French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy won 85 per cent of the vote to win the leadership of President Jacques Chirac's governing UMP party, reports said Sunday. Sarkozy easily beat his two competitors for the post, Le Journal du Dimanche reported. He was expected to be formally announced as new party chief at the UMP's congress in Paris on Sunday. He is expected to resign his ministerial office on Monday. The party presidency is seen as a springboard for candidacy in the 2007 presidential election. Sarkozy has made no secret of his desire to succeed Chirac, who turns 72 on Monday.
