PM congratulates Sarkozy on French election win

PM congratulates Sarkozy on French election win

It's more important than ever before that Britain and France work closely together, Tony Blair has said as Nicolas Sarkozy won the French presidential election.

In a special message recorded in both English and French, and available to watch on the new Downing Street YouTube channel, the PM offers his congratulations to the President-elect.

Britain and France are "two old countries, about the same size", Mr Blair says, facing similar challenges of globalisation, economic change and the impact of new powers like China and India.

Mr Blair says he has been impressed with the level of debate and participation in the election, which "has shown French democracy in a very positive light". He adds:

"Change is never easy, but we can't avoid it. We have to maintain our values, but reform the way we put them into practice. I know your new President understands that, I wish Mr Sarkozy and all the French people the best for the future."

Mr Sarkozy was elected with 53 per cent of the popular vote early on Monday morning. He visited Downing Street in January of this year for talks with the Prime Minister and a demonstration of our e-petitions service.

Our new YouTube channel is the place to find all the latest films about the Prime Minister and Downing Street.

Transcript:

Hello. The French election obviously attracted a lot of interest in Britain. And of course France is a close neighbour and an important partner for us.

Last night I spoke to Nicolas Sarkozy, the new President, to congratulate him. Nicolas Sarkozy is somebody I know well. I like him very much. I respect him. He's a strong leader. And I know he'll want to forge a good and close partnership between Britain and France - for the good of our two countries, for Europe and for the wider world.

Likewise, he is somebody who knows Britain well and takes a close interest in our policies, as we saw when he visited London during his campaign.

Britain and France are countries of around same size in population, with in many ways, many similar strains of history. Both our countries also face similar challenges today: globalisation, the need to build strong competitive economies so we can compete with China and India, and also, crucially, how we reform our public services and welfare state to make them in tune with the modern world in which we live.

Today, for countries like ours, it's also through alliances with others that we exert influence - between Britain and France, in Europe and of course with the USA.

Like lots of British people, I love France, I've spent a lot of time there, I've even tried to learn the language, and of course I've worked with the French President and French governments over the last 10 years.

And one thing I've learnt from this, is that this relationship between Britain and France is an absolutely crucial one. Of course we don't always agree, as you know, but when we do, we can be a real force for good in Europe and across the world.

And I think that with Nicolas Sarkozy as President, there's a fantastic opportunity for Britain and France to work together in the years ahead.

In fact, there is a whole new generation of leaders in Europe, and the one issue

that I know will always remain the same is that if we work constructively together with other European countries, and play our full part in Europe, keep these relationships strong, we do an immense amount of good for our own country as well.

So today I just wanted to congratulate and welcome Nicolas Sarkozy, and to underline how optimistic I am that we in Britain will work closely with him in the years to come. Thank you.

ENDS

© Scoop Media