His immigration policies were called racist by some of his opponents. However, his supporters were sufficiently numerous in 2002, propelling him to the [[runoff]] round of the French Presidential election, that [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] felt compelled to court them in the 2007 election by running well to the right of his predecessor [[Jacques Chirac]], who had appointed him [[interior minister]], although Sarkozy's message always emphasized [[economic]] reform, rather than immigration. This strategy paid off; Sarkozy, always a front-runner, defeated [[Socialist]] [[Ségolène Royal]] in the runoff round. | His immigration policies were called racist by some of his opponents. However, his supporters were sufficiently numerous in 2002, propelling him to the [[runoff]] round of the French Presidential election, that [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] felt compelled to court them in the 2007 election by running well to the right of his predecessor [[Jacques Chirac]], who had appointed him [[interior minister]], although Sarkozy's message always emphasized [[economic]] reform, rather than immigration. This strategy paid off; Sarkozy, always a front-runner, defeated [[Socialist]] [[Ségolène Royal]] in the runoff round. |