French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has confirmed she plans to seek the nomination of the ruling UMP party to run in next year's presidential election, challenging party frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy. "I think today that I am ready because I have a certain experience of things and I have worked for it," she was quoted as saying by the daily Le Figaro after a party meeting late on Wednesday. The declaration, which follows a series of indications that suggested she might run, pits her against Sarkozy, the tough talking interior minister and UMP party chief, who confirmed last month he would seek the nomination at a special party meeting on Jan. 14.
