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French PM backs Sarkozy's bid in presidential election

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on Monday formally endorsed his political rival, the center-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, for president.

"Today I am with Nicolas Sarkozy to defend the ideals of our political family and so that the choice for the French people is as clear as possible," de Villepin told Europe 1 radio a day after President Jacques Chirac announced that he would not seek a third term.

"We have been together in government, we will be together in this battle," he added.

The endorsement is important because de Villepin, who once had been considered a potential presidential contender, put party unity ahead of the personal and political differences he has had over the years with Sarkozy, who is the interior minister and the head of the governing party, the Union for a Popular Movement.

In the past, de Villepin has criticized Sarkozy's proposal to institute a modest limited affirmative action program for France, which de Villepin believes runs counter to the republican ideal that ignores race, religion and ethnicity.

And although Sarkozy, like Chirac and de Villepin, opposed the war in Iraq, he has criticized the two men for the way they conducted diplomacy with the US before the war, calling France's attitude "arrogant."

De Villepin had earlier said he would announce his choice for president only after Chirac did so.

De Villepin becomes the third of Chirac's prime ministers to endorse Sarkozy, following the lead of two former prime ministers, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Alain Juppe.

Reacting to the endorsement from a campaign stop in the town of Maulte, Sarkozy said: "I have been very moved by his support and the way in which it was made. It was without ambiguity, very sincere."

It is unclear whether the support of de Villepin, who suffers from low approval ratings, would help Sarkozy much. Chirac has yet to endorse a candidate.
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