Gaullist Party Lose Chief, Gains Another
Nicolas Sarkozy was appointed interim head of the neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic, or RPR, party, just hours after the resignation of Philippe Seguin. Seguin, a burly and lugubrious politician who once cherished hopes of supplanting President Jacques Chirac as leader of the French right, announced his departure in a biting statement accusing Chirac aides of undermining Gaullism. The party’s political bureau took only hours to name Sarkozy, 44, whose self-confidence and burning ambition are lampooned by the press.
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