Sarkozy launches presidency bid

FRENCH interior minister and right wing favourite Nicolas Sarkozy launched his campaign for the presidency at a triumphant party congress in Paris, issuing an appeal to voters of all persuasions to make him a “president of the people” at April’s election.

In a speech before some 80,000 members of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), Sarkozy set out the broad lines of his manifesto, promising to “reassert the value of work“, restore “authority and respect” and establish a society of “obligations as well as rights“.

He was speaking after results of the party’s internal ballot were announced to a jubilant audience, giving Sarkozy more than 98% of votes cast. Some 69% of the party’s 338,000 members took part in the ballot, the result of which was a foregone conclusion as Sarkozy was the only nominee.