PARIS, March 6 (UPI) -- Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the thought of a return to public life bores him but he would do so for the good of his country.
In an interview with the right-wing magazine Valeurs Actuelles (Current Values), Sarkozy said he would be "obliged to run," Radio France Internationale reported.
The interview, to be published Thursday, is Sarkozy's first since leaving office last year.
"In such a situation, I could no longer continue to say to myself: 'I am happy, I take by daughter to school, and I do conferences all over the world.' In such a situation, I would indeed be obliged to run, not because I want to, out of duty, solely for the sake of France," he said.
Sarkozy said thinking about resuming the presidency fills him with "deadly boredom." He complained about his treatment while he was in office, including his being questioned for 13 hours about payments made by heiress Liliane Bettencourt.
Sarkozy won the presidency in 2007 with 53 percent of the vote in the second round against Socialist Segolene Royal. Five years later, he lost to Socialist Francois Hollande, winning 48 percent of the vote to Hollande's 52 percent.
Asked if he wanted revenge for his defeat, Sarkozy called that a "very bad emotion."
"Anyway what kind of revenge would it be to take over the running of France in the state it will be in after a Socialist government? Do you think I don't know that one day I'll be dead? So, frankly do I want to return to power? No," he said.
