FRANCE:Nicolas Sarkozy's first act as president-elect of France was to take his wife Cecilia, 10-year-old son Louis and five close friends on a three-day Mediterranean cruise.
In his acceptance speech on Sunday night, Mr Sarkozy promised not to forget "all those whom life has hurt, those whom life has worn down". He spent that night at the Barrère Fouquet hotel, where a suite costs €1,500 - €2,590 per night.
On Monday, the Sarkozys and their guests flew on a Falcon 900 EX jet belonging to the industrialist Vincent Bolloré, one of the 10 richest men in France, to Malta, where they boarded Mr Bolloré's yacht, the Paloma.
The seven staterooms on the 60-metre yacht can accommodate 12 guests, with quarters for 17 crew. Mr Bolloré purchased the yacht from the Goulandris Greek shipping family in 2003 for €3.5 million, then spent another €5 million refurbishing it.
France-Info radio station reported that had Mr Sarkozy paid for his holiday, the Falcon jet ride would have cost €26,000, and three days on the yacht about €110,000.
Accepting largesse from rich businessmen does not seem to be considered unethical in France. For example, President Jacques Chirac, who will receive an estimated €30,500 per month in retirement, will next week move from the Élysée Palace to a 180sq m (590sq ft) apartment overlooking the Seine. The apartment has been offered free of rent by the family of the assassinated Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.
Patrick Menucci, an aide to Ségolène Royal, said the cruise and Mr Sarkozy's decision to stay at one of Paris's most luxurious hotels on the night of his victory were at odds with his message. Mr Sarkozy had promised to be the humbled "president of the people". "Everyone has a right to a holiday. But when you're a president, particularly a French president, I think that everything you do has a meaning," Mr Menucci said.
Rioting in protest at Mr Sarkozy's election continued, albeit on a lesser scale, on Monday night in Paris, Lyons and Toulouse. Mr Sarkozy is counting on François Fillon, the steady, reliable former minister for social affairs and labour whom he will almost certainly appoint as prime minister when he takes office on May 16th, to keep things calm.
Mr Fillon (53) comes from the more left-leaning "social Gaullist" tradition. As the right-wing minister who carried out the reform of the retirement system - the only successful reform of the past five years - Mr Fillon managed to maintain good relations with French trade unions.
When British prime minister Tony Blair telephoned Mr Sarkozy to congratulate him on Sunday night, Mr Sarkozy said: "Why don't you say a few words to the next prime minister of France?" according to British government sources quoted by the Financial Times.
The president-elect then handed his mobile to Mr Fillon, whose wife is English.
In heavily accented French, Mr Blair also recorded a video posted on YouTube in which he praised Mr Sarkozy as "a strong leader".
He had often had the opportunity to work with Mr Sarkozy "whom I admire and whom I consider a friend", Mr Blair said.