2007 French presidential election
The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France (and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra) for a five-year term.


2007 French presidential election
The winner, decided on 5 and 6 May 2007, was Nicolas Sarkozy. The first round of voting took place on Saturday 21 April 2007 (French territories in the Americas and the Eastern Pacific) and Sunday, 22 April 2007 (French territories in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Metropolitan France). As no candidate obtained a majority (50 percent plus one), a second round between the two leading candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal, took place on Saturday 5 May and Sunday, 6 May 2007.


2007 French presidential election
Sarkozy and Royal both represented a generational change. Both main candidates were born after World War II, along with the first to have seen adulthood under the Fifth Republic, and the first not to have been in politics under Charles de Gaulle.


2007 French presidential election, Summary of results
The first round saw a very high turnout of 83.8% – 36.7 million of the 44.5 million electorate voted from a population of 64.1 million (not including French people living abroad). The results of that round saw Sarkozy and Royal qualify for the second round with Sarkozy getting 31% and Royal 26%. François Bayrou came third (19%) and Jean-Marie Le Pen fourth (10%), unlike in 2002 when Le Pen got a surprising 16.9% and qualified for the second round.


2007 French presidential election, Summary of results
Immediately after the first round's results were made official, four defeated left-wing candidates – José Bové, Marie-George Buffet, Arlette Laguiller and Dominique Voynet – urged their supporters to vote for Royal. This was the first time since 1981 that Laguiller had endorsed the Socialist Party's candidate. Olivier Besancenot called his supporters to vote against Sarkozy. Frédéric Nihous and Gérard Schivardi never officially supported either Royal or Sarkozy. Philippe de Villiers called for a vote for Sarkozy. Le Pen told his voters to "abstain massively" in the second round.


2007 French presidential election, Summary of results
On 25 April, Bayrou declared he would not support either candidate in the runoff, and announced he would form a new political party called the Democratic Movement. He criticised both major candidates, and offered to debate them. Royal agreed to hold a televised debate, while Sarkozy offered to have a private discussion but not a televised debate.


2007 French presidential election, Summary of results
By around 6:15 pm local time on 6 May, Belgian and Swiss news sources such as Le Soir, RTBF,  La Libre Belgique and La Tribune de Genève had announced Nicolas Sarkozy as the winner of the second round, citing preliminary exit poll data. The final CSA estimate showed him winning with 53% of the votes cast. Royal conceded defeat to Sarkozy that evening.


2007 French presidential election, Results, First round and analysis
Nationwide, Nicolas Sarkozy obtained 31% and Ségolène Royal 26% – while in 2002, Jacques Chirac had obtained 20%, and Lionel Jospin 16.18%. The right-of-centre François Bayrou obtained 18.6% this time, nearly tripling his 2002 result (6.8%). National Front (FN) candidate, Jean-Marie Le Pen, made only 10.4%, compared to his stunning 16.9% finish in 2002. Along with the April–May shift to the far right made by Sarkozy, this has led many commentators to allege that traditional voters of the FN had been tempted by Sarkozy. On a global scale, the left-wing reached 36% of the votes, against 19% for the "centre", 33% for the right wing and 11% for the far right.


2007 French presidential election, Results, First round and analysis
Other candidates received a much lower share of the vote than they had in 2002, with Olivier Besancenot (Revolutionary Communist League, LCR) failing to achieve the 5% necessary to have his political campaign reimbursed by the state. Besancenot received 4.1%, compared to 4.3% in 2002.


2007 French presidential election, Results, First round and analysis
He was followed by the traditionalist Philippe de Villiers (2.2%), Communist Marie-George Buffet (1.9%, compared to 3.4% for Robert Hue in 2002), Green candidate Dominique Voynet (1.6%, compared to 5.3% for Noël Mamère in 2002), Workers' Struggle's candidate Arlette Laguiller (1.3%, compared to 5.7% in 2002), alter-globalisation candidate José Bové (1.3%), Frédéric Nihous (1.2% , against 4.2% for Jean Saint-Josse in 2002) and finally Gérard Schivardi with 0.3% (Daniel Gluckstein had achieved 0.5% in 2002). The abstention rate was 15.4%.


2007 French presidential election, Results, First round and analysis
With an overall record turnout of 83.8%, a level not achieved since the 1965 presidential election when turnout was 84.8%, the vast majority of the electorate decided not to stay home. Most of them decided against protest votes, and chose the vote utile (tactical voting, literally "useful vote"), that is, a vote for one of the purported leaders of the electoral race (Nicolas Sarkozy, Ségolène Royal and/or François Bayrou). The "Anyone But Sarkozy" push benefited both Bayrou and Royal, while the tactical voting, on the right or on the left, explains the low score of the other candidates, in contrast with the last presidential election's first round.


2007 French presidential election, Results, First round and analysis
The electoral campaign saw a polarisation of the political scene, encapsulated by the "Anyone But Sarkozy" slogan on the left. But it also saw a reconfiguration of the political chessboard, with various left-wing figures and voters deciding to support Sarkozy against Royal, who saw opposition inside her own party. Bernard Tapie, a former Socialist, Max Gallo, who had supported left-wing Republican Jean-Pierre Chevènement in 2002, Eric Besson, etc., passed on Sarkozy's side.


2007 French presidential election, Results, First round and analysis
On the other hand, some right-wing voters, upset by Sarkozy's attitude on law and order, immigration, and even genetics (his recent declarations on paedophilia, homosexuality and suicides as genetically induced, denounced by the geneticist Axel Kahn), decided to vote for Bayrou.


2007 French presidential election, Results, First round and analysis
Centrist figures of the Socialist party, such as Michel Rocard and Bernard Kouchner, called for an alliance between Bayrou and Royal, which might have had consequences in the June 2007 legislative elections – these determined the parliamentary majority, and decided that France would not see another cohabitation between the President, head of state, and the Prime minister, leader of the government. Former socialist minister Claude Allègre stated such an alliance was "entirely conceivable", while Royal herself strongly criticised Rocard's comments. François Hollande, the national secretary of the Socialist Party and Ségolène Royal's partner, excluded any alliance with the centre-right, along with others left-wing leaders, such as Laurent Fabius or Dominique Voynet.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Urban votes
In urban areas, most lower and middle-income neighbourhoods and cities voted largely for Ségolène Royal. In the tenth arrondissement of Paris, Royal obtained 42% against 25% for Sarkozy, and 20.35% for Bayrou; in the 11th arrondissement, Royal obtained more than 40.8% to 25.8% for Sarkozy and 20.9% for Bayrou. In the 18th arrondissement, Royal obtained 41.1% against 23.4% for Sarkozy; in the 19th arrondissement, Royal obtained more than 39%, against almost 28% for Sarkozy; and in the 20th arrondissement, Royal obtained 42.4% against 23.2% for Sarkozy, and 18.3% for Bayrou.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Urban votes
Royal also narrowly beat Sarkozy in the normally conservative city of Bordeaux (31.4% against 30.8%, and 22% for Bayrou), as well as in Brest, Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Nantes, Rouen, Lille, Le Mans, Montpellier, Saint-Étienne, Limoges, Amiens, Pau (where Bayrou finished first), Rennes and Toulouse (the historical base of the former Radical-Socialist Party). Working-class Paris suburbs (called les banlieues) also massively voted for Royal. This was more or less expected, in particular with the high level of voter registration by suburban youths, who had been strongly opposed to Sarkozy since the 2005 riots during which he had made controversial remarks.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Urban votes
Meanwhile, a large number of university students had participated in the protests against the CPE, proposed by Sarkozy's UMP party, in the spring of 2006; they also strongly backed Royal. She consequently came first in Nanterre, with almost 36% against 23% for Sarkozy. She reached 41.6% in Saint-Denis, against 19.6% for Sarkozy and 15.5% for Bayrou. In Évry, she also passed the 40% line, while Sarkozy received only 23.6%. In Créteil, she won a closer race, gaining 35% to Sarkozy's 30% and 18% for Bayrou. In the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, home to many people of immigrant origin, Royal obtained 34.2% to 26.8% for Sarkozy and 16.7% for Bayrou.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Urban votes
In contrast, wealthy arrondissements of Paris voted for Sarkozy. The prosperous 16th arrondissement gave him 64% of its vote, against 16.4% for Bayrou and only 11.27% for Royal; the seventh arrondissement voted for 56% in favour of Sarkozy, to 20.35 for Bayrou and 15.35% for Royal; the eighth arrondissement voted at more than 58% for Sarkozy to 18.65% for Bayrou and 14% for Royal; the 15th arrondissement voted 41.5% for Sarkozy against 24.3% for Royal and 22.9% for Bayrou.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Urban votes
The mostly wealthy Paris suburbs of the Hauts-de-Seine department, home of Neuilly-sur-Seine where Sarkozy is mayor, voted 38.3% for him, against 26% for Royal and 21.3% for Bayrou. Sarkozy also won in the Essonne department (more than 31% against 27% for Royal), in the Seine-et-Marne (33.5% to almost 24% for Royal) as well as in the Yvelines (37.7% against 23% for Royal and 22% for Bayrou).


2007 French presidential election, Results, Urban votes
Marseille, the second-largest city of France, went Sarkozy's way overall as he won 34.25% of the vote to 27.1% for Royal and only 14.1% for Bayrou (putting a close third ahead of Le Pen, who obtained 13.4%). However, in working-class neighbourhoods of the north of Marseille, such as Savine (15th arrondissement) and the Busserine (14th arrondissement), Royal received overwhelming support, receiving 60% of the vote in Busserine.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Urban votes
France's third-largest city, Lyon, also was won by Sarkozy, who received 34.5% of the vote to 27.3% for Royal and 22% for Bayrou. He triumphed as well in the wealthy city of Aix-en-Provence with 36.8%, against 25.4% for Royal and 19.8% for Bayrou. In Nice, a conservative stronghold, Sarkozy obtained more than 41% against 20.4% for Royal and less than 15% for Bayrou. Sarkozy also narrowly beat Royal in the industrial port of Le Havre (29% against 26.8%), as well as in Avignon, Nîmes, Metz, Nancy, and Strasbourg (these last three cities belonging to the Alsace-Lorraine region).


