French President Nicolas Sarkozy met his prime minister on Monday after securing an unexpectedly small parliamentary majority and losing a senior minister — setbacks that nonetheless left his reform programme on track. Sarkozy formally reappointed Prime Minister Francois Fillon, and their first task will be to find a replacement for government number two Alain Juppe.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy named Francois Fillon as Prime Minister on Thursday, banking on the moderate conservative’s negotiating skills to push through sweeping reforms in the face of union resistance. On his first full day in office, Sarkozy held a breakfast meeting with Fillon before confirming the appointment of the 53-year-old.
Nicolas Sarkozy succeeded Jacques Chirac as French president on Wednesday in a simple ceremony, promising to revitalise France and restore national pride. Sarkozy was inaugurated under the chandeliers of the Elysee Palace, which will be his home for the next five years, shortly after his predecessor drove off into retirement.
France began voting on Sunday in a presidential run-off ballot pitting the right-wing son of an Hungarian immigrant against a Socialist bidding to become France’s first woman president. Combative former interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy was favourite to win after opinion surveys conducted on the eve of polling gave him a commanding 10-point lead over Ségolène Royal
France’s right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy was embroiled in a free-speech row on Friday after a defeated candidate accused him of stifling a televised election debate. Francois Bayrou said Sarkozy had subverted basic democratic freedoms of free speech by using contacts to pull the plug on Saturday’s scheduled debate.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s portrayal as a dangerous right-winger who scares voters dominated France’s presidential campaign on Wednesday, forcing the front-runner on to the defensive just four days before first-round polling. ”The worrying Mr Sarkozy” headlined the left-wing daily Liberation.