BYE BYE SARKOZIIIIIIIIIIII

Au revoir, austerity! New Euro crisis as French vote for return to ruinous spending

• President Nicolas Sarkozy ousted by socialist candidate Francois Hollande 
• Meanwhile in Greece, voters reject policies of tough financial discipline
• Analysts warns results could tip single currency into collapse within months

Europe was plunged into fresh economic chaos last night as France rejected austerity and elected a tax-and-spend socialist president.

Nicolas Sarkozy suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Francois Hollande, who ran on a platform of tearing up last December’s controversial deal to save the euro from oblivion.

The inexperienced Mr Hollande is now seeking talks with the European Central Bank and German Chancellor Angela  Merkel to demand further borrowing to boost growth.

All change: French president Nicolas Sarkozy (left) has been ousted by Socialist Party rival Francois Hollande (right) in a result that is being held as a rejection of austerity measures imposed amid the eurozone crisis

'I take responsibility': France's incumbent president looks sheepish as he appears on stage before UMP supporters in Paris

Man of the moment: A grinning Francois Hollande greets supporters as he arrives to give his acceptance speech in his political heartland of Tulle, southwestern France

Triumphant: France's president-elect waves to supporters in Tulle before a speech in which he called for unity among a divided French electorate

The menace to the single currency was compounded when voters in near-bankrupt Greece also rejected plans to impose tough financial discipline.

The far Right looked set to grab its first seats, saying: ‘The day of national revolution has begun against those who are  selling us out and looting the sweat of the Greek people.’

 

City analysts said that while stock markets had expected a Hollande win, the results in Paris and Athens could tip the strained eurozone back into turmoil.

Mr Hollande claimed that many voters in Europe would greet his election with relief. 

‘Europe is watching us, austerity can no longer be the only option,’ he said.

Struggling to contain his emotions, Mr Sarkozy said: ‘I did my best to protect the French people during the events of the past five years, so that France could come out stronger from this crisis.’ 

He finished: ‘You are the eternal France, I love you.’

Jubilation: Key members of Mr Hollande's campaign team celebrate the result alongside crowds of supporters inside the Socialist Party's headquarters

The winning side: From left, National Secretary for communication David Assouline, party spokesman Benoit Hamon, campaign policy advisor Aurelie Filippetti and political advisor Harlem Desir amid an ecstatic crowd at the Socialist Party HQ

And the losers: A distraught supporter of Sarkozy's UMP party reacts to the early results at the Mutualite meeting hall in Paris

Crestfallen: Two young Sarkozy supporters look on as the first results from the second-round elections arrive in Paris

rs his face with the French flag as the results are announced at the party headquarters in Paris

He is the 11th European leader to be swept from office since the start of the economic crisis in 2008.

On a day of high drama:

• Mr Hollande defeated Mr Sarkozy by 52 per cent to 48 in only the second time a sitting French President has failed to win a second term;
• Greece’s conservative New Democracy and socialist PASOK parties risked falling short of the 151-seat majority needed to form a coalition government;
• Financial experts warned that the Euro could collapse within months;
• British officials admitted that David Cameron made a serious error by ostentatiously backing Mr Sarkozy’s re-election bid.

The uncharismatic Mr Hollande, who has never held any ministerial office and is the first socialist to win the French presidency since Francois Mitterrand in 1988, has been an outspoken advocate of rewriting the plans to save the single currency.

He wants a new ‘preamble’ written into the new European fiscal pact signed by 25 EU nations to water down calls for austerity measures.

He is demanding a change to strict rules which dictate how much member states can spend, without which most observers believe a new European economic crisis is inevitable.

After his victory he said that one of his priorities was to ‘preserve our social model’ – a reference to France’s generous welfare state.

The new president has pledged to spend an extra 20billion euros in the years ahead to kickstart the economy and wants to slap a 75 per cent tax rate on those earning more than one million euros a year, or around £850,000.

Putting a brave face on it: Sarkozy arrives to address his supporters after the result reaches crowds at La Mutualite hall in Paris

Hero of the left: A victorious Hollande on stage in Tulle with his partner Valerie Trierweiler

Victorious: The face of the newly-elected French President appears on a giant screen at the local Socialist party headquarters in Strasbourg

Bottoms up: A young Socialist supporter celebrates the party's win with a drink on the streets of Paris

Socialists on top: Elated Hollande supporters climb on a bus stop in Paris

He says he ‘dislikes the rich’ and has singled out ‘the world of finance’ as his principal enemy.  Douglas McWilliams, of the Centre for Economics and  Business Research, said that this ‘could be the week that starts the euro break-up’.