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
A map of France's departments shows the candidate of the Socialist Party, Ségolène Royal, came first in the South-West and the Massif Central, which were traditional bases of the Radical-Socialist Party during the Third Republic. She also topped the poll in Brittany, except in the department of Morbihan, but a fifth of electors in Brittany voted for Bayrou. Nièvre and Seine-Saint-Denis were other departments where she came first, as well as the overseas departments of Martinique and Réunion and the overseas territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Sarkozy came first everywhere else, except for Pyrénées-Atlantiques, where Bayrou topped the poll in the department of his birth.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
The left regressed, compared 2002, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, which has traditionally favored Socialist and Communist candidates. The Nord department, hit hard during the 1980s by an industrial crisis, gave a plurality to Sarkozy (29.3%), while Royal won 24.8% (and won the city of Lille) and Bayrou received 15.6%. Marie-George Buffet barely received 5% in the constituency of the Communist deputy Alain Bocquet.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
The Haute-Garonne, traditional Radical-Socialist territory, voted (including its capital, Toulouse), for Ségolène Royal, giving her 33%, against less than 27% for Sarkozy and slightly more than 19% for Bayrou. The Corrèze, where Jacques Chirac began his political career as the deputy of Ussel, also voted slightly in favour of Royal, as did the Creuse, one of the least-populated departments of France.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
The Alpes-Maritimes, part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region where the National Front won several cities in the 1990s (Toulon of the Var, Marignane of the Bouches-du-Rhône and Orange of the Vaucluse) voted for Sarkozy at 43.6%, while Royal received only 17.9%, Bayrou 15.0%, and Jean-Marie Le Pen 13.5%. The Vaucluse department gave 32.8% of its votes to Sarkozy, 20.9% to Royal, 16.8% to Le Pen and 15.5% to Bayrou.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
The Vendée voted 29.7% for Sarkozy, 21.7% for Royal, 20.8% for Bayrou, and 11.3% for Philippe de Villiers, deputy of the department. Le Pen. meanwhile, managed only 6.5%.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
Le Pen's highest departmental tallies occurred in Aisne (17.3%) and Haute-Marne (17%). Other departments to give him more than 15% were the Vaucluse (16.8%), Haute-Saône (16.5%), Meuse (16.3%), Ardennes (16.2% – where left-wing candidate Besancenot received 5.35%), Pas-de-Calais (16%), Oise (15.9%), Corse-du-Sud (15.9%), Vosges (15.7%), and Gard (15.4%),


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
Departments where Besancenot obtained more than 5% of the vote include Ardennes, Aisne (where Le Pen also achieved a strong results), Ariège, Allier (where Sarkozy obtained 28% against nearly 26% for Royal), Calvados (where Sarkozy finished first with 29% to 25% for Royal), Finistère, Cher, Côtes d'Armor, Creuse, Indre, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Nord, Meuse, Moselle, Pas-de-Calais (6.2%), Sarthe, Nièvre, Puy-de-Dôme, Somme, Territoire-de-Belfort, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Vienne and the overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (6.5%, along with 5.1% for José Bové; only 6.7% for Le Pen).


2007 French presidential election, Results, Regional votes
The overseas department of Martinique has been strongly opposed to Sarkozy; Aimé Césaire, mayor of Fort-de-France and leader of the Négritude movement, refused to see him during his visit there in December 2005 (due to the UMP vote of the 2005 law on colonialism). In the first round, it heavily supported Royal (48.5%, against 33.8% for Sarkozy and only 8.6% for Bayrou; the next highest total was received by Besancenot, with 2.5%). Réunion also strongly supported Royal (46.2%, to 25% for Sarkozy and 13% for Bayrou). Meanwhile, Sarkozy won in New Caledonia (with 49.7% of the vote) and in Guadeloupe (with 42.6%, against 38.3% for Royal), as well as in French Guiana and the overseas territories of French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Demographic breakdown of the first-round vote
30% of men voted for Sarkozy, 24% of them for Royal. 32% of women voted Sarkozy, 27% Royal. 29% of 18- to 24-year-olds voted Royal, against 26% for Sarkozy. Sarkozy also made a higher score for 35- to 44-year-olds and 60- to 69-year-olds, but a lesser score in the 45- to 59-year-old category.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Demographic breakdown of the first-round vote
36% of farmers voted Sarkozy against 8% for Royal. Workers voted at similar levels for both Sarkozy and Royal (21% for each), while public servants voted at 34% for Royal (18% for Sarkozy). 19% of unemployed people voted for Sarkozy, 32% of them for Royal. Students also voted in majority for Royal (32% against 21%), while pensioned elders voted at 41% for Sarkozy (23% for Royal).


2007 French presidential election, Results, Second round
The second round of the 2007 French presidential election started in Saint Pierre and Miquelon on Saturday 5 May 2007 at 8 am local time (2007-05-05 10:00 UTC) and ended in the large cities of Metropolitan France on Sunday, 6 May 2007 at 8 pm local time (2007-05-06 18:00 UTC). Turnout in the second round of the election was 84.0%, higher than in the first round. Nicolas Sarkozy got 53.06% of the votes and Ségolène Royal got 46.94%.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Second round
The left-right division was reinforced, according to many observers, by the election of Nicolas Sarkozy. 91% of the electors self-identifying as members of the centre-left voted for Royal, and 92% of those who self-identified as centre-right voted for Sarkozy. The center thus appears to have been polarized. The vast majority of the dissident left also voted for Royal, while the extreme right strongly supported Sarkozy. Although Jacques Chirac was successful among young electors in 1995, mostly owing to his discourse on the "social rupture" (fracture sociale), Sarkozy's electorate was more traditionally right-wing and focused on older people. The only age group that gave him a majority was the over-50, who accounted for 52% of his voters, compared to only 37% of Royal's. Sarkozy obtained only 40% among those 18–24 years old, while Chirac had obtained 55% in the same category in 1995.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Second round
In social categories, Sarkozy won majorities among pensioned and inactive elders (58%), business leaders, shopkeepers and craftworkers (82% ), categories which are traditionally conservative. Sarkozy lost votes, compared to Chirac, among workers (59% for Royal) and employees (57% for Royal).


2007 French presidential election, Results, Second round
The general electoral geography did not significantly change from the first Chirac election. However, Sarkozy received a lesser score in Corrèze, Chirac's home department, and bettered Chirac's score in the North-East, where Le Pen had obtained some of his better scores in 2002. Overall, the increase in votes for Sarkozy between the two rounds occurred mostly in departments where the National Front's presence is strong.


2007 French presidential election, Results, Second round
Spoilt votes represented 4.2% of the electors (as much as in 2002 and 1995).


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Requirements
The requirements for being successfully nominated as a candidate are defined by the organic law of 6 November 1962.


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Requirements
All candidates must be of French nationality and at least 23 years old (the same requirement as for the candidates to the National Assembly).


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Requirements
Candidates must obtain signatures from 500 elected officials (mayors, members of Parliament, elected representatives) supporting their candidacy. These signatures from elected officials (informally known in French as parrainages, but legally known as "presentations") must be from at least 30 different departments or overseas territories, and no more than 10 percent can be from any individual department. A presentation from an elected official does not imply the official supports the policies of the candidate, but rather that this official considers the candidate to be a serious candidate.


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Requirements
Candidates must also submit a statement with details of their personal assets.


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Requirements
The Constitutional Council published the official candidate list on 20 March 2007. The candidates are listed in a randomised order. This order will be used for the official campaign: thus, posters for Olivier Besancenot will always be on the No. 1 board, those for Marie-George Buffet on the No. 2 board, etc., regardless of where in France the boards are located.


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Requirements
There were a total of 12 candidates for the 2007 election.


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Leading candidates
Four candidates consistently registered over 10% in the opinion polls and were regarded as having a reasonable chance of reaching the second round.


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Leading candidates
Nicolas Sarkozy candidate of the Union for a Popular Movement


2007 French presidential election, Candidates, Other candidates
These were the eight other candidates who obtained the required 500 signatures from elected officials to endorse their candidacy.


2007 French presidential election, Legal issues and freedom of speech
Apart from issues related to TV and radio time regulated by the broadcasting authorities during the two-week "official campaign", other legal issues related to freedom of speech of candidates appeared during the month before the first round.


2007 French presidential election, Abstention and spoilt votes
Abstention was exceptionally low, as well as protest votes. Blank vote (going to vote, but deliberately cancelling one's ballot, by any means possible – tearing it in two, writing Tintin on it, or anything absurd as such) is not included in official counts – i.e. it is considered a spoilt vote, counted as equivalent to abstention. A very small party, the Parti Blanc (White Party, for "white vote", i.e. blank vote) has called for the official count of white votes by the state (as in None of the above systems). It organised a march in Paris on Wednesday 18 March 2007 in which only thirty people participated.


2007 French presidential election, Electronic voting
For the first time in a presidential election, electronic voting has been introduced in some areas. Voting machines have been authorised in 2004. They have been introduced in only 82 of 36,000 voting districts, and have been criticised by a number of people, both on the left and on the right. A petition against them has also been made (see Wikinews:Electronic voting disputed in France).


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, French personalities
Approximately 200 French intellectuals expressed support for Ségolène Royal.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, French personalities
These included the philosopher Étienne Balibar (a student of Louis Althusser), the editor François Maspero, the historian Pierre Rosanvallon, the psychanalyst Fethi Benslama, the philosopher Jacques Bouveresse, the sociologist Robert Castel, the philosopher Catherine Colliot-Thélène, the writer Chloé Delaume, the historian Michel Dreyfus, the anthropologist Françoise Héritier, the sculptor Françoise Jolivet, the film-maker Roy Lekus, the sociologist Eric Macé, the philosopher Pierre Macherey, the philosopher Jean-Claude Monod the artist Ariane Mnouchkine, the economist Yann Moulier Boutang (involved with Multitudes), the historian Gérard Noiriel, the historian Pascal Ory, the historian Michelle Perrot, the economist Thomas Piketty, the historian Benjamin Stora, the anthropologist Emmanuel Terray, the lawyer Michel Tubiana (former president of the Human Rights League), and the sociologist Loïc Wacquant (a student of Pierre Bourdieu).


