Nicolas Sarkozy Announces Return To French Politics

He's Back!
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy looks on during the inauguration of the Foundation Claude Pompidou, Centre teaching and research on Alzheimer's disease, Monday, March 10, 2014. in Nice, southeastern France. The Foundation has focused on facilities designed for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Nicolas Sarkozy and his singer-songwriter wife Carla Bruni are asking a judge for an emergency injunction Monday March 10, 2014, barring any publication of private conversations secretly recorded by former aide Patrick Buisson, also including discussions between Sarkozy and his inner circle.(AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy looks on during the inauguration of the Foundation Claude Pompidou, Centre teaching and research on Alzheimer's disease, Monday, March 10, 2014. in Nice, southeastern France. The Foundation has focused on facilities designed for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Nicolas Sarkozy and his singer-songwriter wife Carla Bruni are asking a judge for an emergency injunction Monday March 10, 2014, barring any publication of private conversations secretly recorded by former aide Patrick Buisson, also including discussions between Sarkozy and his inner circle.(AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

PARIS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy announced his return to politics on Friday, declaring he would seek the leadership of the opposition UMP in a move that would position him for a 2017 presidential bid.

The announcement on his Facebook page ends months of local media speculation that the 59-year-old conservative would return to the fray after his defeat by Socialist Francois Hollande in 2012.

"I am a candidate for the presidency of my political family," he said.

A divisive figure reviled by many left-wing voters, Sarkozy is seen by his supporters as the only politician capable of rallying the fractured center-right UMP party to a victory in 2017. But any political comeback could be tripped up by a series of legal troubles hanging over his head. (Reporting by James Regan and Alexandria Sage; editing by Mark John)

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