He predicted that the ECB might have to lend more money to banks if there is a stock market ‘wobble’ in response to Hollande’s triumph.

‘Each bout of printing money brings the end of the euro nearer,’ he said.

City veteran David Buik, of trading firm BGC Partners, said that France’s affairs paled beside the impact of the Greek election and persistent fears that Spain will be the next European domino to fall.

‘Greece is close to collapse and Spain is deep in a financial quagmire,’ said Mr Buik. ‘I will be very surprised if the Eurozone is not split in 18 months time.’

Last night David Cameron, who snubbed Mr Hollande during a recent visit to the UK, phoned the new president to congratulate him.

A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘They both look forward to working very closely together in the future and building on the very close relationship that already exists between the UK and France.’

Labour leader Ed Miliband, who met Mr Hollande during his London visit, also sent his congratulations.

‘This new leadership is sorely needed as Europe seeks to escape from austerity, and it matters to Britain,’ he said.

‘In his campaign, he has shown that the centre-Left can offer hope and win elections with a vision of a better, more equal and just world.’

Face of a new France: A boy wears a rubber mask of Hollande's face during celebrations in Tulle

Accident: A press motorcyclist and cameraman sprawl on the road near Paris's Le Bourget airport after they crashed while following Mr Hollande

Ousted: Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni leave the Elysee Palace, the official residence of the president, after his election defeat

Festival atmosphere: Socialist supporters pile into Place de la Bastille, Paris, to celebrate Mr Hollande's win

The party continues: Thousands pack Bastille square as the sun sets and Mr Hollande arrives in Paris

Historic night: A searchlight cuts through the night sky over the Bastille, where crowds wait to greet France's new president-elect

French kiss: The new 'first lady' Valerie Trierweiler and President-elect Hollande in an onstage show of affection during the victory rally in Paris

‘US armed Israel for Iran attack’

A New York Times article says the US has armed Israel in case the regime decides to launch an attack against Iran (file photo).

The United States has provided Israel with the military technology and arms to aid Tel Aviv in a possible attack against Iran nuclear facilities, a prominent American journalist says.

“Arm the Syrian rebels! And, while we’re at it, give the Israelis the tools they need - bunker-busters, refueling aircraft - so that if they decide to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, they’ll get it right the first time,” David Sanger wrote in The New York Times.

The article says although “the White House has been deliberately vague on what kind of technology it has shared with the Israelis,” it has been aimed at sabotaging Iran’s nuclear energy program which the West claims contains a covert military dimension by using “bombs, sanctions or covert action.”

Sanger says from the perspective of many US politicians, “Syria and Iran are hardly unrelated problems,” as nothing would undermine Iran’s influence in the region more than the overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

According to the article, this approach stems from the fact that Americans are fed up with their government's warmongering around the globe and also from the White House talks of “nation-building at home.”

“There is something tempting about handing off weaponry to the rebels and the Israelis, wishing them good luck and reminding them to drop a line back to the White House if any of it works,” Sanger says.

Israeli officials have recently ramped up their war rhetoric, threatening Iran with military strikes in case the US-engineered sanctions against the country fail to force Tehran into abandoning its civilian nuclear energy program.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program, using this pretext to impose sanctions against Iran and threaten the country with military attack.

This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's nuclear energy program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production. 

Putin puts words of caution against strike on Iran

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has expressed concern over the growing threat of a military strike on Iran, saying such an attack will have catastrophic repercussions.

“Russia is alarmed by the growing threat of a military strike” against Iran, Putin wrote in article in the daily Moskovskiye Novosti newspaper on Monday.

“If this happens, the consequences will be truly catastrophic, their real scope impossible to imagine,” he added.

“We propose to recognize Iran’s right to develop a civilian nuclear program, including the right to enrich uranium” in exchange for placing the country’s nuclear activities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian premier further said.

Putin added that in this case, all unilateral and international sanctions imposed against Iran need to be lifted.

In 2011, Russia proposed a “step-by-step” approach that would enable Iran to adopt measures to address IAEA questions on Tehran's nuclear program.

According to the plan, Iran can revive negotiations to alleviate individual concerns of the IAEA about its nuclear activities and be rewarded along the way by a partial removal of sanctions.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program, using the pretext to impose sanctions against Iran and threaten the country with a military attack.

Iran has denied the allegations and promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East. 

Tensions build in run-up to Senegal vote

Demonstrations in Dakar as protest movement and opposition candidates call on President Wade to drop bid for third term.