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, French personalities
Régis Debray called to vote first for a far-left candidate, then Royal in the second round.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, French personalities
On the other hand, the so-called Nouveaux Philosophes were split on their support. André Glucksmann called to vote Sarkozy, while Bernard-Henri Lévy voted for Ségolène Royal. Max Gallo, who had supported the left-wing Republican Jean-Pierre Chevènement in 2002, joined Sarkozy five years later. Pascal Bruckner and Alain Finkielkraut have also proved close to Sarkozy, although they did not declare support for him, but Sarkozy did support Finkielkraut after controversial statements made in Haaretz newspaper following the 2005 civil unrest.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, French personalities
According to the journalist Jacques Julliard, the support of some French intellectuals for the 2003 invasion of Iraq is the root of their rallying to Sarkozy, following the creation of the review titled Le Meilleur des mondes (Brave New World). Pascal Bruckner, historian Stéphane Courtois, Thérèse Delpech, André Glucksmann, Romain Goupil, Pierre-André Taguieff, Olivier Rollin, and Pierre Rigoulot are frequent contributors to this review.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, French personalities
Tennis player Yannick Noah called to vote for Royal, while Sarkozy obtained the support of singers Johnny Hallyday, Mireille Mathieu and Faudel, of rapper Doc Gyneco, and former politician and current actor Bernard Tapie. He also had the support of actors Jean Reno and Christian Clavier, both residing in Neuilly-sur-Seine where Sarkozy was the mayor between 1983 and 2002 and of Gérard Depardieu. But also of industrialist Martin Bouygues, whose children attended the same school as Sarkozy's offspring. The humourist Dieudonné and the writer Alain Soral supported Jean-Marie Le Pen. Actress Juliette Binoche supported José Bové.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, French personalities
The song Elle est facho (She's a fascist) on the Rouge Sang album by singer Renaud released in 2006 gained particular media attention for lyrics in the last verse that translate as "she's a fascist and votes Sarko"


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, International support
Abroad, Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister of Italy, gave his support to Sarkozy immediately following the first round, while Romano Prodi, the then Italian premier and leader of the centre-left Union coalition, called for an alliance between Bayrou and Royal.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, International support
Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has shown his support for Royal.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, International support
European commissioner and Vice-President Margot Wallström was criticised after she informally suggested support for Royal on her blog, celebrating the fact that a woman got into the second round. She said: "J'étais si contente de voir qu'une femme participera au deuxième tour de l‘élection présidentielle!" (I was so happy to see that a woman would be participating in the second round of the presidential election!) Commissioners are not meant to be politically biased in elections under their code of conduct. Wallström is a social-democrat, like Royal. José Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, has privately discussed the idea of forming a "strategic partnership" with Mr. Sarkozy.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, International support
Many U.S. pundits and western economists expressed support for Nicolas Sarkozy. Steve Forbes devoted several columns in the influential financial publication FORBES Magazine. The London-based magazine The Economist also expressed support for Sarkozy's economic platform.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, Alleged Libyan financial contributions to Sarkozy
In 2011, according to the son of the Libyan leader Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, Sarkozy was provided with financial support from Libya during the presidential election. In 2012, Mediapart published material revealing Gaddafi's financial support to Nicolas Sarkozy for the election.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, Alleged Libyan financial contributions to Sarkozy
In 2014, television station France 3 released an audio recording made by Delphine Minoui on March 16, 2011, during which Minoui interviewed Muammar Gaddafi. In the recording, Gaddafi tells Minoui that Sarkozy had approached him seeking funds for his presidential election campaign while still serving as French interior minister.


2007 French presidential election, Position of third parties, Alleged Libyan financial contributions to Sarkozy
In February 2018 Asharq Al-Awsat quoted a source who alleged Sarkozy had promised Libyan representatives improved relations between France and Libya should he be elected president, and that he would wrap-up the matter of the bombing of UTA Flight 772. As recently as 2018, Saif al-Islam reiterated his 2011 claim, and has since also added that a former officer of the Libyan intelligence service was at that time in possession of a recording of a meeting between Muammar Gaddafi and Sarkozy that occurred in Tripoli in 2007 and at which payments were discussed.


2007 French presidential election, International media coverage
The 2007 presidential elections have been heavily covered by international media due to the significance of France's stature as a European Union member as well as being a member of the G8 nations. For example, on 22 April 2007, CNN International carried live coverage of Ségolène Royal's speech after the day's election. Hala Gorani of CNN also conducted a live interview and analysis with some of France's bloggers and political insiders after Ségolène Royal's speech.


2007 French presidential election, Aftermath, Riots
Thousands of youths took to the streets Sunday night following the final presidential election results. While many simply expressed their discontent at the election of Nicolas Sarkozy, others chose to engage in violent action. Riots erupted in several urban centers including the capital Paris where some of the most intense clashes were reported in the Place de la Bastille. A gathering of opponents to Sarkozy there quickly ended in confrontations between the youth and the riot control forces, who tear gased the whole place.


2007 French presidential election, Aftermath, Riots
732 cars were torched according to estimates of the DGPN (direction of the police) and government buildings and property came under attack. Police clashed with protesters who were described by French media as members of the ultra-left and of the autonome movement or youth from the suburbs. During the fighting dozens of officers were injured and 592 alleged rioters were arrested. 70 people were arrested in the North department and 79 in Paris. Overall the situation remained calm.


2007 French presidential election, Aftermath, Riots
Some clashes continued on the night of Monday to Tuesday, with 365 torched cars and 160 alleged rioters detained by the police. Ten people were in court already by Monday. Two of them were given firm prison sentences of six and three months respectively, and two others to 120 hours of TIG (General Interest Labour, an alternative sentence to prison). Another one has been given a two-month firm prison sentence and two others TIG hours. Some of the people judged in Lyon have denied any involvement in the riots (two of them received 120 hours of TIG and a 200 euros fine).


2007 French presidential election, Aftermath, Riots
300 to 400 people demonstrated on the Boulevard Saint-Michel on Wednesday 9 May, in opposition to a demonstration of white supremacists. By 9 pm that night 118 of them had been arrested. A 31-year-old engineer took legal action following his release from custody claiming he had been a victim of police brutality. He claimed that he had not taken part to the demonstrations, but had been arrested nonetheless.


2007 French presidential election, Aftermath, Sarkozy's detention March 2018
On 20 March 2018, Sarkozy has been arrested by the French Police because of the suspect having received 50 million Euro for his presidential campaign by Muammar Gaddafi.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team
The 2007 Fresno State football team represented California State University, Fresno in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This season was the Bulldogs' 27th in their current home of Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California and their 11th with Pat Hill as head coach.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Preseason
At the end of the 2006 season, former offensive coordinator Steve Hagen resigned to accept the coaching position of offensive coordinator at North Carolina. He will be replaced by Oakland Raiders assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach Jim McElwain. Former Fresno State quarterback Jeff Grady, who had worked as an assistant coach at Fresno State in previous years, was promoted to tight end coach for 2007.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Preseason
Fresno State RB Dwayne Wright decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2007 NFL Draft at the end of the 2006 season. He was projected as either a late second or early third round draft pick, but was not chosen until the fourth round. RB Lonyae Miller is expected to start in his place.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Preseason
The Bulldogs opened spring drills on March 7 and the annual spring game took place on April 28.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Sacramento State
Quarterback Tom Brandstater went 16 of 27 for 199 yards in the victory against in-state FCS rival Sacramento State, who was limited to 102 total yards. Lonyae Miller and Clifton Smith both found the end zone for touchdowns, while freshmen running back Ryan Matthews ran for 77 yards on the night. The game also featured Fresno State's retirement of David Carr's No. 8 jersey during the halftime ceremony.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at No. 23 Texas A&M
This was the first-ever meeting between the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Texas Aggies.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at No. 23 Texas A&M
The Texas A&M Aggies defeated the Bulldogs 47–45 in triple overtime, despite being outgained 438–393. Tom Brandstater established himself in the loss, going 22–32 for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns. A&M's Jorvorskie Lane rushed for 122 yards on 23 carries, and while Fresno State put together a tremendous second half performance and took the Aggies into three overtimes they could not find the end zone for the final two-point conversion that cost them the game.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at No. 23 Texas A&M
ESPN reported, "Texas A&M turned to its powerful running back to stave off Fresno State...   Jorvorskie Lane rushed for two of his four touchdowns in the second and third overtimes as the 23rd-ranked Aggies beat the feisty Bulldogs 47–45 in the first three-OT game in A&M history. The 6-foot, 268-pound Lane barreled for his final touchdown from 3 yards out, then charged into the end zone again for the winning 2-point conversion on A&M's final possession."


