Sarkozy starts march to claim France’s top job

FRANCE’s political sphere changed dramatically when Nicolas Sarkozy, the ambitious finance minister, was formally named the new leader of the ruling conservative party - widely seen as the start of his march to replace Jacques Chirac as French president in 2007.

In a televised acceptance speech before 40,000 members of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) outside Paris, Mr Sarkozy vowed to use his new job to shake up France with reform and hinted the Chirac era was drawing to a close.

“A new horizon is in front of us, it is now that we must make our dreams a reality,” he said over cheers and the waving of the French and party flags.