Yesterday, at 8 pm for French time, a new President has been elected by the French people. Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy stated that his main combat would be for environment and against climate change. This is indeed good news.
The International Herald Tribune translated the speech of the new President concerning his position on the ties with the United States and his stand on climate change :
On Sunday, Sarkozy pledged friendship to the United States but also criticized Washington for not doing enough to fight climate change.
“I want to tell them that France will always be by their side when they will need her, Sarkozy said, “but I want to also tell them that friendship is accepting that one’s friends can think differently.”
“A great nation like the United States should not stand in the way of fighting climate change,” he said. “France will make this struggle its No. 1 struggle.”
This newspaper provides as well an interesting resume of Mr. Sarkozy, the sixth President of the Fifth Republic :
In electing Sarkozy, the French chose an outsider, the son of a minor Hungarian aristocrat with a foreign-sounding name, the grandson of a Jew, a man who did not attend one of France’s elite universities.
It is now time for me to conclude this article. Before doing that I would like to state that Mr. Sarkozy was elected by a little bit more than 53 percent of voters and turnout was of 85 percent.
I do sincerely hope that the new President will do his best as France needs changes in all the main topics, climate change included. But time sure will tell if the French did or didn’t the right choice.
Photo : © International Herald Tribune | Nicolas Sarkozy speaking to supporters in Paris on Sunday. (Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)