Nicolas Sarkozy joins AccorHotel’s board of directors

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has joined the board of Europe’s largest hotel company Accor.

Mr Sarkozy, who failed to secure his Republican party’s nomination for the French presidency late last year, was appointed with unanimous approval by Accor’s board, it was announced on Tuesday.

Accor’s chief executive Sébastien Bazin said the former president’s “perfect knowledge of geopolitical issues are tremendous assets for the Group”.

“This appointment reflects the ambition of the Group to pursue the implementation of its strategy and to promote both AccorHotels brands worldwide and the unrivalled French know-how in tourism”, added a statement from Accor.

Mr Sarkozy will replace the outgoing Nadra Moussalem on the board. Commenting on his appointment, the former president said:

I am glad to contribute to the development and the international reach of AccorHotels, one of France’s flagship companies.

The success of the Group as well as the quality of its management are outstanding assets, shaping AccorHotels into one of the leading showcases of the French economic landscape.

Accor, which has 244 hotels across a 100 cities around the world, is due to report its latest full-year results tomorrow.

Mr Sarkozy was defeated by his former prime minister Francois Fillon as the right-wing candidate of choice in France’s presidential elections later this year.