Sarkozy vowed to usher in a period of deep reforms to help his country adapt to a fast-changing world.

In a symbolic handover of powers, Chirac passed on the launch codes to France's nuclear arsenal and briefed Sarkozy on current agenda items before being driven from the Elysee palace for the last time.

A 21-gun salute rang out from the Invalides esplanade across the river Seine, as the official results of Sarkozy's election victory were read out to an audience of invited guests in the palace's ornate main reception hall.

"The people have given me a mandate. I will carry it out. I will carry it out scrupulously, with the desire to be worthy of the trust that the French have placed in me," the rightwinger said in a 10-minute televised address.

"I will defend the independence of France, I will defend the identity of France. I will ensure respect for state authority, and above all its impartiality.

"There is a demand for change. Never have the risks of inertia been so great for France as they are now in this world in flux where everyone across the world is trying to change quicker than the others, where any delay can be fatal," he said.

Among guests at the Elysee were Sarkozy's wife Cecilia, their 10-year-old son Louis and the four grown-up children they have from previous marriages. Small crowds lined the street outside.