
With three quarters of votes counted, Mr Sarkozy has 53%, compared with 47% for socialist Segolene Royal, while turnout is put at 85%.
Mr Sarkozy, 52, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, takes over from the 74-year-old Jacques Chirac.
...
He said the US could count on France's friendship, but urged Washington to take a lead in the fight against climate change.He also said he believed deeply in European integration, but appealed to France's partners to understand the importance of social protection.
"[Voters] have chosen to break with the habits and the ideals of the past so I will rehabilitate work, authority, morality, respect, merit!" he said.
France could do with a kick (just ask the thousands of talented young French expats who have settled in England because the work opportunities are so much better here). Whether Sarkozy is the right person to deliver the kick is another question.
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