Wade's decision to seek a third term as president has sparked unrest in the otherwise peaceful African nation [AFP] Dakar, Senegal - With just days to go before presidential and legislative elections are held in Senegal, tensions in the capital are reaching a crescendo as the country slips further into a political crisis. While it is business as usual for most in Dakar, an air of uncertainty hovers over the coastal city, the site of daily protests and demonstrations as opposition parties struggle for space to campaign for Sunday's elections. Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president, on an observer mission to the West African country, continued to meet opposition leaders on Thursday in a bid to find a solution to their resolve that Abdoulaye Wade, the incumbent president, is not legible to run for a third term. The Senegalese constitution prohibits incumbent presidents from serving more than two terms, but the country's highest court, the constitutional council, validated Wade's candidacy on January 27, saying that his first term did not count since it came before the two-term limit was introduced. The court's decision has outraged many Senegalese citizens, resulting in a series of demonstrations and clashes between opposition supporters and police services. The M23 movement, an umbrella grouping of activists, opposition leaders and youth called the ruling "a constitutional coup". The interior ministry has banned rallies at Independence Square, and conducted a severe crackdown on opposition rallies in various parts of the city. It is a move that prompted Idrissa Seck, a leading opposition candidate, to describe Senegal to Al Jazeera, as a "dictatorship". Calls for revolution Earlier in the week, protesters marched through Avenue William Ponty, close to Independence Square, singing and chanting: "He should go! He must go! He has to go!" in reference to Wade. Protesters waved Senegalese flags and held up placards reading ''Rend Toi" ["You have to surrender" in French], and "Na Deem" ["Must go" in Wolof] and "Wade D'ena" ["Wade is dead" in Wolof] and calling for a "Senegalese revolution", under the watchful eye of a thick security presence. In a crowd dominated by young males, one older protester in his 40s, told Al Jazeera that he was at the rally to support the M23 movement against "President Wade's attempt to put his son in power". Wade is widely believed to be grooming his son, Karim Wade, a powerful government minister, as his preferred successor.The crowd dispersed when riot police used grenade launchers to fire tear gas canisters into the crowd, prompting a stand-off between rock-wielding demonstrators and armed security forces.Another younger demonstrator screamed: "We are tired, we are tired of his policies and wastage of funds!" Clashes between security forces and protesters have already resulted in at least six deaths, according to an official toll, though others suggest that the number has crept up to 10 deaths, since the constitutional council validated Wade's candidacy. While the African Union delegation through the leadership of Olusegun have tried to address the crisis, analysts say it is difficult to see past the political stalemate. "It is a stalemate. On one hand, Wade is obstinate and is at least 90-years-old, meaning that if he wins we would have a president that would finish his term at 97-years-old," Arame Tall, a researcher at John Hopkins University-Sais, told Al Jazeera. Wade is officially 85 years old but is rumoured to be older. "On the other hand, we have a highly divided opposition, animated by personal ambition - and they are also guilty of trapping the public because they simply refuse to unite and create a strong front to confront the old man. "The public has no choice, because they are faced with an old man they do not want and a fragmented opposition with no leadership," Tall said. Regional parallels Observers are at a stretch to draw comparisons and parallels between the West African country and others in the region, though there are repeated murmurs that Senegal might by headed the way of botched elections and a possible violent standoff, as occurred in Ivory Coast following disputed elections in 2010.  But security experts in the region say that the assertion is unjustified and that though security might deteriorate, the country has very little in common with Ivory Coast. Around dusk on Wednesday, as informal traders and businesses prepare to close, opposition leaders could be seen driving on the corniche in their motorcade - blaring the signature anti-Wade songs on stacked speakers aboard flat deck pick-up vehicles. But fears of violence remain high, and can be seen in the drawn shutters of department stores and cafes on some of the commercial avenues in Dakar as business lament losses and potential risks to property if the situation turned hairy. There is also fear that pre-election violence could hurt voter turnout on Sunday, prompting calls from some candidates to delay the polls. "People are going about their usual activities, but it is very stressful for locals because no one knows what might happen," Arame Tall said.

Assault on Homs continues as Russian-Syrian talks begin

Residents reported that Syrian forces continued to pound the restive city of Homs with rockets Tuesday, even as Russia's foreign minister arrived in Damascus to press Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the crackdown.

 

REUTERS - Syrian forces renewed their bombardment of Homs on Tuesday as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Damascus for talks aimed at pressing President Bashar al-Assad to end a bloody crackdown on a popular revolt and carry out reforms.

