France's next president vows closer ties to U.S.

PARIS — Nicolas Sarkozy, an immigrant's son promising to revitalize France, won a comfortable victory Sunday in a presidential election seen as a mandate for his bold plans to enact free-market reforms, reassert French influence abroad and strengthen ties to the United States.

Sarkozy defeated Socialist Segolene Royal, who aspired to be France's first woman president, by 53.06 percent to 46.94 percent with 84 percent turnout, according to final results released early today.

"The French people have expressed themselves," Sarkozy told a boisterous crowd in a theater near the Avenue des Champs-Elyséès. "They have chosen to break with the ideas, the habits and the behaviors of the past. I want to rehabilitate work, authority, morality, respect, merit. I want to restore the honor of the nation and the national identity. I want to return to the French the pride of being French."

The election was a historic moment for a country anxious about economic stagnation, political malaise and ethnic tension. The solid victory showed that voters believe Sarkozy has the strength and vision to push through challenging reforms such as streamlining government, encouraging entrepreneurship and cutting taxes, analysts said.

"This is the first time that the right incarnates change more than the left," said Thierry Vedel at the Center for the Study of French Political Life.

Sarkozy's vocal admiration for the United States distinguishes him from a political class with an anti-American streak. During his victory speech, Sarkozy drew cheers when he spoke warmly of the United States — and when he vowed that France would preserve its independence.

"I want to send word to our American friends to tell them they can count on our friendship, which has been forged by the tragedies of history that we have confronted together," Sarkozy said.

"I want to tell them that France will always be at their side when they need her. But I also want to tell them that friendship is accepting that friends can think differently, and that a great nation like the United States should not be an obstacle to the fight against global warming, but on the contrary should take the lead because the future of all humanity is at stake," he said.

President Bush, who had a strained relationship with President Jacques Chirac, called Sarkozy soon after the result was announced and congratulated him, officials said. In addition to trans-Atlantic issues, Sarkozy wants to restore France as a driving force in a European Union plagued by division and dysfunction.

Sarkozy, 52, represents a new generation of leaders taking the helm after three decades of politics dominated by two men: Chirac, 74, and his predecessor, Socialist François Mitterrand.

The compact, workaholic Sarkozy was the front-runner from the start. His relentless campaign gained strength from his experience as interior and economic minister, his crisp and streetwise oratory and his detailed proposals.

During the two-week runoff campaign, Sarkozy stuck to a disciplined strategy of toning down his combative image and appealing to centrists. In contrast, the previously smooth and reassuring Royal gambled by changing style, attacking Sarkozy loudly in a televised debate and warning of urban unrest if he were elected.

Although Sarkozy served in Chirac's Cabinet and led the ruling Union for a Popular Movement party, he portrayed himself as a force for change. His free-market, law-and-order message was more unabashedly conservative than Chirac's. He also gained credibility with voters because of his longtime feud with the unpopular Chirac, who tried doggedly to block Sarkozy's run by hinting that he might run for re-election and by promoting rival contenders.

Sarkozy's win changes the face of the presidency. He is the son and grandson of Hungarian and Greek-Jewish immigrants. As interior minister and as a candidate, he took on the thorny issue of integrating the mostly immigrant and Muslim population in bleak public-housing projects that have been the scene of prolonged riots, proposing affirmative action and a "Marshall Plan" to create jobs.

Sarkozy reached out to his opponents Sunday night, promising to unite the nation. He is expected to name a government that will prominently feature minorities, women and members of other parties when he takes office May 16.

In recent years, Sarkozy's tough talk on immigration and security stirred conflict with youth gangs and left-wing activists, raising fears that his presidency could bring new unrest.

Sunday, the government deployed massive police contingents to quell disturbances. There were scattered clashes across France, but most involved leftist extremists in central cities rather than more dangerous street gangs in industrial suburbs, police said.

The worst unrest took place in Toulouse, where about 1,200 activists charged the City Hall and burned French flags, while two police officers were slightly injured in skirmishes with about 50 rioters in a housing project outside town.

In Paris, riot police dispersed about 1,000 protesters in the Place de la Bastille on Sunday evening. In the city's outlying slums, the most violent in the nation, police reported flare-ups of vandalism and car fires, but a police spokesman said the toll was not much worse than an average Sunday night.

Royal, 53, was a surprise candidate who bested Old Guard leaders in a primary. Her loss is likely to set off a new duel for leadership. "You can count on me to continue a profound overhaul of the left and the quest for new alliances beyond its current frontiers," she told supporters Sunday night.