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Camp David Declaration

Camp David, Maryland, United States
May 18-19, 2012

Preamble

1.We, the Leaders of the Group of Eight, met at Camp David on May 18 and 19, 2012 to address major global economic and political challenges.

The Global Economy

2.Our imperative is to promote growth and jobs.

3.The global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist.

4.Against this background, we commit to take all necessary steps to strengthen and reinvigorate our economies and combat financial stresses, recognizing that the right measures are not the same for each of us.

5.We welcome the ongoing discussion in Europe on how to generate growth, while maintaining a firm commitment to implement fiscal consolidation to be assessed on a structural basis. We agree on the importance of a strong and cohesive Eurozone for global stability and recovery, and we affirm our interest in Greece remaining in the Eurozone while respecting its commitments. We all have an interest in the success of specific measures to strengthen the resilience of the Eurozone and growth in Europe. We support Euro Area Leaders’ resolve to address the strains in the Eurozone in a credible and timely manner and in a manner that fosters confidence, stability and growth.

6.We agree that all of our governments need to take actions to boost confidence and nurture recovery including reforms to raise productivity, growth and demand within a sustainable, credible and non-inflationary macroeconomic framework. We commit to fiscal responsibility and, in this context, we support sound and sustainable fiscal consolidation policies that take into account countries’ evolving economic conditions and underpin confidence and economic recovery.

7.To raise productivity and growth potential in our economies, we support structural reforms, and investments in education and in modern infrastructure, as appropriate. Investment initiatives can be financed using a range of mechanisms, including leveraging the private sector. Sound financial measures, to which we are committed, should build stronger systems over time while not choking off near-term credit growth. We commit to promote investment to underpin demand, including support for small businesses and public-private partnerships.

8.Robust international trade, investment and market integration are key drivers of strong sustainable and balanced growth. We underscore the importance of open markets and a fair, strong, rules-based trading system. We will honor our commitment to refrain from protectionist measures, protect investments and pursue bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral efforts, consistent with and supportive of the WTO framework, to reduce barriers to trade and investment and maintain open markets. We call on the broader international community to do likewise. Recognizing that unnecessary differences and overly burdensome regulatory standards serve as significant barriers to trade, we support efforts towards regulatory coherence and better alignment of standards to further promote trade and growth.

9.Given the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) to stimulating job and economic growth,, we affirm the significance of high standards for IPR protection and enforcement, including through international legal instruments and mutual assistance agreements, as well as through government procurement processes, private-sector voluntary codes of best practices, and enhanced customs cooperation, while promoting the free flow of information. To protect public health and consumer safety, we also commit to exchange information on rogue internet pharmacy sites in accordance with national law and share best practices on combating counterfeit medical products.
Energy and Climate Change

10.As our economies grow, we recognize the importance of meeting our energy needs from a wide variety of sources ranging from traditional fuels to renewables to other clean technologies. As we each implement our own individual energy strategies, we embrace the pursuit of an appropriate mix from all of the above in an environmentally safe, sustainable, secure, and affordable manner. We also recognize the importance of pursuing and promoting sustainable energy and low carbon policies in order to tackle the global challenge of climate change. To facilitate the trade of energy around the world, we commit to take further steps to remove obstacles to the evolution of global energy infrastructure; to reduce barriers and refrain from discriminatory measures that impede market access; and to pursue universal access to cleaner, safer, and more affordable energy. We remain committed to the principles on global energy security adopted by the G-8 in St. Petersburg.

11.As we pursue energy security,, we will do so with renewed focus on safety and sustainability. We are committed to establishing and sharing best practices on energy production, including exploration in frontier areas and the use of technologies such as deep water drilling and hydraulic fracturing, where allowed, to allow for the safe development of energy sources, taking into account environmental concerns over the life of a field. In light of the nuclear accident triggered by the tsunami in Japan, we continue to strongly support initiatives to carry out comprehensive risk and safety assessments of existing nuclear installations and to strengthen the implementation of relevant conventions to aim for high levels of nuclear safety.

12.We recognize that increasing energy efficiency and reliance on renewables and other clean energy technologies can contribute significantly to energy security and savings, while also addressing climate change and promoting sustainable economic growth and innovation. We welcome sustained, cost-effective policies to support reliable renewable energy sources and their market integration. We commit to advance appliance and equipment efficiency, including through comparable and transparent testing procedures, and to promote industrial and building efficiency through energy management systems.