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at No. 19 Oregon
In a game marked by an impressive performance by Duck's running back Jonathan Stewart, the Bulldogs were largely outplayed on both sides of the ball in a 21–52 loss. Fresno State put up 327 total yards of offense, compared to Oregon's 461. Oregon was able to control the run very effectively, as Fresno State was only able to run for 60 yards total in the game, compared to 307 by Oregon running backs. Fresno State was able to produce more passing yards than Oregon, with Tom Brandstater going 18 of 32 for 219, compared to Dixon's 14 of 20 for 139 yards. Jonathan Stewart's 17 touches produced 165 yards and two touchdowns, including an 88-yard run.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Louisiana Tech
Fresno State trailed at halftime 6–0 before taking control in the 2nd half in a 17–6 victory in Bulldog Stadium. Running Backs Lonyae Miller, Ryan Mathews, and Clifton Smith combined to rush for 139 yards with Smith producing a fourth-quarter touchdown. Louisiana Tech's quarterback Zac Champion passed for more yards than Fresno State's Tom Brandstater in the loss, going 22 of 48 with 179 yards compared to Brandstater's 8 for 22 attempts for 92 yards. The game was attended by 38,104 fans.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at Nevada
Fresno State earned its second conference win and third overall by beating Nevada in Reno. Fresno State quarterback Tom Brandstater passed for 168 yards going 10 for 16 in the win, but the real star of the game was running back Ryan Mathews, who rushed for 171 yards on 14 carries with three touchdowns. Lonyae Miller ran for 95 yards on 12 carries as well. Remarkably, Nevada-Reno quarterback Colin Kaepernick, a redshirt freshman who came into the game to fill in for starter Nick Graziano, went 23 for 26 for 384 yards in the loss. The recorded attendance was 18,503.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, at Idaho
Fresno State quarterback Tom Brandstater went 17 of 22 for 178 yards to secure the away win for the Bulldogs. Lonyae Miller had another 100 yard game, going 108 yards on 18 carries. Idaho's Deonte Jackson also had a big game, rushing for 111 yards on 11 carries. Fresno State only outgained Idaho 421 to 420 in total yardage, but the 4 Idaho turnovers were costly. 14,205 watched the Bulldogs extend their winning streak to 3 in the Kibbie Dome.


2007 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, San Jose State
Fresno State shutout rival San Jose State in the seventy-second meeting between the two conference opponents, earning the homecoming win. Going into halftime with a 6–0 lead having benefited from two missed Spartan kicks, the Bulldogs blew the game open to start the second half, with a 61-yard kickoff return by A.J. Jefferson, and a 14-yard touchdown run by Ryan Mathews. The freshmen Mathews later had a 58-yard touchdown run in a 144-yard game. Fresno State quarterback Tom Branstater threw for 132 yards, while San Jose State quarterback Adam Trafalis passed for 354 yards, and ran for 97 more in the losing effort. The Fresno State defense was efficient in keeping the powerful San Jose State offense out of the end zone.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy
The 2007 Friends Provident Trophy was an English county cricket tournament, held between 22 April and 19 August 2007. The tournament was won by Durham.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Changes from previous tournament
Following the 2006 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, which had been won by Sussex, various changes were made to the tournament. The first of these to be announced was the inclusion of a semi-final stage in 2007, following complaints of there being "too many meaningless matches". Another change was that of the competition sponsor; Cheltenham & Gloucester, who were reportedly unhappy at the format for 2006, cancelled their future sponsorship before the 2006 season began. Friends Provident were revealed as the new sponsors on 8 February 2007.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Changes from previous tournament
The final major change from 2006 was the introduction of player referrals. Introduced on a trial basis, the fielding captain or batsman involved had the right to refer decisions to the third umpire if they disagreed with the decision of the on-field umpires. Each team were permitted two appeals per innings, losing an appeal should the third umpire concur with his on-field colleague. However, this option was only available during televised matches, which led some to suggest it would favour some teams over others.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Format
The eighteen first-class counties were joined by the Scottish and Irish national teams and divided into two groups, north and south. Each team played each other once, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-final stage. During the group stage, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a tie, abandonment or a no result, with no points awarded for a defeat. Teams level on points at the end of the group stage were separated by most wins, followed by net run rate, followed by most wickets taken per balls bowled in matches achieving a result.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Semi finals
Durham came out the victors in a low-scoring encounter where both sides collapsed to 38–7. Heavy rain had fallen over the course of the previous few days and overnight, creating a damp pitch offering "enough movement for the ball to find the edge or earn lbws". Andy Bichel was the only batsman to make a significant score (24 runs from 35 balls faced), as Neil Killeen and Ottis Gibson took three wickets each before Liam Plunkett claimed career-best bowling figures of 4 for 15.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Semi finals
Chasing a small target, Durham also lost early wickets, as Bichel and the on-loan Martin Saggers, followed by Graham Napier, reduced them to 38–7. This brought Plunkett to the crease, and, batting "sensibly rather than desperately", he hit 30 of the remaining 34 runs to win the match.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Semi finals
Warwickshire elected not to include Ian Bell in their line-up, opting instead not to disrupt the side that had got to the semi-final. Hampshire, however, did select Kevin Pietersen, who was flown to Southampton on a chartered helicopter following England's Test match win over the West Indies.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Semi finals
Hampshire won the toss and chose to bat first, but started slowly, with John Crawley playing an anchor role following the early wickets of Michael Carberry and Michael Lumb. He was the key batsman on what was described as a "sluggish" pitch, and scored 64 before being narrowly run out by Heath Streak's throw from third man. In reply, Warwickshire seemed on course for victory at 98–3, before Sean Ervine dismissed top-scorer Kumar Sangakkara and Alex Loudon in the same over. Despite a battling innings from Tim Ambrose, Warwickshire never recovered, bowled out for 166.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Final
Durham's preparations for the final were hampered by the news that Steve Harmison would be unable to play after sustaining a muscle tear in his back in a County Championship match against Surrey. Hampshire were without Stuart Clark, whose two month contract had expired; Daren Powell was his replacement.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Final
Durham batted first and scored 312–5, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul top-scoring with 78 before being run out by a "magnificent throw from long-on" by Michael Carberry. Hampshire's bowling was poor, with their six-man bowling attack of Powell, Jamie Bruce, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Sean Ervine, Chris Tremlett and Shane Warne "struggling [sic] for consistency". Phil Mustard and Kyle Coetzer joined Chanderpaul in scoring half-centuries for Durham, in what was the highest 50-overs total in domestic Lord's finals.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Final
Hampshire's reply started badly; with the opening two deliveries of the innings, Ottis Gibson "slanted successive balls across Lumb and Ervine" to get both left-handers to edge to Michael Di Venuto at second slip. Hampshire's chase was "in tatters" when Kevin Pietersen was dismissed, and once John Crawley's 68 was ended by Paul Collingwood, Durham had effectively won. Rain stopped play with Hampshire on 158–5, ensuring the two sides would have to return the following day to complete the match. Upon resuming, Durham required less than nine overs to take the final five wickets.


2007 Friends Provident Trophy, Knockout stage, Final
Durham's win brought their first domestic trophy since becoming a first-class county in 1992, and left Glamorgan and Leicestershire as the only counties to have never won the tournament in one of its various guises.


2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
The 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series was an Australian motor racing competition for V8 Supercars. It began on 1 March at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit and ended on 2 December at Phillip Island after seven rounds. The series was the eighth annual V8 Supercar Development Series.


2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
The series was won by Tony D'Alberto driving a Holden VZ Commodore.


2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, Race calendar
The series consisted of six rounds supporting the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series and one stand-alone round.


2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers have competed during the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. This was the last year in which the Holden VX Commodore was eligible to compete in the series.


2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, Series standings
Note: Chris Alajajian scored 26 points during the series but was penalized 10 points, leaving a final total of 16.


2007 Fukagawa mayoral by-election
The town of Fukagawa, Japan held a mayoral by-election on January 21, 2007. The former mayor, Junkichi Kawano, was arrested on bid-rigging charges. The by-election comes just three months after the ordinary election on October 1, 2006. See 2006 Fukagawa mayoral election.


2007 Fukuoka gubernatorial election
Fukuoka Prefecture held a gubernatorial election on April 8, 2007 as part of the 16th unified local elections. Incumbent Asou Wataru won the election.


2007 Fusagasugá City Council election
The 2007 Fusagasugá City Council election was held on Sunday, 28 October 2007, to elect the second City Council since the 2002 reform (Legislative Act 2002). At stake were all 17 seats in the City Council.


2007 Futsal Mundialito
The 2007 Futsal Mundialito was an international friendly championship in futsal. The tournament was held in Algarve, Portugal from 4 to 8 of July 2007. The championship was played in Praia da Alagoa.


2007 Future Cup
The 2007 Future Cup was a 3 ODI cricket series between India and South Africa between 23 June and 1 July. The series was preceded by each team playing one match against Ireland.


2007 Fylde Borough Council election
The 2007 Fylde Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Fylde Borough Council in Lancashire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2007 GDF Suez Grand Prix
The 2007 Gaz de France Budapest Grand Prix was a WTA Tour tennis event held from April 21 to 29, 2007, won by Gisela Dulko.


2007 GDF Suez Grand Prix
Both Dulko and Cîrstea were playing in their first final on the WTA Tour, with Dulko coming through in 3 sets.


2007 GDF Suez Grand Prix – Doubles
Following are the results of the 2007 GDF Suez Grand Prix – Doubles tennis competition. The 2007 Gaz de France Budapest Grand Prix was a WTA Tour tennis event held on April 21–29, 2007, won by Gisela Dulko.


2007 GDF Suez Grand Prix – Doubles
Janette Husárová and Michaëlla Krajicek were the defending champions, but both chose not to participate that year.


2007 GDF Suez Grand Prix – Singles
Gisela Dulko won her first WTA Tour singles title, defeating Sorana Cîrstea in the final, 6–7(2–7), 6–2, 6–2 to capture the Women's Singles tennis championship at the 2007 Hungarian Ladies Open.


2007 GDF Suez Grand Prix – Singles
Anna Smashnova was the two-time defending champion, but she chose not to compete this year.


2007 GMAC Bowl
The 2007 GMAC Bowl was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the ninth edition of the bowl game. It was played on January 7, 2007 and featured the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and the Ohio Bobcats.


2007 GMAC Bowl
Tory Harrison started the scoring, by rushing 43 yards for a touchdown, to give Southern Miss the first points of the game, 7–0. Damion Fletcher later scored on a e yard touchdown run giving the Eagles a 14–0 lead. With 1:13 left in the half James Denley intercepted an Ohio pass, and returned it 18 yards for another Southern Miss touchdown. The halftime score had Southern Miss up 21–0 over Ohio.


