Sarkozy launches into French presidential race

[T_i_B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/02/wfra02.xml

The French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy will tomorrow launch his unofficial campaign to replace Jacques Chirac by issuing a bold rallying call to supporters at their last major gathering before a presidential candidate is chosen.

Some 25,000 followers of the ruling centre-Right UMP party are expected to use the summer conference in Marseilles to acclaim Mr Sarkozy as their clear favourite for next spring's presidential contest.

Reinvigorated by his holiday on the Atlantic coast and with his marital problems firmly behind him, he has exploited disarray on the Left to present himself as the man best equipped to lead France out of the Chirac era.

Mr Sarkozy, nicknamed "Speedy" by the French press because of his hyperactive nature, is his party's president and overwhelmingly its most popular figure.

[Laughing Mirror]

1. He's a first class jerk in love with himself

and he will lose.