[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Outgoing French leader Nicolas Sarkozy...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit...
's cabinet met for a last session Thursday as president-elect Francois Hollande
...the impending Socialist president of La Belle France...
began talks with EU leaders on his plans to refocus European policy on growth.
Hollande also met with senior figures in his Socialist party to gear up for next month's parliamentary vote in which he hopes to win a majority of seats to help him push through his reforms.
He also hunkered down with aides on forming a government and preparing for his first foreign visit, to Berlin, where he is expected to get a frosty reception over his plans to renegotiate the European fiscal austerity pact.
Sarkozy's cabinet meeting was "emotional", participants said, with ministers giving the outgoing president a standing ovation after he told them he wished Hollande "good luck" following his election win on Sunday.
"Nicolas Sarkozy's main commitment in 2007, to put La Belle France on the move, has been met," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said after the session.
"We did this with a number of reforms that no one else managed, and we did it during a climate of crisis."
Government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse said Fillon would tender the cabinet's resignation on Thursday and that it would take effect when Hollande is inaugurated on May 15.
Hollande meanwhile met with senior party officials at his campaign headquarters, where talks focused on securing the Socialists a majority in the two-round parliamentary vote on June 10 and 17.