2007 GMAC Bowl
In the third quarter, Fletcher scored on a 9-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 28–0. Austen Everson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Christy for Ohio, to make the score 28–7. That would end up being the final score of the game.


2007 GP Ouest–France
The 2007 edition of the GP Ouest-France was held on September 2 in and around the French village of Plouay in Brittany. Several laps of a circuit were completed for a total of 226 kilometres of racing. Although no significant breakaway was able to last, a late break by Thomas Voeckler proved decisive. Voekler's remarkable drive kept him just ahead of the onrushing pack of sprinters two seconds later. A native son of France and French hero of the 2004 Tour de France, Voeckler's win was very popular with the crowd.


2007 GP2 Series
The 2007 GP2 Series season was the forty-first season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also third season under the GP2 Series moniker. The series began on 14 April at Bahrain. Timo Glock was crowned series champion on 30 September after winning the final round at Cheste, with Brazilian Lucas di Grassi finishing second.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
The season started in Bahrain. Luca Filippi started the season with win from pole, while Nicolas Lapierre took his first GP2 win in his third season in the sprint race. One of pre-season favourites, Timo Glock finished 2nd in both races. Michael Ammermüller, who was driving for defending teams' champion ART Grand Prix was injured and missed next two races.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
Next event started with big start crash involving several drivers, including series leader Filippi. Safety car was instantly deployed and majority of the field opted to make their mandatory pit stop. Glock wasn't one of those and he lost his chances to win the race as a result. Bruno Senna took his first GP2 victory in his third race. Glock finally got his first win of the season after three second places in the sprint.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
At Monaco, only one race was held which was won by Pastor Maldonado who had celebrated a victory in World Series there in the previous year. Glock increased his podium streak to five races after finishing 3rd.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
Two drivers made their comeback to GP2 in Magny-Cours. Adam Carroll replaced underperforming Antônio Pizzonia while Ernesto Viso replaced Sérgio Jimenez.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
Glock took pole position in Magny-Cours but the race started difficult time for him. He crashed with his teammate Andreas Zuber who started second, just a few metres after the start. Later on the first lap, Viso had massive shunt in which his car turned over and flew over the concrete barrier. Viso was lucky not to suffer serious injuries. The race was eventually won by a veteran Giorgio Pantano, giving Campos Racing its first victory in GP2. Viso's teammate Javier Villa won the sprint race, becoming youngest ever winner in GP2 at that time (the record was broken a year later by Sébastien Buemi).


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
Glock failed to finish both Silverstone races as well. Zuber won the feature race while Carroll took the sprint, making it nine winners in nine races. More amazingly, they were divided to eight different teams: only iSport International had two drivers who had won a race at this point.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
Glock rebounded to take feature race victory at his home soil in Nürburgring. Sprint race was won by Villa. Glock was also on pole in Hungaroring but failed to score after mistake during the race. Hungaroring race was won by Carroll who leap-frogged several positions with well-timed pit stop during the safety car, as those who had made their stops already had to use start/finish straight which had a lot of debris on it. Villa was again victorious in sprint race, with Carroll taking 2nd. Despite starting later in the season, he was en route to good position in the championship.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
At Istanbul, Lucas di Grassi, who had finished in the points in every race except one at that point, took his first victory of the season. Glock won the sprint race, so he eventually got more points than di Grassi while these two were battling for the championship.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
At Monza, Pantano won the feature race and Glock the sprint. di Grassi failed to get podium after car troubles at the end of the feature race. Pantano, meanwhile, was disqualified in the sprint race after driving several laps with broken front wing.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
At Spa, Glock stalled at the start and finished the race in 17th position. Lapierre was the eventual winner. Glock then collided with Ricardo Risatti during reconnaissance lap of the sprint race and failed to start. di Grassi got good chance to close the gap on him but couldn't do better than third in a race which was won by the Indian Karun Chandhok.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
The final race was held in Cheste and that was only race of the season which was not supporting F1. Glock started the weekend two points ahead of di Grassi. The feature race started on damp track. Tyre choice was crucial. The best drivers started on intermediates and then quite soon moved to slicks as the mandatory pit window had opened. The gaps in the race were exceptionally big, only five drivers finished in the same lap with the winner Vitaly Petrov. Glock was seventh while di Grassi spun off on damp track, just after switching to slicks.


2007 GP2 Series, Season summary
Glock got to start from the front row in the sprint race while di Grassi's place was near the back of the grid. Glock confirmed his championship with the victory in the final race, 11 points ahead of di Grassi. Pantano finished third in the series on countback ahead of Filippi.


2007 Gamba Osaka season
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2007 Gambian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia on 25 January 2007. Forty-eight members of the National Assembly were elected, with another five being appointed by the President. The result was a victory for the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), which won 42 of the 48 seats.


2007 Gambian parliamentary election
After the elections, President Yahya Jammeh said that "constituencies that voted the opposition should not expect my government's development projects. I want to teach people that opposition in Africa does not pay." He expressed satisfaction with the results and said that "voters have thrown out the two empty barrels from the National Assembly"; this was believed to be a reference to the defeat of two prominent opposition politicians, Halifa Sallah and Hamat Bah. Salleh blamed the opposition's poor performance on a split in its ranks and said that he intended to retire from politics.


2007 Gambian parliamentary election, Campaign
A total of 103 candidates were approved by the Independent Electoral Commission. The ruling APRC was the only party to contest all 48 seats, and ran unopposed in five constituencies.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe
The 2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, or the XIIth Games of the Small States of Europe, were  held in Monaco from 4 June to 9 June 2007. The Games administration was done jointly by the Monegasque government and Monegasque Olympic Committee. Monaco has previously hosted the games in 1987. Prince Albert II officially opened the Games.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, Overview and participation
The 2007 Games were the first Games of the Small States of Europe without all eligible nations competing. All countries to have previously participated returned; however, Montenegro – which joined the Athletic Association of the Small States of Europe in 2006 – did not send competitors to the 2007 Games. Delegations, including coaches and team officials, of up to 1,200 people were expected at the 2007 games. These delegations came from the host nation of Monaco as well as Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, and San Marino.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, Competitions
Twelve disciplines were held at the 2007 Games; making it the most diverse Games in this respect yet. Taekwondo and cycling have been removed from the games; however, the volleyball discipline has been separated into beach and traditional, and bowls made its first appearance in the games.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, Competitions
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each sport.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, Venues
The 2007 Games used a docked cruise ship as an athlete's village for all delegations. The ship was docked along the sea wall in Fontvieille.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, Venues
Many of the events were also be held in Fontvieille. Stade Louis II, the usual home of AS Monaco FC, hosted athletics, basketball, swimming, and table tennis events. The shooting events took place indoors on the upper floors of a building in the center of the district as well.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, Venues
Gymnastics took place in the Canton Hall, a large event complex in Monaco. Volleyball took place in the Moneghetti Sports Complex, which is technically in French territory. Judo events was also held at an all-purpose gymnasium, the Annonciade Gymnasium. Bowls events were held at the Rocher. Tennis was held in the Monte Carlo district at a prominent country club.


2007 Games of the Small States of Europe, Venues
Additionally, many of events in the 2007 Games took advantage of Monaco's close proximity to the sea. Beach volleyball events were held on the most prominent beach in Monaco, Larvotto. Sailing events took place in the Bay of Monaco, an extension of the Mediterranean Sea.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran
The 2007 gasoline rationing plan in Iran was launched by president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet to reduce that country's fuel consumption. Although Iran is one of the world's largest producers of petroleum, rapid increases in demand and limited refining capacity has forced the country to import about 40% of its gasoline, at an annual cost of up to USD $7 billion.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran
The fuel rationing originally triggered discontent in Iran, but, according to analysts quoted in the Western news media, the Iranian government is hoping that reducing gasoline imports will help insulate the country from international pressure related to its nuclear program. "We will greatly suffer if they (foreign countries) suddenly decide not to sell us fuel," said Iranian political analyst Saeed Leylaz. "Fuel rationing is a security-economic decision to reduce fuel consumption." In an interview Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "They [Americans] had a plan and idea that is neutralized. They don't know our nation. They think if they refuse to provide us with gasoline, our nation would say we don't want nuclear energy."


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Background
An increase in population since 1980 from 40 to 68 million people has pushed Iran’s gasoline consumption up by nearly 13 percent annually over the past five years. As a result, the country consumes far more gasoline than its refineries can provide. Production stands at 10.5 million US gallons (40,000 m3) a day, compared with daily demand standing at 18.5 million US gallons (70,000 m3). With 43 percent of its gasoline imported, Iran is the world’s second largest gasoline importer.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Background
Iran's petrol is heavily subsidised, sold at about a fifth of its real cost. The price of 1,000 rials ($0.11) per litre makes Iran one of the cheapest countries in the world for motorists. The government maintains that the rich benefit from 70 percent of subsidies and that it is one of the primary reasons for changing the subsidies system.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Gas rationing plan
Iran took action to reduce its dependence on foreign gasoline through a three-pronged strategy which includes:


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Gas rationing plan
A special committee set up by the government came up with a four-pointprogram which includes:


