In a short but solemn ceremony at the ornate palace, the president of the Conseil Constitutional (Constitutional Council) Jean Louis Debre read out the proclamation, where upon Nicolas Sarkozy signed the document, taking over as president of France. There was no swearing-in or oath taking by the new president. The smooth transfer of power speaks eloquently of continuity and strength of the Fifth Republic.

Though Chirac and Sarkozy belong to the same camp, Sarkozy's entry into Elysee Palace is seen by many as a turning point in the political history of France. Sarkozy is intensely liked and disliked by the French polity because he is at once a sharp-tongued conservative, authoritarian, pro-American, and pro-Israeli. To many, Sarkozy is a leader who lacks aristocratic elegance, which his predecessor gracefully manifested.

After taking over, Sarkozy made a brief statement highlighting the programs that his government will pursue. The statement was based on the French national motto -- Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. The only new addition that Sarkozy articulated was that of "Unity." The French society was deeply divided during the presidential elections, which manifested itself in the street riots following Sarkozy's victory. He has already resigned from the UMP president post and declared in his statement that he now was president of all France, with a single identity.

The French National Assembly elections are over two rounds -- on May 10 and May 17. Sarkozy's immediate task will be to bridge the two divides and ensure that his UMP gets a clear majority in the upcoming thirteenth parliament. Currently the rightists together have 399 seats with UMP holding 357 in the lower house of 577 seats. The fractured left parties control 178 seats between them. Recent opinion polls show that Sarkozy shall have a comfortable majority in the Assembly.

In France while the president is elected directly, the prime minister need not necessarily be an elected member, commonly known as "deputy." The president can appoint anyone, who enjoys his trust and confidence. The president can "dismiss" the government, if he feels that it has lost popular support of the people. Jean Pierre Rafarin had to quit as prime minister after the referendum debacle on the European Constitution in May 2005. The president can also "dissolve" the parliament if he feels that it is not giving enough support to him, and call for fresh elections. Interestingly, if the president and the National Assembly are from opposing parties -- it leads to a situation famously known as "cohabitation." Rightist Chirac was prime minister under Socialist Mitterand in the early eighties -- and they had to cohabit

Sarkozy has named former minister and his old time ally -- Francois Fillon, 53, as prime minister. The cabinet is indeed small with only fifteen ministers and may be shuffled after the Assembly elections. Conscious of the accusations that he is a divisive leader, Sarkozy cleverly appointed a broad based government with distracters from the opposition.

He has surprised many by naming Bernard Kouchner, a former Socialist health minister, as the new foreign minister. Kouchner, is renowned for founding the humanitarian organization "Medicins sans Frontieres." Kouchner's stature as a human rights campaigner and his expertise will go well for Sarkozy. It was a smart move, in the sense that it will now dampen Socialist criticisms of his government as also help him draw Socialist votes in the elections. The tough former defence minister (Ms) Michele Alliot Marie was named interior minister. Another high profile politician and former prime minister, Alain Juppe has been named minister for environment and sustainable development.

All new leaders start with a bang by promising changes in different aspects of national life. When Chirac was elected for the second term he too vowed to reduce unemployment by reforming the economy and bringing about changes in the social sector. When he put the EU constitution to referendum he was shocked at its rejection. Thus his five years is described by many as morbid. When he tried to introduce the CPE (first employment contract) he was surprised by the ferocity of opposition.

Sarkozy too has promised a long list of radical reforms. He will have to strike a balance on two fronts -- interlocutors outside the government and within his new government.

Every society has a kind of inertia and resists change. The French are extremely attached to their traditional way of life. The French are notorious when it comes to reforms. For instance, can any government in France propose that the vacation periods be cut down ? Going on vacation is almost a religious rite. Such a proposition will be considered as outrageous. Though the powerful and militant labour unions battle in the streets for more pay and less working hours -- they will be the first to resist any reform. Even before taking over his responsibilities, Sarkozy has engaged himself with the labour and employer organizations to discuss his reform package.

On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how the hyper-active Sarkozy shares his powers with Francois Fillon. All previous presidents had given real powers to the prime minister to run the government. Sarkozy is a man full of energy and has declared that he wants to be "fully involved" as president of the republic. "The job of the prime minister should be to co-ordinate government action," said Sarkozy.

That is a recipe for duplicating Matignon (prime minister's office) at the Elysee (president's office), that may often lead to clashes between Sarkozy and Fillon. Fillon is described as a low-key and calm person and hence there will probably be no such episode. Some of Sarkozy's ideas of creating different cells and units at Elysee go well beyond the practices and convention of the Fifth Republic. Sarkozy will have to take all the blame for failures, if he really concentrates all powers at the Elysee.

One will probably have to wait to see what working equation develops between Sarkozy and Fillon. The Elysee Palace in buzzing with Sarkozy loyalists, who may be tempted to interfere with Fillon. There will probably be more of Elysee and less of Matignon under Sarkozy. A comfortable majority in the Assembly and a pragmatic reform package implemented gradually by Francois Fillon will be the key to Sarkozy's success.

Sarkozy has come to power at time when there are significant changes in the leadership in Europe. But more on that later.

The writer is a former Ambassador and Secretary.