PARIS, Nov 3 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday congratulated US President George W. Bush on his re-election, saying he hoped Bush's second term would be a chance to reinforce Franco-US relations.
"On behalf of France, and on my personal behalf, I would like to express to you my most sincere congratulations for your re-election to the presidency of the United States of America," Chirac wrote in a letter to Bush.
"I hope that your second term will provide an opportunity to reinforce the Franco-American friendship," the French leader said, according to his office.
"It's in the spirit of dialogue, of mutual esteem and respect that our cooperation, our common fight against terrorism and the actions we are leading together to promote liberty and democracy must continue to develop," he said.
Bush, the incumbent Republican, defeated Democratic challenger John Kerry after a hard-fought campaign. Kerry called Bush to concede after holding out for hours for a miracle win in the key battleground state of Ohio.
The US and French presidents have had a less than warm relationship since Bush elected to go to war in Iraq last year, an invasion staunchly opposed by Chirac.
But Chirac said in his letter to his US counterpart: "We can only find satisfactory solutions to the numerous challenges with which we are confronted today through a close transatlantic partnership."
The French leader told Bush he believed that the two shared the "ambition to bring peace, security and prosperity to as many people as possible, in a spirit of solidarity".
"I'm convinced that together, we can achieve this," Chirac concluded.
Before Tuesday's election, opinion polls showed as many as 90 percent of French people wanted a win for Kerry -- a reaction sparked by the bitter split between Washington and Paris over the Iraq war.
Throughout the US presidential campaign, Chirac refrained from voicing a preference for either Bush or Kerry.
Despite the simmering transatlantic tensions, the Elysee insisted that Paris and Washington never broke off contact, and that the personal relationship between Chirac and Bush remained in working order.
11/03/2004 19:32 GMT - AFP