13.We agree to continue our efforts to address climate change and recognize the need for increased mitigation ambition in the period to 2020, with a view to doing our part to limit effectively the increase in global temperature below 2ºC above pre-industrial levels, consistent with science. We strongly support the outcome of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban to implement the Cancun agreements and the launch of the Durban Platform, which we welcome as a significant breakthrough toward the adoption by 2015 of a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force applicable to all Parties, developed and developing countries alike. We agree to continue to work together in the UNFCCC and other fora, including through the Major Economies Forum,, toward a positive outcome at Doha.

14.Recognizing the impact of short-lived climate pollutants on near-term climate change, agricultural productivity, and human health, we support, as a means of promoting increased ambition and complementary to other CO2 and GHG emission reduction efforts, comprehensive actions to reduce these pollutants, which, according to UNEP and others, account for over thirty percent of near-term global warming as well as 2 million premature deaths a year. Therefore, we agree to join the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants.

15.In addition, we strongly support efforts to rationalize and phase-out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, and to continue voluntary reporting on progress.

Food Security and Nutrition

16.For over a decade, the G-8 has engaged with African partners to address the challenges and opportunities afforded by Africa’s quest for inclusive and sustainable development. Our progress has been measurable, and together we have changed the lives of hundreds of millions of people. International assistance alone, however, cannot fulfill our shared objectives. As we move forward, and even as we recommit to working together to reduce poverty, we recognize that our task is also to foster the change that can end it, by investing in Africa’s growth, its expanding role in the global economy, and its success. As part of that effort, we commit to fulfill outstanding L’Aquila financial pledges, seek to maintain strong support to address current and future global food security challenges, including through bilateral and multilateral assistance, and agree to take new steps to accelerate progress towards food security and nutrition in Africa and globally, on a complementary basis.

17.Since the L’Aquila Summit, we have seen an increased level of commitment to global food security, realignment of assistance in support of country-led plans, and new investments and greater collaboration in agricultural research. We commend our African partners for the progress made since L’Aquila, consistent with the Maputo Declaration, to increase public investments in agriculture and to adopt the governance and policy reforms necessary to accelerate sustainable agricultural productivity growth, attain greater gains in nutrition, and unlock sustainable and inclusive country-led growth. The leadership of the African Union and the role of its Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) have been essential.

18.Building on this progress, and working with our African and other international partners, today we commit to launch a New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition to accelerate the flow of private capital to African agriculture, take to scale new technologies and other innovations that can increase sustainable agricultural productivity, and reduce the risk borne by vulnerable economies and communities. This New Alliance will lift 50 million people out of poverty over the next decade, and be guided by a collective commitment to invest in credible, comprehensive and country-owned plans, develop new tools to mobilize private capital, spur and scale innovation, and manage risk; and engage and leverage the capacity of private sector partners – from women and smallholder farmers, entrepreneurs to domestic and international companies.

19.The G-8 reaffirms its commitment to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, and recognizes the vital role of official development assistance in poverty alleviation and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. As such,, we welcome and endorse the Camp David Accountability Report which records the important progress that the G-8 has made on food security consistent with commitments made at the L’Aquila Summit, and in meeting our commitments on global health, including the Muskoka initiative on maternal,, newborn and child health. We remain strongly committed to reporting transparently and consistently on the implementation of these commitments. We look forward to a comprehensive report under the UK Presidency in 2013.

Afghanistan’s Economic Transition

20.We reaffirm our commitment to a sovereign, peaceful, and stable Afghanistan, with full ownership of its own security, governance and development and free of terrorism, extremist violence, and illicit drug production and trafficking. We will continue to support the transition process with close coordination of our security, political and economic strategies.

21.With an emphasis on mutual accountability and improved governance,, building on the Kabul Process and Bonn Conference outcomes, our countries will take steps to mitigate the economic impact of the transition period and support the development of a sustainable Afghan economy by enhancing Afghan capacity to increase fiscal revenues and improve spending management, as well as mobilizing non-security assistance into the transformation decade.

22.We will support the growth of Afghan civil society and will mobilize private sector support by strengthening the enabling environment and expanding business opportunities in key sectors, as well as promote regional economic cooperation to enhance connectivity.

23.We will also continue to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in its efforts to meet its obligation to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in the rights of women and girls and the freedom to practice religion.

24.We look forward to the upcoming Tokyo Conference in July, as it generates further long-term support for civilian assistance to Afghanistan from G-8 members and other donors into the transformation decade; agrees to a strategy for Afghanistan’s sustainable economic development, with mutual commitments and benchmarks between Afghanistan and the international community; and provides a mechanism for biennial reviews of progress being made against those benchmarks through the transformation decade.