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Gas rationing plan
The Iranian government provides incentives to CNG car buyers and has meanwhile decreased the gasoline subsidies. Iran is the Middle East's leading car manufacturer. In 2005 Iranian automakers produced nearly one million vehicles including 884,000 passenger cars and 104,000 heavy vehicles, altogether worth $11.6 billion. The Iranian government aims to have most of Iran’s cars running on natural gas by 2015.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Gas rationing plan
The restrictions began at midnight local time on Wednesday 27 June (2030 GMT Tuesday) and were set to continue for four months. The rationing system, allowed private drivers 100 liters (26 gallons) of fuel per month at the subsidized price. Taxis got 800 liters (211 gallons) a month. Anything more than that was bought at a higher price. The fuel rationing triggered widespread discontent in Iran, but if it succeeds in reducing the amount of imported gasoline, it could help insulate the country from international pressure related to its nuclear program.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Gas rationing plan
Based on the rationing plan, each private car received 120 liters per month at about 10 cents per liter. The price for non-rationed gasoline in November 2008 was almost 40 cents.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Prices in neighboring countries
In mid-November 2008, the prices super gasoline in the neighboring Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Turkey and the UAE were 105, 108, 74, 84, 187 and 45 cents per liter. Whereas, in Iran motorists are allowed 100 liters (26.4 US gallons) of gasoline each month at the subsidized price of about 10 cents per liter (37.9 cents per US gallons) and an unlimited amount at 40 cents per liter ($1.52 per US gallons). This means that the Iranian government is giving subsidy to the Turkish government or the governments of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Arab countries of the south.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Prices in neighboring countries
On the opposite side, Norway, despite being an oil-rich country, has the most expensive gasoline prices in the world.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Fuel smuggling
According to Iranian counter-smuggling authorities, 17 percent of daily fuel production equivalent to some 40 million liters (10.6 million US gallons) were being smuggled out of the country every day in 2009. This is while most of the smuggling concerns gasoline and diesel fuel, whereas Iran imports both of these to the tune of 30 million liters (7.9 million US gallons) every day. Smugglers are using "lakes of fuel", underground pipelines to neighboring countries and oil tankers on the Shatt al-Arab waterway.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Fuel smuggling
Facilities such as the Martyr Rajai Port Complex in Hormuzgan province are reportedly used by the IRGC to export state subsidized gasoline outside the country. Fuel smuggling has increased by 232 percent compared to last year's figures. Iran says its naval security forces have confiscated ten oil tankers smuggling 4,600 tons of Iranian fuel out of the Persian Gulf in 2008. As of 2012, smuggling to Pakistan and Afghanistan continues unabated because of price differential with these countries and because of the steep devaluation of the Iranian rial.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Fuel smuggling, Economic damage
Iranian taxpayers incur a loss of $3.3 billion annually because of fuel smuggling (& not including other smuggled oil derivatives), equivalent to the "development budget" of Iran.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Fuel smuggling, Economic damage
According to National Police Chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam, before the implementation of the subsidy reform plan, 20 million liters of fuel were trafficked out of the country. Twenty million liters of fuel is trafficked out of Iran every year despite increased domestic fuel prices caused by the Iranian targeted subsidy plan. Over the past three years (2010–13), 8-10 million liters of gasoline has been produced per day by the domestic petrochemical units.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Immediate reactions to gas rationing plan
Some lawmakers were urgently drafting a bill to stop rationing. Private cars will get 100 litres of gasoline a month but less if they also burn compressed natural gas, state TV said. Drivers have complained that the amount is too little. All gasoline is already sold using electronic "smart" cards, but some drivers have not received them. Officials say the cards will reduce the possibility of a black market in fuel.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Immediate reactions to gas rationing plan
Iranians were given only two hours' notice of the move that limits private drivers to 100 litres of fuel a month. There is anger that the government did not give people more notice. At least 12 petrol stations have been torched in the Iranian capital, Tehran. "Guns, fireworks, tanks, [President] Ahmadinejad should be killed," chanted angry youths, throwing stones at police.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Long term reactions to gas rationing plan
As of mid-2008, the Gas Rationing Plan was regarded as a total failure, due to the reasons below:


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Long term reactions to gas rationing plan
Oil Minister said the gasoline rationing scheme has helped the country curb consumption by up to 20 million liters a day or $4 billion (2008). Consumption rates approach 22.5 million gallons (85.2 million liters) per day without the restrictions.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Long term reactions to gas rationing plan
Critics acknowledge that rationing did bring consumption down by around 16 million liter a day. Then again, extra quotas for various government organizations, individuals with special needs and some businesses, as well as a 100-liter bonus for ’summer holidays’ allocated by the government reversed the initial fall in consumption. According to Iran-Daily:


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Long term reactions to gas rationing plan
Consumers under 45 different categories are now receiving additional gasoline rations. In the early stages of the plan, traffic was reduced, gasoline consumption went down, there was less pollution and people were adapting to the change in fuel consumption patterns. However with the announcement of extra quotas, the initial achievements were destroyed.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, Long term reactions to gas rationing plan
In June 2009, Oil Ministry announced that Iran has so far saved $8.5 billion through the nationwide fuel rations program. Regarding the fuel rationing program, if the plan had not been executed, Iran would have had to import 33 million liters of gasoline per day in 2007-8 and 44 million liters in 2008-9. With the implementation of the plan these figures reduced to 18.9 million liters and 21.6 million liters per day, respectively.


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran, End of the gas rationing plan
By July 2010, Iran had managed to save 11 billion dollars since the rationing began, thanks to the gasoline rationing plan, which has spared the need for excessive imports of the commodity. In June 2010, it was announced that after the implementation of the new subsidy reform plan, gasoline will be sold on "free market price". The start of the gasoline subsidy cuts will coincide with the beginning of the second half of the Iranian year on September 23, 2010. At that time, the 2007 Gas rationing plan will come to an end (the quota system will remain in place while gasoline prices will be increased).


2007 Gastein Ladies
The 2007 Gastein Ladies was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the first edition of the Gastein Ladies, and was part of the Tier III series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place in Bad Gastein, Austria, from 23 July until 29 July 2008. First-seeded Francesca Schiavone won the singles title and earned $25,840 first-prize money.


2007 Gastein Ladies, Finals, Doubles
Lucie Hradecká /  Renata Voráčová defeated  Ágnes Szávay /  Vladimíra Uhlířová 6–3, 7–5


2007 Gastein Ladies – Doubles
The doubles tournament of the 2007 Gastein Ladies took place on 23–29 July on outdoor clay courts in Bad Gastein, Austria. Lucie Hradecká and Renata Voráčová won the title, defeating Ágnes Szávay and Vladimíra Uhlířová in the final.


2007 Gastein Ladies – Singles
The Gastein Ladies was a new addition to the WTA Tour in 2007.


2007 Gastein Ladies – Singles
Top seed Francesca Schiavone won her first career title over the unseeded Austrian Yvonne Meusburger, 6–1, 6–4.


2007 Gator Bowl
The 2007 Gator Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the West Virginia Mountaineers played on January 1, 2007, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. For sponsorship reasons, the bowl was officially known as the Toyota Gator Bowl. Down by 18 in the third quarter, West Virginia scored 21 unanswered points to win, 38–35.


2007 Gator Bowl
The game matched Georgia Tech from the Atlantic Coast Conference against West Virginia from the Big East Conference. West Virginia entered the game ranked #13 in the AP Poll; it was West Virginia's third appearance in the Gator Bowl in the last four years and sixth overall. Georgia Tech accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl after losing the ACC championship to Wake Forest. It was Georgia Tech's first appearance in the Gator Bowl since 2000 and seventh overall.


2007 Gatorade Duels
The 2007 Gatorade Duels were a pair of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car races that were held on February 15, 2007 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Both, contested over 60 laps, were the qualifying races for the 2007 Daytona 500. The first race was won by Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and the second race was won by Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports.


2007 Gatorade Duels
The races set the field for the 49th running of "The Great American Race". These races are the only ones in the NASCAR Nextel Cup that qualifies drivers and their teams for a points-paying race. As qualifying only sets the front row for the Daytona 500, these races are formatted as follows:


2007 Gatorade Duels
Positions three through 39 were filled that way (not counting the pole drivers in each race) along with the top drivers in each race not locked in from the previous season's Top 35, automatically qualify for the race. After that, the three fastest cars that did not qualify in the races along with a past champions provisional (if needed) completes the 43-car field. Had all past champions made the race, the next fastest car would have been entered into the field.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties
During the 2007 NASCAR Gatorade Duels, the qualifying events for the Daytona 500, various incidents and cheating allegations surrounding the events occurred, leading to various sanctions for teams and drivers.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties, Pole qualifying infractions
Prior to qualifying, Evernham Motorsports team directors (equivalent of crew chief) Rodney Childers (#10 Dodge Charger) and Josh Browne (#19 Charger) were suspended for Daytona and the following week's race at Fontana, fined $25,000 (US), plus both their teams and drivers (Scott Riggs for the #10, Elliott Sadler for the #19) were penalized 25 championship points due to an illegal modification that was corrected before qualifying in pre-qualifying inspection.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties, Pole qualifying infractions
After the qualifying had ended, NASCAR handed out heavier penalties for crew chiefs Kenny Francis (Evernham Motorsports #9 Charger) and Robbie Reiser (Roush Fenway Racing #17 Ford Fusion) teams. Both were suspended for Daytona and the next three races, fined $50,000, and their teams and drivers (Kasey Kahne for the #9 and Matt Kenseth for the #17) were penalized 50 championship points due to illegal modifications found in post-qualifying inspection. In addition, due to the modifications, their qualifying times were disallowed. (Kenseth had the 11th-fastest time in the opening round, while Kahne was 28th.) The penalty to the #10 team would drop it out of the top-35 in owners points.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties, Michael Waltrip Racing
On February 14, three days after the first round of qualifying, David Hyder, the crew chief for Michael Waltrip and Bobby Kennedy, competition director for Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) (cars #44 and #55) and Waltrip-PPI Racing (#00) were ejected from the track by NASCAR officials. Earlier, the intake manifold from Waltrip's #55 car had been confiscated by NASCAR when "an unknown substance" was found in it during post-qualifying inspection.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties, Michael Waltrip Racing
When a new manifold was installed and the engine test-run, the same substance was found in the new manifold, resulting in NASCAR impounding the entire car and disallowing Waltrip's qualifying time, which was 25th-fastest.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties, Michael Waltrip Racing
Just before 6 PM US EST, NASCAR held a press conference at which it was announced that both Hyder and Kennedy were suspended indefinitely, Hyder fined $100,000, Waltrip docked 100 championship points, and the team, owned by Waltrip's wife, Buffy, were docked 100 car owner points for violations that included a violation of the rule (in place through the 2010 season) prohibiting the blending of gasoline with "alcohols, ethers, or other oxygenates"; this quickly became known among the media and fans as "rocket fuel". Waltrip was permitted to compete in the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race in a backup car. He finished eighth, which was high enough to qualify the car for the Daytona 500.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties, Michael Waltrip Racing
As a result of the penalty, Waltrip became only the second driver to ever have a negative score in the championship standings. He finished Daytona with -27 points, as his 30th-place showing, worth 73 points, did not compensate for the 100-point penalty. This remained his score until June 4, when he finally made his second start of the year at Dover International Speedway in the Cup series' 14th race. Meanwhile, Kennedy was given a 6-month leave of absence by MWR. He was relieved of duty later that year but rehired by MWR in March 2008. Because somebody had to be fired according to the MWR rules for the near-fatal scandal for the team, David Hyder was ultimately held responsible and relieved of duty. Neither NASCAR nor MWR has specified what substance was found in Waltrip's engine.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Penalties, Duel Race #2
In a post-race inspection following the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race, race winner Jeff Gordon, driver of the Hendrick Motorsports #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS had been found to be one inch too low because of misaligned bolts on a shock absorber. Due to the official's belief that the violation was unintentional, he kept the win, but would be penalized by starting 42nd in the Daytona 500.


