Sarkozy, Chirac appear at slavery commemoration
Afp, Paris
Nicolas Sarkozy made his first public appearance as French president-elect yesterday, officiating alongside President Jacques Chirac at a ceremony in Paris to mark the end of the slave trade.On France's annual day of commemoration for the abolition of slavery, the two men jointly inaugurated a bronze sculpture in the Luxembourg gardens representing a broken manacle. Sarkozy, 52, beat the socialist Segolene Royal in Sunday's presidential election and takes over from Chirac, 74, on Wednesday. Joined by several cabinet ministers and a small invited crowd, the two leaders heard Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour sing a tribute to the victims of slavery. Sarkozy and Chirac then returned to the Elysee palace for a meeting with Saad Hariri, head of the anti-Syrian parliamentary opposition in Lebanon and son of the murdered politician Rafiq Hariri.
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