The Transitions in the Middle East and North Africa

25.A year after the historic events across the Middle East and North Africa began to unfold, the aspirations of people of the region for freedom, human rights, democracy, job opportunities, empowerment and dignity are undiminished. We recognize important progress in a number of countries to respond to these aspirations and urge continued progress to implement promised reforms. Strong and inclusive economic growth, with a thriving private sector to provide jobs, is an essential foundation for democratic and participatory government based on the rule of law and respect for basic freedoms, including respect for the rights of women and girls and the right to practice religious faith in safety and security.

26.We renew our commitment to the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition, launched at the G-8 Summit last May. We welcome the steps already taken, in partnership with others in the region, to support economic reform, open government, and trade, investment and integration.

27.We note in particular the steps being taken to expand the mandate of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to bring its expertise in transition economies and financing support for private sector growth to this region; the platform established by international financial institutions to enhance coordination and identify opportunities to work together to support the transition country reform efforts; progress in conjunction with regional partners toward establishing a new transition fund to support country-owned policy reforms complementary to existing mechanisms; increased financial commitments to reforming countries from international and regional financial institutions, the G-8 and regional partners; strategies to increase access to capital markets to help boost private investment; and commitments from our countries and others to support small and medium-sized enterprises, provide needed training and technical assistance and facilitate international exchanges and training programs for key constituencies in transition countries.

28.Responding to the call from partner countries, we endorse an asset recovery action plan to promote the return of stolen assets and welcome, and commit to support the action plans developed through the Partnership to promote open government, reduce corruption, strengthen accountability and improve the regulatory environment, particularly for the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises. These governance reforms will foster the inclusive economic growth, rule of law and job creation needed for the success of democratic transition. We are working with Partnership countries to build deeper trade and investment ties, across the region and with members of the G-8, which are critical to support growth and job creation. In this context, we welcome Partnership countries’ statement on openness to international investment.

29.G-8 members are committed to an enduring and productive partnership that supports the historic transformation underway in the region. We commit to further work during the rest of 2012 to support private sector engagement, asset recovery, closer trade ties and provision of needed expertise as well as assistance, including through a transition fund. We call for a meeting in September of Foreign Ministers to review progress being made under the Partnership.

Political and Security Issues

30.We remain appalled by the loss of life, humanitarian crisis, and serious and widespread human rights abuses in Syria. The Syrian government and all parties must immediately and fully adhere to commitments to implement the six-point plan of UN and Arab League Joint Special Envoy (JSE) Kofi Annan,, including immediately ceasing all violence so as to enable a Syrian-led, inclusive political transition leading to a democratic, plural political system. We support the efforts of JSE Annan and look forward to seeing his evaluation, during his forthcoming report to the UN Security Council, of the prospects for beginning this political transition process in the near-term. Use of force endangering the lives of civilians must cease. We call on the Syrian government to grant safe and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel to populations in need of assistance in accordance with international law. We welcome the deployment of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, and urge all parties,, in particular the Syrian government, to fully cooperate with the mission. We strongly condemn recent terrorist attacks in Syria. We remain deeply concerned about the threat to regional peace and security and humanitarian despair caused by the crisis and remain resolved to consider further UN measures as appropriate.

31.We remain united in our grave concern over Iran’s nuclear program. We call on Iran to comply with all of its obligations under relevant UNSC resolutions and requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors. We also call on Iran to continuously comply with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, including its safeguards obligations. We also call on Iran to address without delay all outstanding issues related to its nuclear program, including questions concerning possible military dimensions. We desire a peaceful and negotiated solution to concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, and therefore remain committed to a dual-track approach. We welcome the resumption of talks between Iran and the E3+3 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union High Representative). We call on Iran to seize the opportunity that began in Istanbul, and sustain this opening in Baghdad by engaging in detailed discussions about near-term, concrete steps that can, through a step-by-step approach based on reciprocity, lead towards a comprehensive negotiated solution which restores international confidence that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. We urge Iran to also comply with international obligations to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion, and end interference with the media,, arbitrary executions, torture, and other restrictions placed on rights and freedoms.

32.We continue to have deep concerns about provocative actions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that threaten regional stability. We remain concerned about the DPRK's nuclear program, including its uranium enrichment program. We condemn the April 13,, 2012, launch that used ballistic missile technology in direct violation of UNSC resolution. We urge the DPRK to comply with its international obligations and abandon all nuclear and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner. We call on all UN member states to join the G-8 in fully implementing the UNSC resolutions in this regard. We affirm our will to call on the UN Security Council to take action, in response to additional DPRK acts, including ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests. We remain concerned about human rights violations in the DPRK, including the situation of political prisoners and the abductions issue.