2007 Gatorade Duels, Aftermath
The race, the first of the season, was won by Kevin Harvick. The penalties resulted in the following point readjustments:


2007 Gatorade Duels, Aftermath
On March 6, appeals for Kenseth by Roush Fenway Racing and Kahne by Evernham Motorsports were denied by the three-member panel that oversees NASCAR's disciplinary action. Before that, Kenseth had been able to climb to 12th in the standings after winning the Auto Club 500 with interim crew chief Chip Bolin.


2007 Gedling Borough Council election
The 2007 Gedling Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Gedling Borough Council in Nottinghamshire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.


2007 Gedling Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives win a majority on the council, which they had previously shared control of with Labour. The Conservatives took 28 seats, up from 22 before the election. Labour dropped 11 seats to end level with the Liberal Democrats, who gained 2 seats, on 9 councillors. Overall turnout in the election was 40.4%, up from 32.4% in 2003.


2007 Geelong Football Club season
The 2007 Geelong Football Club season was the club's 108th season in the Australian Football League (AFL). Geelong finished the regular season in first position on the ladder, earning the club its eighth McClelland Trophy.


2007 Generac Grand Prix
The 2007 Champ Car Generac Grand Prix at Road America was the tenth round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series Season. It was held on August 12 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Qualifying results
Sébastien Bourdais, fresh off signing his name to a 2008 contract with Formula 1's Scuderia Toro Rosso, dominated both qualifying sessions, finishing Saturday with a best lap a second and a half clear of his closest competitor. Will Power was best of the rest to secure the other front row starting spot next to Bourdais on Sunday.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Race
After dominating qualifying, Sébastien Bourdais led away from the starting grid. Will Power, the other front row starter, dropped back with bad handling while Robert Doornbos was able to provide Bourdais a certain amount of pressure after starting third on the grid, staying within two seconds of the Frenchman.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Race
Unfortunately for Doornbos the set of tires he switched to after his first pit stop did not prove to his liking and he began losing large chunks of time as Bourdais continued in the lead.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Race
Meanwhile, Doornbos' teammate Dan Clarke was putting on a show. Slow away from the grid thanks to a bad clutch, Clarke took advantage of the yellow flag on the opening lap by pitting and setting off an alternate strategy. When the rest of the field pitted on lap 14, Clarke found himself in the lead and made the most of the open track in front of him and came out in second place in front of Doornbos and Graham Rahal after he emerged from his pit stop on lap 16.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Race
With Doornbos struggling on his tires, Rahal got around Doornbos in turn 3 on lap 24. Doornbos' race then went completely wrong on the next lap as Clarke cut in front of him on the approach to turn 5. Doornbos' front wing was knocked off and his suspension was damaged. He was forced to limp back to the pits, his race ruined, though he was able to return to the fight albeit four laps down. Clarke was apologetic after the race, but Doornbos accused the Englishman of brake checking him.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Race
Clarke got around Rahal after his second pit stop, gaining further benefit from his alternate pit stop strategy while Bourdais continued to easily lead the field. The race would finish up in that order. Surprisingly, the win was the first for Bourdais in four attempts at the scenic Wisconsin circuit. With Will Power ending up in 16th place with a broken gearbox, Doornbos' accident-marred 14th-place finish and Justin Wilson, best amongst the rest of the point challengers managing only an eighth place, Bourdais took a stranglehold on the season championship.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Race
This race marked the final race on US soil for the Champ Car Series as a separate entity from the IndyCar Series, before the merger of the two in early 2008.


2007 Generac Grand Prix, Attendance
Attendance at the 2007 Generac Grand Prix was over 100,000 people during the 4 day race weekend. Race coordinators were pleased with this result as this was the highest attendance the race had garnered since the heyday of CART racing in the late 1980s and early 1990s.


2007 General Motors strike
The 2007 General Motors Strike was a labor union strike that lasted three days from September 23 to September 25 of 2007 organized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The UAW were engaged in talks with General Motors (GM) to negotiate a new labor contract but were unable to come to an agreement before the deadline. Consequently, 73,000 workers walked out forcing 80 GM facilities in 30 states to cease operations. After the two day strike, the two parties reached an agreement in which the UAW union would assume the responsibility for managing retiree healthcare liabilities. The UAW previously went on strike against General Motors in 1970.


2007 General Motors strike, Background
The automobile industry landscape in 2007 was drastically different to what it once was. GM's market share had been steadily decreasing as foreign automakers entered the market. Foreign players secured over 50% of market share for the first time in history in July 2007. GM's foreign competitors Nissan, Honda, and Toyota increased their production within the United States. Part of GM's struggles has been its relatively high costs of production.


2007 General Motors strike, Background
While many of the foreign manufacturers pay less in wages as most of their plants are not a part of a union, GM's labor contracts increase its costs per car by an estimated $2000 impacting its competitiveness. These costs can be attributed to worker pensions and healthcare programs the unions have negotiated.


2007 General Motors strike, Background
The number of UAW members at GM has also steadily decreased as the company downsized. At the time of the 2007 strike, the 73,000 workers at GM are far lower than the 400,000 workers GM employed when the UAW last went on strike in 1970. The UAW's lower overall membership was also caused by the increasing prevalence of non-unionized plants and factories belonging to foreign automakers. It once had over 1.5 million workers but by 2007, that number had shrunk to just several hundred thousand.


2007 General Motors strike, Background
General Motors' previous labor contract with the UAW union went up until September 14th, 2007. Both parties agreed to an extension of 10 days until September 24th as the UAW felt that negotiations were still progressing. However, following the end of this 10 day period, as negotiations came to a stalemate the UAW believed a strike was necessary as GM refused to acquiesce to the UAW's demands in regards to job security and worker benefits.


2007 General Motors strike, Motivations
General Motors' losing market share within the United States automobile market has forced the company to downsize the company. In the two years leading up to 2007, GM had incurred $12.3 billion in losses. In response, GM has since closed down numerous factories and laid off thousands of workers. At the time of the strike, GM was also planning on cutting an additional 30,000 jobs in the coming year. The UAW wanted to ensure job security for the remaining GM workers and demanded for guarantees stipulating that those workers employed under the contract would stay employed until the contract expired.


2007 General Motors strike, Motivations
Another issue of contention between GM and UAW was the company's liabilities to retirees in regards to their healthcare benefits. These liabilities amounted to $51 billion. Both parties were in talks to discuss transferring these liabilities to a trust, which was GM's primary demand. The establishment of a voluntary employee benefit association (VEBA) has been an idea that was widely embraced by GM's investors and managers. Doing so what entail a large initial payment from GM but would allow it to remove workers healthcare benefits as a liability on its balance sheet. It was believed that removing these costs from the equation would allow GM to increase its competitiveness in the industry.


2007 General Motors strike, Strike
Immediately after the deadline had passed, the UAW union moved to a national strike that involved 73,000 workers walking out of an estimated 80 GM facilities. After the union announced the strike, negotiations continued that same afternoon lasting over five hours. In the UAW's press conference, its president Ron Gettelfinger expressed his disappointment in GM's management and their refusal to meet the union halfway. He believed that the UAW had no choice but to strike stating that: “There comes a point in time where you have to draw a line in the sand”. Many saw this as the UAW refusing to roll over to management's demands from GM. Gettelfinger also expressed that the UAW was willing to consider GM's request to form a trust to take on healthcare liabilities, and that job security remained the union's number one concern.


2007 General Motors strike, Strike
The effect of the strike was an operational halt that would otherwise produce 12,200 cars a day. Concerns were raised regarding the effect of the strike on GM if an agreement wasn't reached. The strike had the potential to influence GM supply chains and overseas plants that manufacture parts. Nearby operations in Mexico and Canada would also suffer as a result. The strike became a focus within the automobile industry as how it played it out would likely affect negotiations the UAW would later have with Ford and Chrysler given the vulnerable state of the United States’ auto companies.


2007 General Motors strike, Strike
Despite the strike, Michael Robinet, the vice president of CSM Worldwide and an expert on global vehicle forecasts, predicted that GM would not have any issues with a shortage of vehicle production. In fact, he expected that the company would not experience issues related to inventory shortages for two to three weeks should the strike continue as a result of no agreement being reached. At the time, GM's inventory levels were generally higher than that of their competitors, a point that many linked to the company's poor sales in recent months leading up to the strike.


2007 General Motors strike, Strike
On the first day of the strike, GM's stock closed 20 cents lower in the trading session, wiping out what was originally a gain of 2.6% earlier on in the day. The consensus amongst analysts evaluating GM's position in the strike was that while a long strike would be highly detrimental for the company as it seeks to turn its business around and become more profitable. With that said, many believed that GM would still be well positioned to endure a strike that was shorter in nature.


