Sarkozy Will Be France's Conservative Candidate

PARIS—Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday was day crowned the official presidential candidate of the French right.

To the cheers of up to 100,000 supporters gathered at an American-style congress in Paris, Mr. Sarkozy was formally nominated to run against the Socialist candidate Segolene Royal in elections in April.

The Parc des Expositions at the Porte de Versailles in western Paris erupted as the no. 69 appeared on a giant screen, indicating the percentage of the UMP's 338,000 members who had taken the trouble to vote via the internet in support of the interior minister and president of the center-right UMP party.

The outcome was no surprise, as Mr. Sarkozy was the only official candidate. He scored 98% of all votes cast.

But it was a defining moment for the 51-year-old minister; the culmination of a merciless four-year battle to represent France's mainstream right as President Chirac — who was notably absent yesterday — and his allies schemed against him.

Mr. Sarkozy was at pains to soften his image as a security-obsessed hard-liner. In an unsubtle attempt to reposition himself, he said, "I have understood that humanity is a force, not a weakness. I have changed." Aware that infighting could fatally damage his presidential chances, Mr. Sarkozy praised Mr. Chirac for opposing the war on Iraq and thanked him for the chance to make his first political speech in 1975.

As he swept up the white stairs of the convention center, Mr. Sarkozy passed a front row full of former rivals whom he has seen off and who now swear allegiance to their one-time foe.

First, there was Alain Juppe, the former prime minister who Mr. Chirac had initially hoped would lead his UMP party and be guardian of his legacy. But he was sidelined due to his association with a political corruption case and jumped ship a week ago.

Nearby beamed the defense minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, who only withdrew her threat to run against Mr. Sarkozy on an independent ticket on Friday after a tête-à-tête with her newfound ally.

Also prominent was a former prime minister, Edouard Balladur. In 1995, Mr. Sarkozy betrayed Mr. Chirac to join the Balladur presidential campaign — the root of the deep enmity between the two men.

Mr. Chirac's faithful prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, who pointedly refused to vote for Mr. Sarkozy in the party election, made a brief appearance in the morning. Concerned that the crowd might boo his rival, Mr. Sarkozy issued an appeal for the prime minister to be given a "triumphant welcome" because "the French people are watching us." His request was granted.

Mr. Sarkozy was at pains to draw a line under the infighting and move on with a united front seeking to ensure that the socialist candidate Segolene Royal does not succeed Mr. Chirac in April.

"When it comes to France, there are no longer [rival] camps," he told the thousands of party faithful gathered. "I want to be the president of a reunited France."

Reaching out across the political spectrum, he declared: "My France is the France of all those who basically don't know if they are left, right, or center, because, above all, they are just decent French people."

The symbol of another personal victory, Mr. Sarkozy's wife Cecilia, was near the front. After a brief separation, she is now playing a major behind-the-scenes role in his campaign and personally oversaw yesterday's event at the Porte de Versailles.

But Mr. Sarkozy made it clear that this was no time for triumphalism, but the beginning of the final battle against a formidable rival. He is neck and neck with Ms. Royal in the opinion polls. While earlier speakers repeatedly criticized Ms. Royal, 53, as an amateurish lightweight, Mr. Sarkozy took care not to mention her name in his hour-long address. The election will go to a second round in May between the two front-runners if — as is almost certain — no candidate gets an overall majority.

Mr. Sarkozy urged the far right — "those who vote for the extremes not because they believe in their ideas but because they give up being heard" — to back him. He has made no secret of his intention to woo Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front supporters, who forced the 2002 election to a second round.

But he reserved his fiercest criticism of the left for undermining the French work ethic with the 35-hour week. "The problem is that France works less when others work more," he said, pledging to free up the French working contract, making it easier to hire and fire.

His many young supporters were impressed. Marianne, from Lille, said he had shown a "softer, more humane side of himself that had always been there but that had been ignored by the press."

She added: "His style has changed, but his underlying message remains the same."

Despite the massive show of support, there was an irony to Mr. Sarkozy's inclusive campaign slogan, "Ensemble, tout devient possible" — "Together, everything is possible" — as he has still not received the backing of Mr. Chirac. The president was not present yesterday and reportedly refused an invitation to send a message of goodwill.

Last week, Mr. Chirac said he was considering running for a third term. He could yet do so — but without the formal backing of the party machine, which is now reserved for Mr. Sarkozy.