33.We recognize that according women full and equal rights and opportunities is crucial for all countries’ political stability, democratic governance,, and economic growth. We reaffirm our commitment to advance human rights of and opportunities for women, leading to more development, poverty reduction, conflict prevention and resolution, and improved maternal health and reduced child mortality. We also commit to supporting the right of all people, including women, to freedom of religion in safety and security. We are concerned about the reduction of women’s political participation and the placing at risk of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in Middle East and North Africa countries emerging from conflict or undergoing political transitions. We condemn and avow to stop violence directed against, including the trafficking of, women and girls. We call upon all states to protect human rights of women and to promote women’s roles in economic development and in strengthening international peace and security.

34.We pay tribute to the remarkable efforts of President Thein Sein, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and many other citizens of Burma/Myanmar to deliver democratic reform in their country over the past year. We recognize the need to secure lasting and irreversible reform, and pledge our support to existing initiatives, particularly those which focus on peace in ethnic area, national reconciliation, and entrenching democracy. We also stress the need to cooperate to further enhance aid coordination among international development partners of Burma/Myanmar and conduct investment in a manner beneficial to the people of Burma/Myanmar.

35.We recognize the particular sacrifices made by the Libyan people in their transition to create a peaceful, democratic, and stable Libya. The international community remains committed to actively support the consolidation of the new Libyan institutions.

36.We condemn transnational organized crime and terrorism in all forms and manifestations. We pledge to enhance our cooperation to combat threats of terrorism and terrorist groups, including al-Qa’ida, its affiliates and adherents, and transnational organized crime, including individuals and groups engaged in illicit drug trafficking and production. We stress that it is critical to strengthen efforts to curb illicit trafficking in arms in the Sahel area, in particular to eliminate the Man-Portable Air Defense Systems proliferated across the region; to counter financing of terrorism, including kidnapping for ransom; and to eliminate support for terrorist organizations and criminal networks. We urge states to develop necessary capacities including in governance, education, and criminal justice systems, to address, reduce and undercut terrorist and criminal threats, including "lone wolf" terrorists and violent extremism, while safeguarding human rights and upholding the rule of law. We underscore the central role of the United Nations and welcome the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and efforts of the Roma-Lyon Group in countering terrorism. We reaffirm the need to strengthen the implementation of the UN Al-Qaida sanctions regime,, and the integrity and implementation of the UN conventions on drug control and transnational organized crime.

37.We reaffirm that nonproliferation and disarmament issues are among our top priorities. We remain committed to fulfill all of our obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and, concerned about the severe proliferation challenges, call on all parties to support and promote global nonproliferation and disarmament efforts.

38.We welcome and fully endorse the G-8 Foreign Ministers Meeting Chair’s Statement with accompanying annex.

Conclusion

39. We look forward to meeting under the presidency of the United Kingdom in 2013.

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European governments and companies are moving to evacuate citizens living in Libya as violent unrest in the country spreads.

France on Monday urged its nationals to return home and began closing French-run schools in the north African country,, the European Affairs minister said.

Laurent Wauquiez said around 30 French nationals had been taken out of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, where a tough crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has left possibly hundreds dead.

Portugal also said it had sent a military plane to the capital,, Tripoli to begin evacuating European Union citizens from strife-torn Libya, as the bloc's foreign ministers meet in Brussels, the Belgian capital, to discuss their response to the crisis.

"We want to see proper protection for foreign nationals in Libya and in particular assistance for them as they are trying to leave the country," William Hague,, Britain's foreign minister said,, as he urged Britons to leave.

"Those who are able to leave safely should leave by commercial means. That situation is constantly under review. We will assess the needs for evacuations as things progress," he said.

Turkish evacuation

The British government has also summoned the Libyan ambassador to London over a deadly crackdown blamed for the deaths of at least 200 people,, he said.

"We have summoned the Libyan ambassador in London to the foreign office today to register our absolute condemnation of the use of lethal force against demonstrators."

The foreign office added separately that dependents of British embassy staff in the country would be flown home, but that the embassy would remain open.

Oil giant BP, which employs a number of foreign nationals in Libya, is also drawing up plans for evacuating staff "in the next couple of days",, a spokesman said.

