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What will President Sarkozy bring?

Nicolas Sarkozy's emphatic victory in France's most bitterly fought presidential election in recent times underscores four essential points. First, French voters turned out in unprecedented numbers to make their choice, registering a turnout of 84 per cent. Secondly, as The Guardian puts it, voters "unequivocally decided that the cure for 12 years of drift is a sharp swing to the right." They have opted for a break with the country's post-War welfare state model while moving towards more conservative values of identity and nationhood. By doing so, they have decided to question the very concept of France as an open, welcoming society willing to give shelter to the world's persecuted and oppressed. Thirdly, Mr. Sarkozy's win has demonstrated that the country is not yet ready to jettison the Left-Right divide that has marked its history since the French Revolution of 1789. Fourthly, this presidential election has shown up the Socialist camp to be a house divided and also exposed the weakness of the non-Socialist left whose total score in the first round was about 10 per cent. Under the circumstances, the winsome Segolene Royal, who would have been France's first woman head of state, put up a creditable challenge — taking a higher share of the vote than many polls predicted.

The months ahead will show whether Mr. Sarkozy is capable of uniting the country he so bitterly divided in his five-month-long campaign. In his speeches he promised to cut taxes, rein in trade unions, and dismantle the liberal legacy of May 1968, and also to come down hard on work shirkers, youth crime, and illegal immigration. His authoritarian side frightened many moderate voters. But his acceptance speech was an attempt to signal that he was prepared to make an effort to pull France together and reach out to his opponents. Whether his promise to be the President of all French people was just rhetoric will be known soon enough. Mr. Sarkozy has announced that his first priorities lie with Europe, but the Europe he wants stands for economic protectionism and tougher immigration policies. France's migrant and underprivileged communities are deeply suspicious of what they see as his heavy-handedness tinged with racism. Last night spontaneous riots broke out in Paris, Lyon, Nantes, Marseilles, and several other major cities. In foreign policy, Mr. Sarkozy's views are widely believed to be Atlanticist and pro-Israel. He was an early supporter of the war in Iraq and was, until a few months ago, critical of French "arrogance" during the United Nations debate leading up to the attack. Will he depart from France's traditional pro-Arab policies and foster closer ties with the United States and Israel? The new voter mood and political landscape will become clearer in six weeks' time when France votes for its new parliament. French newspapers, including the conservative ones, have perceived Mr. Sarkozy to have a clear mandate for `reform' — but have noted that he needs to heal the wounds of a fiercely waged campaign.

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