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France's Sarkozy eyes nomination France's Sarkozy woos youth vote
(about 6 hours later)
The leader of France's governing UMP party, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, is preparing to deliver a keynote speech to young party members. The leader of France's governing UMP party, Nicolas Sarkozy, has called for a break with the past in a keynote speech to young party activists.
His address is being widely seen as the start of his bid to be nominated as the UMP candidate for the presidential election due next April. His speech, widely seen as the start of his bid for the presidency, centred on the theme of young people who he said had always shaped France's destiny.
The UMP conference is aiming to project an image of party unity in contrast to the opposition Socialists. Mr Sarkozy, currently interior minister, promised a nation where those who worked hard would be rewarded.
Mr Sarkozy is the favourite but he also divides opinion even within UMP ranks. He is hoping to be the UMP's candidate in next April's presidential election.
Mr Sarkozy will address 25,000 young party supporters, with a speech expected to focus on France's place in Europe and his hopes for young French people and their future. Mr Sarkozy's speech was greeted by tumultuous applause from the young UMP activists in Marseille, who had already given the conference the air of a rock concert.
He is clearly the biggest draw at the conference in Marseille, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt reports. The young, he said, had always shaped France's destiny from the French Revolution to the French resistance during World War ll.
The party gathering seems more like a rock festival than a political meeting, she says, with Mr Sarkozy mobbed by young fans as he arrives at the conference hall or signs copies of his latest book on how he would run France. "Yes, young people of France, everything is possible," he said.
New generation "Everything is possible if you want it. And here in Marseille, I have come to say to you that we want it more than ever before... more than anyone has ever wanted. That is my message to the youth of France."
Mr Sarkozy may be using the Marseille meeting as the launching pad for his candidacy, but his biggest rival, French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, did come to support the party. Correspondents say his speech aimed to win over sceptical younger voters who were alienated by his tough stance during urban riots in France late last year.
Political rivals are keen to present a united UMP face Among a raft of proposals, he outlined plans for interest-free loans for student entrepreneurs, special education savings accounts, and "second-chance schools" for troubled students.
Some young UMP activists are in no doubt that Mr Sarkozy should get the nomination. He had a direct message for young people from ethnic minorities, saying they should not forget their origins but be proud of France and its heritage.
Wealth
He also called for a six-month obligatory community service for 18-to 30-year-olds.
"There is no nation without obligations of individuals" to the nation as a whole, Mr Sarkozy said.
The UMP leadership was keen to present a united face
He criticised the 35-hour working week introduced by the Socialists, and said he wanted to create a nation in which those who worked harder would earn more, one in which effort would be properly rewarded and where wealth would create more wealth for France.
Mr Sarkozy did not once mention President Jacques Chirac, who has been in power for a decade and in whose cabinet he serves.
This was undoubtedly the start of Mr Sarkozy's campaign to win the party nomination as candidate for president, the BBC's Caroline Wyatt reports from Marseille.
And from the enthusiastic reception for his speech, it is clear that the young party members firmly back the UMP leader as their best hope of reforming a creaky French state, she says.
Le Pen vote
Mr Sarkozy is the clear frontrunner for the conservative nomination but he divides opinion even within UMP ranks.
Some young UMP activists were in no doubt that Mr Sarkozy should get the nomination.
"He has charisma," one told the BBC. "He makes things happen.""He has charisma," one told the BBC. "He makes things happen."
Another said Mr Sarkozy represented a new generation, a change from the old political guard represented by President Jacques Chirac. Another said Mr Sarkozy represented a new generation, a change from the old political guard represented by President Chirac.
But Mr Sarkozy has been accused by some of veering too far to the right politically, for example by being tough on immigration and crime in his role as interior minister.But Mr Sarkozy has been accused by some of veering too far to the right politically, for example by being tough on immigration and crime in his role as interior minister.
However, his supporters see that as the only way to fend off the popularity of Jean-Marie Le Pen's far right National Front and try to ensure that Mr Le Pen does not get through the first round of next year's elections, as he did in 2002, our correspondent says. However, his supporters see that as the only way to fend off the popularity of Jean-Marie Le Pen's far-right National Front and try to ensure that Mr Le Pen does not get through the first round of next year's elections, as he did in 2002, our correspondent says.
Both the UMP and the Socialists are due to choose their candidate in November.