Around 600 Turkish citizens were evacuated over the weekend, after rioters stormed construction sites in Benghazi and authorities used force against protesters.

"The experience that we had in Libya cannot be told,, it could only be lived,," one of the Turkish passengers on board said.

Turkey is planning to send four planes and two ferries to evacuate more of its 25,,000 nationals living in Libya,, the NTV news channel said on Monday.

There are around 200 Turkish construction companies in the African nation, working on projects said to be worth around $15.3bn.

Some Turks could be also transported to neighbouring Egypt by road and then flown home,, it added.

Egypt's ruling generals have lashed out at the Muslim Brotherhood over its questioning of the military's continued support of the cabinet,, while urging the Islamists "to look to the future with the spirit of cooperation."

TheSupreme Council of the Armed Forces [SCAF]in a statement on Sunday expressed "extreme indignation" over Brotherhood comments that questioned its motives in supporting the government,, which the Islamists accuse of stalling the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

The SCAFalso called "on all to be aware of history's lessons,, to avoid past mistakes we do not want to see repeated,, and to look to the future with the spirit of cooperation."

In a statement read out by Egyptian state television,it expressed "grave resentment" toward charges by the leading Islamist group that cast doubts upon "the performance and the patriotism of the government,, the independence of the supreme constitutional court and influence on the neutrality of its verdicts". It said all such charges"are lies and biased accusations".

'Warning'

The SCAFurgedthe Muslim Brotherhood to "understand history lessons" in a veiled reference tothe group'sclash with late President Gamal Abdel Nasser shortly after the 1952 revolution.

TheBrotherhood,whose political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party won a crushing victory in parliamentary elections,,had a statement accusing the government of stalling reforms. It said the government's performance had been the "biggest failure",, pointing to unrest,, judicial interference,, stalling of reforms, fuel shortages and dwindling foreign reserves.

In a statement posted on its website, the Freedom and Justice Party said the presidential elections due in May could be rigged to benefit a "certain candidate" it did not identify. It added that the party is studying proposals to field its own candidate, reversing an earlier decision not to do so.

The Freedom and Justice Party has been pressuring the military to sack the cabinet and appoint an FJP-led government.

But the SCAF, which took power after the popular uprising,, has stood by the cabinet and its head Kamal Ganzuri.

"When we called for the resignation of the government, its head refused, and this was unfortunately supported by the military council,," the Brotherhood said in its statement.

"If anyone intends to recreate the former corrupt regime with new faces, the people are willing to move in order to revive their revolution and protect their ship from sinking at the hands of people with no sense of responsibility," it said.

Last month,, was brought before the supreme constitutional court arguing that the parliamentary election was unconstitutional due to its complex voting system.

The Islamists said they fear the military council could push through this lawsuit should they insist on Ganzuri's removal.

Paris, France - Love him or hate him,, is a politician who has always incited passionate responses from the people of France.

France is a much more polarised country after his five-year term in the Elysee, and, as the results from the first round of voting in the presidential election have confirmed, his detractors arguably now outnumber his admirers.

, the Socialist Party candidate, won 28.6 per cent of the votes, the interior ministry confirmed on Monday morning. Sarkozy, the sitting president and candidate for the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP by its French acronym), came second, with 27.2 per cent.

Sunday's results suggest many of those who voted for the UMP candidate in 2007 have since abandoned him for the far-right National Front.

With the run-off round of voting set for May 6, whether or not he can manage the challenging task of winning those voters back will be the decisive test of his presidency.

Record score

, who succeeded her father, Jean-Marie,as the leader of the National Front in 2011, achieved 17.09 per cent, a record score for the far-right. This beats the elder Le Pen's score from the first round of the 2002 election, when he took 16.86 per cent of the votes.

When Sarkozy ran for election in 2007, support for Jean-Marie Le Pen dropped to 10.44 per cent. The UMP candidate received a healthy 31 per cent, five points more than his Socialist rival that year, Segolene Royal.

Shortly after the polls closed on Sunday, Hollande saidthat the surge in support for the far-right, along with the relatively high voter turnout of 80.2 per cent, was proof that much of the population viewed Sarkozy's presidency as a failure.

"The second important lesson to draw from this election, and this is undeniable, is that the first round was a punishment and a rejection of the outgoing [sic] president," he declared to a cheering crowd of around a thousand supporters outside the Socialist Party headquarters in central Paris. Speakers at the rally also called for opponents of Sarkozy from across the political spectrum to unite against him.

