When the French socialist party put forward Ségolène Royal as the candidate to be the nation's first woman president, there was a general consensus that the conservative party, for all its luminaries, would not have a figure palatable enough to replace Chirac and defeat Royal. Now, Nicolas Sarkozy, an inflammatory and charismatic figure, has won the presidency with a hard-line platform that takes on some of the nation's most prized political idiosyncracies.

The 35-hour work-week has been a primary tarket of Sarkozy's campaign. He has blamed the socialist-backed policy for constraining business, limiting economic expansion, and robbing the average French worker of wealth they might otherwise earn. His slogan for the cause to allow more freedom to work overtime hours for extra pay was "work more to earn more", and it resonated in a country where the cost of living is high, but workers have in recent years seen difficulties in increasing their own earning potential.

Sarkozy, of Hungarian descent, has also taken on the problem of immigration, saying France will not have an open border policy toward non-EU nations. He has been accused of xenophobia and racism for fairly radical comments he has made on the subject.

It is feared his election could spark a significant rise in protest violence, due to his role in the 2005 Paris-suburb riots, which spread to the entire nation after he accused the youths, mostly children of immigrants living in marginal neighborhoods, of being "scum", suggesting they were savage compared to the "true French".

Already, on the night his victory was announced, reports of cars being set ablaze in protest across Paris began emerging. As his opponent had predicted widespread violence should he win, the president elect chose his words more carefully in his acceptance speech.

Addressing France's African friends and saying he would work to create an immigration policy that allowed responsible movement of people between France and African countries. He also said he would be the president of all French people, and that his role was to serve responsibly. He has campaigned on the concept of combatting irresponsibility, in politics, in crime, in the workplace.

Sarkozy took the opportunity to announce his much touted policy of restoring relations with the United States, saying the US was a friend to France and that his government would recognize this tradition and work to ensure that the two nuclear powers worked together on global and bilateral issues. [s]