Chirac’s second term expired in 2007, and UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy won the French presidential election in May. Sarkozy secured 53 percent of the vote in the runoff against socialist candidate Ségolène Royal, who took 47 percent. A divisive and controversial figure in French politics, Sarkozy gained a reputation as a law-and-order hardliner while serving as minister of the interior. In 2005 he was accused of fanning the violence in impoverished urban areas after he called the rioters “scum” and said that immigrant neighborhoods should be cleaned out with a power hose. In his campaign for the presidency, Sarkozy promised to re-energize the French economy and reduce unemployment through restrictions on the 35-hour work week, tax cuts, and stricter controls on immigration. He named François Fillon, a former social affairs minister, as prime minister. In his previous post Fillon pushed through reform of France’s pension system despite considerable opposition.