Few allies

The Left Front's , who won 11.1 per cent, and the Green Party's , who won 2.3 per cent, have directed their supporters to vote for Hollande in the second round, almost certainly guaranteeing him some 42 per cent.

"I salute the first round candidates, Melenchon and Joly, who clearly called on their supporters to vote for me in the second round,," Hollande said.

The other two high-scoring candidates, , a centrist who scored 9.1 per cent, and Le Pen, have not yet endorsed either candidate.

Sarkozy would need the support of more than half of these voters to win, assuming the other half abstained.

The morning after the election, an email from Sarkozy's campaign team outlined his key positions for the second round of the campaign:

"I will continue to represent our values and our engagements: for respect of our borders, for the fight against [international] outsourcing; for immigration control, for the security of our families; for the promotion of work, of investment, innovation and growth."

With this appeal to the many middle and working class voters,, who fear their jobs, security and culture are being washed away by the supposed tide of immigrants, Sarkzoy risks isolating Bayrou's supporters, who favour moderate policies.

Until now, the National Front's Le Penhas called on her supporters to boycott the second round of voting. True to form, she has been just as critical of the UMP candidate following the vote, although she is promising to clarify her position on at a rally on May 1.

The far-right party's support base is not keen on any negotiation with the mainstream parties, and many are vocal about their deep-seated hatred of Sarkozy.

Extravagant reputation

In the second round of the 2007 election, a majority of the French voted for Sarkozy,, the tough-talking political outsider who brought a new energy and dynamism to the country's then-inert political class.

That election captivated the country and saw the highest voter turnout in the first round since 1974, as the older generation of political "dinosaurs" gave way to the first French president born after the Second World War.

The vote was a mandate for a new brand of politics, analysts said at the time. Sarkozy was viewed as a moderniser who would push through changes where his predecessors had failed.

"The France that wakes up early" was one of his campaign slogans, an appeal to voters who thought the government must to do more to promote and reward a strong work ethic.

Some voters told Al Jazeera they felt Sarkozy had lived up to his promises.

Andre Allouch, a voter in the 4th arrondissement (district) of Paris,, said on Sunday that he believed Sarkozy's leadership during the global economic crisis had helped France fare better than many neighbouring European countries.

"I hope Sarkozy stays in power. He's proven himself," Allouch said.

Early on in his presidency, however,, Nicolas Sarkozy's wealthy acquaintances and glamorous lifestyle upset many ordinary French citizens. Many members of the public - not to mention the media - never forgave him for the perceived lack of tact he demonstrated by accepting yacht rides and lavish dinners from billionaire acquaintances.

His reputation was also damaged by a series of ,, notably that he had accepted illegal campaign financing from the heiress , the richest woman in Europe.

"Rarely has the character of a president of the Republic made such a deep impression,,"Le Canard Enchaine, a satirical publication, wrote in a special magazine edition dedicated to assessing Sarkozy's five years as president.

"With Sarkozy,, what is striking is not so much his ideas as his accessories," the journalist wrote, referring to Sarkozy's love of Ray-Ban sunglasses and flashy watches. "The problem is that the Rolex hardly fits with the concept of 'The France that wakes up early'."

Those who had voted for left-wing candidates were prepared to accept cutbacks,, many voters told Al Jazeera on Sunday, so long as they were applied to all social classes.

"From his very first day in office, Sarkozy showed that he was not a man of the people," said Yvon Peraud, a retired businessman from Brittany's coastal town of St Brieuc.

"We are ready to make sacrifices, as long as they are applied fairly to the whole society," he said, acknowledging France's economic difficulties, as he and his wife waited outside the Socialist candidate's headquarters in Paris, shortly before the results were announced.

When Sarkozy's wife, the former supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, told the French daily Le Monde in March that her and her husband were "modest people", her words were widely ridiculed. A Twitter campaign using the hashag #NousSommesDesGensModestes ["We are modest people"] recalled some of the couple's most notorious extravagances.

Frustration with Sarkozy increased following the beginning of the 2008 recession, with policies such as the bouclier fiscal ["tax shield"] cementing his reputation as a president who disproportionately favoured the very rich, even as he called on the rest of the population to .

While Sarkozy had won the presidency on a clearly reformist platform, the way he went about the reforms - notably the pension reforms - has left much of the population distrustful about what he might do in his second term.

"Sarkozy probably went too quickly to impose all these reforms. The French,, somewhere, feel that they were 'raped' in a certain way,," Christian Malad, an analyst for France Television, told Al Jazeera.

Sarkozy's political future hangs on whether the majority of far-right and centrist voters will ever trust him again.

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