Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy

Sarkozy rallied actors, rock stars and a rapper to his cause as he courted a generation that has not traditionally supported the UMP, founded by 73-year-old President Jacques Chirac.

Urging "a new French model," Sarkozy pushed home his theme of "rupture" with the UMP Chirac-style. "A break is necessary," he told 7,000 party faithful in Marseille.

Yet Sarkozy faces an uphill battle in charming French youth.

Student protests this spring against a labor reform showed that many young people are ready to fight for current labor protections rather than start revolutions.

And the young rioters who ravaged French suburbs last fall targeted much of their ire at Sarkozy's hard line on immigration and crime.

The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 9, 2006
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