2007 General Motors strike, Resolution
On September 26th, it was announced that early that morning, the UAW and GM reached a deal. Specifics of the deal were not made available, however the headline for GM was that the UAW had agreed to the establishment of a VEBA that would assume the retiree healthcare liabilities worth $51 billion. Gettelfinger described that job guarantees were made by GM although the details were not disclosed.


2007 General Motors strike, Resolution
After reaching the deal, the UAW's executives stated their intention to meet again on the 28th of September to discuss and approve the contract. If successful, the contract would then be moved to be voted on by the workers in the union to finalize the agreement. Gettelfinger expressed his confidence that GM's workers would vote in favor of this newly negotiated contract. Had the contract not been approved by both the UAW leaders and the workers, the UAW made it clear that the strike would continue.


2007 General Motors strike, Resolution
It was reported that members who had information regarding the details of the VEBA disclosed that the trust would be funded by a combination of various assets including cash and GM stock. The trust's establishment would be subject to approval by the Security and Exchange Commission and the relevant court of law. The approval process was expected to last over a year with the earliest completion date being sometime in 2009. The agreement involved allowing GM to access the pension fund for the purpose of reimbursing retirees for the increased healthcare benefits offered in the years preceding the deal, as the pension was seen as being overfunded.


2007 General Motors strike, Resolution
Newspapers also reported sources that indicated some of the terms of the new contract involved a steep decrease in the wages of lower tier workers along with lower signing bonuses. Other sources confirmed that the two parties agreed to meet on a yearly basis to evaluate and discuss the healthcare trust. It was reported that GM was willing to make additional contributions to the fund if it was determined to be necessary if the amount was within a range the company considered reasonable.


2007 General Motors strike, Impact
It was also expected that the leaders of the UAW would discuss the details of the GM contract with labor officials at the other large automobile manufacturers, Ford and Chrysler, as a part of a series of labor contract negotiations within the industry. At the time, the UAW union was also in negotiations with them over new labor contracts although little progress had been made. Many experts pointed out the possibility that both Ford and Chrysler could establish similar VEBA trusts which would reduce liabilities, something that many of these companies have looked forward to. GM believed that the agreement would allow them to “significantly improve its manufacturing competitiveness”.


2007 General Motors strike, Impact
Investor sentiment regarding the deal being reached was generally positive for GM as they have been proponents for the establishment of the VEBA trust. After the deal was reached between GM and the UAW union, the stock price of GM increased by 4.2% in the morning of that trading session, and closed with a 9% rise reaching its highest mark in ten weeks. GM's bond prices also increased following the news. The stock price of Ford increased by more than 6% in the same session, likely linked to investor expectations that a similar deal would be reached in their negotiations with the UAW.


2007 General Motors strike, Impact
Credit rating agencies shared a similarly positive response to the deal. Fitch was in discussions to lower GM's rating and that of some of its suppliers, however decided to hold off after the new deal was announced. Standard and Poor’s discussed the possibility of increasing GM's long term rating moving forward. GM pointed out their healthcare spending in the previous year totaled $4.8 billion, an amount that could have been spent towards launching six vehicle models or building an additional four manufacturing plants. Wall street analysts were expecting GM to benefit from increased healthcare cost savings amounting to $3 billion annually as a consequence of the newly established VEBA trust.


2007 Generali Ladies Linz
The 2007 Generali Ladies Linz is the 2007 Tier II WTA Tour tournament of the annually-held Generali Ladies Linz tennis tournament. It was the 21st edition of the tournament and was held from October 22–28, 2007 at the TipsArena Linz. Daniela Hantuchová won the singles title.


2007 Generali Ladies Linz
The total prize pot for the tournament was US$600,000 with the winner of the singles receiving $88,265 and the losing finalist $47,125. The winners of the doubles competition received $27,730.


2007 Generali Ladies Linz, Champions, Women's Doubles
Cara Black /  Liezel Huber defeated  Katarina Srebotnik /  Ai Sugiyama 6–2, 3–6, 10–8


2007 Generali Ladies Linz – Doubles
The Doubles Tournament at the 2007 Generali Ladies Linz took place between 22 and 28 October on the indoor hard courts of the TipsArena Linz in Linz, Austria. Cara Black and Liezel Huber won the title, defeating Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama in the final.


2007 Generali Ladies Linz – Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but did not participate.


2007 Generali Ladies Linz – Singles
Daniela Hantuchová won the title, defeating Patty Schnyder in the final 6–4, 6–2.


2007 Gent–Wevelgem
The 2007 Gent–Wevelgem cycling race took place on 11 April 2007. The race had a length of 207 km.


2007 Gent–Wevelgem
The day began in Deinze with overcast weather and light winds. This gave way to a quick start and it was not until after the first intermediate sprint that the initial break of Florent Brard, Christophe Mengin, and Roger Hammond. The leaders were allowed a substantial lead (eleven minutes) for a semi-classic, which forced the peloton ride aggressively over the final 100 km.


2007 Gent–Wevelgem
During the descents of the Kemmelberg, several riders crashed on the wet cobblestones and were severely injured after a rider swerved to avoid a fallen water bottle. Amongst them were Jimmy Casper (broken nose, broken collarbone, broken wrist), Wim De Vocht (broken thumb), James Vanlandschoot (broken thumb, wrist and elbow), Andy Cappelle (broken elbow and fractured shoulder), Marco Velo (broke his knee, collarbone and 2 ribs), Wilfried Cretskens (several contusions), Aart Vierhouten, Tyler Farrar, Luke Roberts, Fabio Sacchi, Mathew Hayman, Matthew Wilson and Heinrich Haussler. This caused splits in the peloton and an elite group of riders were left to chase down the lead trio.


2007 Gent–Wevelgem
Eventually Marcus Burghardt, Francisco Ventoso, and Óscar Freire joined the leaders with roughly 25 km to go. The six managed to hold off the remaining peloton and, with less than 1 km to go, Burghardt caught Freire by surprise and made the winning move. Burghardt's teammate, Hammond, managed to catch hold of Freire's wheel and overtook the Spaniard in the sprint for a T-Mobile Team one-two finish.


2007 Georgetown Hoyas football team
The 2007 Georgetown Hoyas football team was an American football team that represented Georgetown University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Hoyas tied for last in the Patriot League.


2007 Georgetown Hoyas football team
In their second year under head coach Kevin Kelly, the Hoyas compiled a 1–10 record. Matt Bassuener, Nnamdi Obiako, Stephen Smith and Kyle Van Fleet were the team captains.


2007 Georgetown Hoyas football team
The Hoyas were outscored 415 to 166. Georgetown's 1–5 conference record tied with Bucknell for sixth place in the Patriot League standings.


2007 Georgetown Hoyas football team
Georgetown played its home games at Multi-Sport Field on the university campus in Washington, D.C.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team
The 2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team competed on behalf of the University of Georgia in American football against teams from other colleges and universities. The Bulldogs tied for first place in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) but lost a tie-breaker with the University of Tennessee. The team finished its season by defeating the Hawaii Warriors in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. This was the Georgia Bulldogs' seventh season under the guidance of head coach Mark Richt.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Preseason
Two key players from the 2006 season, defensive end Charles Johnson and running back Danny Ware, decided to leave school early to enter the NFL draft. Another junior, defensive back Paul Oliver, considered a move to the NFL, but decided to return to the Bulldogs for his senior year. Despite coming back for his senior year, Paul Oliver became academically ineligible and decided to enter the supplemental draft. The Bulldogs were led on offense by rising Sophomore QB Matthew Stafford. Sean Bailey and Mohammed Massaquoi led the receivers and Thomas Brown at Tailback. The defense saw the emergence of Asher Allen and Kelin Johnson in the Secondary. In addition, Dannell Ellerbe was the leader of the Linebackers while Geno Atkins and Jeff Owens anchored the Defensive Line.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Regular season
The Bulldogs started off strong with an impressive win at home against Oklahoma State. Though, the Bulldogs failed to score a touchdown the following week against South Carolina. The Dawgs rebounded against Western Carolina and enjoyed the thrill of an overtime victory on September 22 at Alabama. This was a legendary call for Scott Howard, the new play by play announcer replacing the legendary Larry Munson. Other high moments during the season were the upset win against Florida 42-30 and the win against Auburn 45-20 as Georgia wore Black jerseys for the first time. The season ended on a high note as the Bulldogs defeated Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana 41-10. The Bulldogs crushed the undefeated Warriors and their high-potent offense lead by NCAA record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Schedule
Before the season, CNNSI.com ranked the 2007 UGA schedule the 14th hardest in the country.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State
Sophomore quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs cruised past the Cowboys from the Big 12 in a much-hyped season opener. Georgia won its first game of the season for an 11th consecutive season.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, South Carolina
The Gamecocks took a 7-0 lead on their first drive of the game and used stifling defense to hold off the Bulldogs the rest of the way. It was Georgia's first loss in the series since 2001, and the team's fifth consecutive loss to SEC East opponents, dating back to the 2006 season.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Western Carolina
After a slow start, the Dawgs exploded for 42 points in the final three quarters to bounce back with a win over the 1-AA Catamounts. Freshman running back Knowshon Moreno rushed for 94 yards on 13 carries.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Alabama
In a virtual must-win situation, the Dawgs avoided an 0-2 start in SEC play by escaping Bryant–Denny Stadium with an overtime win. Matthew Stafford connected with senior wide receiver Mikey Henderson on the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage in OT for the winning score.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Ole Miss
Running back Thomas Brown rushed for a career-high 180 yds and three touchdowns in the fifth straight win against Western Division opponents.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Georgia suffered its worst loss since the 2003 Southeastern Conference championship, a 34-13 loss to LSU, and coach Mark Richt's first loss at Tennessee. The Bulldogs had won their last three games at Neyland, Tennessee's home stadium.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Senior kicker Brandon Coutu drilled a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give Georgia its second road win of the season, both coming on the game's final play. The Dawgs outscored Vanderbilt 13-0 in the second half to rally from a 17-7 halftime deficit.