Sarkozy's centre-right rival celebrates score Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was on Saturday elected to lead his conservative UMP opposition party with 64.5 percent of the vote. His score came in lower than forecast, giving the camp of his main opponent, Bruno Le Maire who won 29 percent, reason to cheer, with some activists saying that their man is well-placed to challenge Sarkozy when it comes to picking the centre-right candidate in the 2017 presidential election. Images and soundbites