Nicolas Sarkozy to run for French presidency again

Nicolas Sarkozy will run for president in 2017, hoping to return as France’s head of state after being unseated in 2012 by the now deeply unpopular Francois Hollande, he announced on Monday.

Mr Sarkozy said: “I have chose to be a candidate to the 2017 presidential election”. “France requires us to give her everything”. Last month, another ISIS attacker drove his lorry through crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing more than 80.

Sarkozy, 61, led France from 2007 before losing to Socialist Francois Hollande in 2012. He is expected to lead his campaign based on hard-line approaches to immigration and security.

Courting center-right voters could be a challenge for Sarkozy, Reuters continues, with mainstream conservative candidate and former Prime Minister Alain Juppe heavily favored in polls.

The November 20 primary is the first ever to be held by France’s main right-wing party.

Mr Sarkozy has been a member of France’s right of centre The Republicans party since 2015 and is now its President, having previously represented its predecessor Union for a Popular Movement.

Sarkozy said France’s “top battle” was over how “to defend our lifestyle without being tempted to cut ourselves off from the rest of the world”.

Sarkozy, leader of the centre right Les Republicains, has previously hinted that retains ambitions to be president.

When he left the Elysee Palace, Mr Sarkozy said he was leaving politics and would find a different way to serve his country.

The French presidential election will take place next year in two rounds in April and May.

Earlier this year he was placed under formal investigation over allegations his campaign overspent during his 2012 bid for re-election.

If Sarkozy wins, he could face a rematch against Hollande, who has said he too has the “desire” for a second term.