Paris, August 23
The pugnacious 61-year-old conservative, who was deeply unpopular by the end of his five years as president, had made no secret of his ambition to reconquer the top office.
“I have decided to be a candidate in the 2017 presidential election,” Sarkozy, who was voted out of office in 2012, wrote in the foreword to a new book “Tout pour la France” (All for France) due out later this week.
“France demands that you give her your all. I feel I have the strength to lead the fight at such a turbulent moment in our history,” he wrote in the book, alluding to the string of terror attacks that have rocked the country in the past year and a half. — AFP