Activists said the fresh assault on Homs came after 95 people were killed on Monday in the city of one million people, a hub of protest and armed opposition against Assad. More than 200 were reported killed there on Friday night.

"The bombardment is again concentrating on Baba Amro (district of Homs). A doctor tried to get in there this morning but I heard he was wounded," Mohammad al-Hassan, an activist in Homs, told Reuters by satellite phone. "There is no electricity and all communication with the neighbourhood has been cut."

Authorities say the military is fighting "terrorists" in Homs bent on dividing and sabotaging the country. State media said "tens" of terrorists and six members of the security forces were killed in clashes there on Monday.

Italy recalls ambassador Italy has recalled its ambassador to Syria for consultations, the Italian foreign ministry said Tuesday. Britain recalled its own ambassador Monday and the US closed its embassy in Damascus. (source: AFP)

Lavrov and Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov arrived in Damascus to meet Assad, the foreign ministry in Moscow said, three days after a Russian-Chinese veto of an Arab-backed U.N. resolution on Syria caused outrage.

Moscow and Beijing were the only members of the 15-member U.N. Security Council to vote against the resolution backing an Arab League call for Assad to yield power and start a political transition. The double veto prompted unusually undiplomatic Western criticism, which Lavrov said verged on "hysteria".

At Tuesday's talks, Russia could wield rare leverage with Syrian officials thanks to longtime political and military ties.

Russia's foreign ministry said Lavrov and Fradkov went to Damascus because Moscow sought "the swiftest stabilisation of the situation in Syria on the basis of the swiftest implementation of democratic reforms whose time has come".

Syrian state television showed hundreds of people gathering on a main Damascus highway to welcome Lavrov. They were waving Syrian, Russian and Hezbollah flags and held up two Russian flags made out of hundreds of red, white and blue balloons.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told Reuters he spoke to Lavrov on Monday and said the foreign minister would present an initiative to Damascus. Asked if he thought it could end the crisis, he replied: "They believe so."

Russia, seeking to retain a foothold in the Middle East centred on its strategic ties with Damascus, may be torn between trying to shore up Assad and seeking his exit. It also could take a middle path, trying to buy time by counselling the government to make some concessions and reduce the bloodshed.

"I think that now, after Russia imposed a veto, Lavrov (is) travelling to tell Assad that we did everything possible," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs.

"Now the main task for Lavrov is to tell Assad that if there is no visible change in Syria, then regardless of the Russian position he should be bracing for external military measures," Lukyanov said.

Russia argued that Saturday's draft U.N. resolution was one-sided and would have amounted to taking the side of Assad's opponents in a civil war. China's veto of the measure followed Russia's lead, analysts and diplomats said.

Catherine al-Talli, a senior member of the opposition Syrian National Council, said the military assault on Homs appeared to be designed to show Moscow that Assad was in control and could serve until his term expires in 2014.

"Assad needs to look strong in front of the Russians. He has not managed to control Homs since the eruption of the uprising (11 months ago) and now that he has seen that he faces no real threat from the international community, it appears that he wants to finish off the city," Talli said.

U.S. closes embassy

Assad has pledged political reforms including a new constitution followed by a parliamentary election, but has also pledged to crush "terrorists" he blames for the violence.

Syria's opposition, which rejected a Russian invitation for talks with Syrian officials in Moscow, says Assad's promises of reforms have been discredited by his continued crackdown on protests, in which the U.N. says 5,000 people have been killed.
The United States shut its embassy and said all staff had left Syria due to worsening security in the country, which has also been hit by suicide bombings in Damascus.

Belgium and Britain recalled their ambassadors from Syria, and London said it would seek further European Union sanctions against the country. Japan said it was considering reducing the number of its diplomatic staff in Damascus.

U.S. President Barack Obama said that, however hard Western countries are prepared to lean on Assad diplomatically, they still had no intention of using force to topple him, as they did against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya last year.

"I think it is very important for us to try to resolve this without recourse to outside military intervention. And I think that's possible," he told NBC's Today show.

A chorus of European officials condemned Russia and China over their double veto in terms unusually harsh by diplomatic norms and said they would bear responsibility for future bloodshed. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the veto a "travesty".

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, who heads the Arab League's ministerial committee on the Syrian crisis, told Al Jazeera he was shocked by Moscow and Beijing's decision and called for "clear steps to stop the bloodbath in Syria".

Clinton said on Sunday the United States would work with other nations to try to tighten sanctions against Assad's government and deny it arms in the absence of a U.N. resolution.