FRANCE: French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his seat as head of the centre-right party UMP

Record ID: 731111

  • Title: FRANCE: French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his seat as head of the centre-right party UMP
  • Date: 15th May 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (French) NICOLAS SARKOZY, SAYING: "My dear friends, my duty is to leave you, it rips my heart, but I'm doing it because to my eyes, it's the only way to serve France's interests well."
  • Embargoed: 30th May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Domestic Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVABHTKUFPV57WCN6OS8U5CMYRZO
  • Story Text: Elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his seat as head of the centre-right party UMP. At the party's national congress, he said he is now serving the interest of all the French rather than of his political family.
    French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy stepped down from his party's leadership on Monday (May 14).
    "In the coming days I will take important decisions for our country, I will do it by rallying people, in fairness, and efficiently. My mission is now to serve the general interest of the country. No-one should doubt that I will undertake this mission," said Sarkozy at his party's national congress.
    Sarkozy reached the presidency of his party Union for a Political Movement (UMP) in 2004 and transformed it into a winning machine for the presidential elections.
    After a long campaign which ended up with victory he told his supporters his new functions meant he had to quit the party's leadership:
    "At this moment when I've just been elected president of the republic, and as I'm about to take office, everyone will understand that I can't stay at the leadership. The grand vision I have of the presidential function morally oblige me to stop being the president of the UMP. I want you to understand that I take this decision by duty." said Sarkozy.
    With his presidential agenda already full, Nicolas Sarkozy made it clear that he was now working for all the French and not only a party:
    "My duty is to leave you, it rips my heart, but I'm doing it because, to my eyes, it's the only way serve France's interests well," Sarkozy added.
    No replacement has been announced yet. Sarkozy is due to announce the composition of his government later this week.
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