Resurgent Sarkozy Ready for Comeback as France Longs for Its 'Bling- Bling President'

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Hollande slump in popularity has opened door for former rival

Whatever happened to the "hyperpresident"? Since losing the French presidential election last May to Socialist leader Franois Hollande in a vote seen as a bitter personal defeat, the formerly irrepressible Nicolas Sarkozy has kept out of sight.

After a 30-year career in public life, he said that he would drop out of politics if he lost to Mr Hollande. "I will do something else - I don't know what," he told a television interviewer last March. Now, four months after suffering defeat, Mr Sarkozy is still reflecting on his future. But they continue to nurse the hope that, with his approval ratings now …