FRANCE was on riot alert last night as controversial Right-wing conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president.
The 52-year-old former interior minister beat Socialist Segolene Royal, who had hoped to become the country’s first woman head-of-state, by 53 per cent to 47 per cent.
He will succeed President Jacques Chirac, who is standing down after 12 years in power.
More than 85.5 per cent of the 40 million voters turned out in an election viewed as crucial to the country’s future as it chose an “Anglo Saxon” liberal and globalised economy over a more traditional France, characterised by state interference and protectionism.
Often likened to Margaret Thatcher, Mr Sarkozy has promised to radically reform his country, slashing taxes and social security benefits, fighting the trade unions, and making the French work harder.
But his political enemies have cited his hardline law and order policies as proof that his presidency will be characterised by violent disturbances.
I dream about it all the time
Sarkozy
By yesterday afternoon, when a smiling Mr Sarkozy first acknowledged that he was heading for victory, more than 3,000 riot squad officers had been deployed around Paris, with all weekend leave cancelled.
Among numerous potential flash points was the Place de la Concorde, where supporters led by veteran rock star and “Sarko” fan Johnny Hallyday were preparing a victory parade. But it was in the poorer suburbs, where Mr Sarkozy is viewed as a hate figure by thousands of mainly immigrant youngsters, that the worst trouble was expected.
“We’re out in force in the housing estates, but every major government building and public monument in Paris is also well guarded,” said a spokesman for the notorious CRS riot police.
“All precautions are being taken to preserve public order. We are also deploying numerous plainclothed squads to mingle with gangs of youths or Left-wing agitators.”
Last night Mr Sarkozy issued a unifying call to the rest of Europe, saying he had been “a European all my life” and that France’s destiny was linked to her EU partners. “Tonight France is back in Europe,” he said.
In a message to Americans, he said: “I want to tell them that France will always be by their side when they will need her.
“But I want to tell them as well that friendship is accepting that one’s friends can act differently, and that a great nation like the United States has the duty to not obstruct the fight against global warming but, on the contrary, to head this struggle because what is at stake is the future of all humanity.”
He added: “France will make this struggle its first struggle.”
Like Margaret Thatcher before him, Mr Sarkozy has earned a fierce reputation for his hardline, confrontational style of government.
Of Napoleonic stature – he is just 5ft5in and regularly wears stacked heels – Mr Sarkozy sees the primary job of his presidency to force a “rupture”, or “break” with France’s state-interventionist economic policies.
Such a belief in “Anglo Saxon” methods has also seen Mr Sarkozy likened to Tony Blair, who last week described the “decisive and clear” Frenchman as someone he “liked very much, and respected very much”.
Mr Sarkozy worked closely with Gordon Brown when he was France’s finance minister, and is viewed as a close ally of Britain’s likely next Prime Minister.
But Ms Royal, the 53-year-old who had hoped to become France’s first woman president, was among those who warned of the “violence and brutalities that will be triggered” by a Sarkozy victory.
It was in Argenteuil, a north-west Paris suburb, that in autumn 2005 Mr Sarkozy called local troublemakers scum who should be “washed away with a power hose”.
When riots broke out days later Mr Sarkozy was demonised by first and second generation African and North African immigrants who, nationally, make up a hugely underprivileged section of French society, numbering some five million.
When asked yesterday if he had dreamt about winning while shaving in the morning, he replied: “No, I dream about it all the time.”
Mr Sarkozy will take office on May 17, and will then set his sights on the general election in June when all 577 seats in the National Assembly will be contested.
PROBABLY WHAT EUROPE NEEDS
07.05.07, 9:46pm
I think should he push the right buttons for France, bringing back their national identity, the rest of Europe would follow suit. But prepare for a large scale backlash because it's not going to be pleasant.
I find it strange, that riots are allways instigated by the left, these are the very people who preach that they want to make society better for all. What they mean is, we want our own way or elsewe will destroy everthing that stands in our way. Cameron would do well to learn from this man and stop pandering to the misfits.
RIOT SQUADS STAND BY FOR BACKLASH AS SARKOZY TRIUMPHS
07.05.07, 12:56pm
A right wing government expects trouble what ever the country may be. This new President has a lot to sort out in France with its large north african populations failing on a large scale to contribute and join in with the French way of life. The biggest problem for Sarkozy is the Muslim problem areas that will not assimilate and get to work as other European immigrants do so willingly. He has hit the correct buttons to get an economy working well, he will create a better system of taxation which will benifit anyone willing to work. I hope our government is talking to him in regard to illegals waiting in the Calais area and how we can work together to get these people back to their own countries in a humane manner.
Video 
PROBABLY WHAT EUROPE NEEDS
07.05.07, 9:46pm
I think should he push the right buttons for France, bringing back their national identity, the rest of Europe would follow suit. But prepare for a large scale backlash because it's not going to be pleasant.
Bon Chance Monsieur Sarkozy
• Posted by: Nationalist • Report Comment
THE FRENCH HAVE SPOKEN
07.05.07, 3:37pm
I find it strange, that riots are allways instigated by the left, these are the very people who preach that they want to make society better for all. What they mean is, we want our own way or elsewe will destroy everthing that stands in our way. Cameron would do well to learn from this man and stop pandering to the misfits.
• Posted by: banachech • Report Comment
RIOT SQUADS STAND BY FOR BACKLASH AS SARKOZY TRIUMPHS
07.05.07, 12:56pm
A right wing government expects trouble what ever the country may be. This new President has a lot to sort out in France with its large north african populations failing on a large scale to contribute and join in with the French way of life. The biggest problem for Sarkozy is the Muslim problem areas that will not assimilate and get to work as other European immigrants do so willingly. He has hit the correct buttons to get an economy working well, he will create a better system of taxation which will benifit anyone willing to work. I hope our government is talking to him in regard to illegals waiting in the Calais area and how we can work together to get these people back to their own countries in a humane manner.
• Posted by: JimCardiff01 • Report Comment
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