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Nicolas Sarkozy

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Adults in France are divided on the political aspirations of two leading politicians, according to a poll by BVA published in L'Express. 31 per cent of respondents believe interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy is closest to the idea of what a president should be, while 31 per cent feel the same way about prime minister Dominique de Villepin.

In November 2004, Sarkozy was elected president of the governing centre-right Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). In May, 54.8 per cent of all French voters rejected the European Constitution in a nationwide plebiscite. The outcome is regarded as a negative response to the current centre-right government. Two days after the ballot, French president Jacques Chirac appointed Villepin as the country's new prime minister. Sarkozy took over as interior minister.

Sarkozy and Villepin have expressed their intention to seek the UMP's presidential nomination. 46 per cent of respondents believe the two cabinet members have different ideas politically.

Chirac won the presidential ballot in 1995, and was re-elected in a run-off over Jean-Marie Le Pen in May 2002. The next election is tentatively scheduled for April 2007.

Polling Data

Between Nicolas Sarkozy and Dominique de Villepin, who is closest to the idea that you have of what the president should be?

Would you say that Nicolas Sarkozy and Dominique de Villepin have different ideas politically?

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