Outgoing Sarkozy's cabinet holds its last session

Meanwhile, president-elect Francois Hollande held talks with top Socialists to gear up for next months parliamentary vote.Hollande also held consultations on forming a government and preparing for his first foreign visit to Berlin, where he is expected to get a frosty reception over his plans to renegotiate the European fiscal austerity pact.Hollande, who defeated Sarkozy on Sunday, met with senior party officials at his campaign headquarters as he prepared to take office formally on May 15.Heading into the meeting, the officials said talks were focused on securing the Socialists a majority in the two-round parliamentary vote on June 10 and 17.We are closing one period and opening another, that of the parliamentary elections, party leader Martine Aubry told journalists. It is important not to slacken our efforts.Winning a majority of seats in June will be crucial for the Socialists as the president requires a parliamentary majority to maintain a government -- otherwise the prime minister is in charge of the executive.Sarkozy meanwhile was meeting with ministers for his governments last session, where Prime Minister Francois Fillon was expected to take stock of the right-wingers five-year term.Hollandes transition chief Pierre Moscovici said the handover was going smoothly and praised Sarkozy for helping things along.Sarkozy ran a tough campaign, but he has chosen to make a dignified exit, Moscovici told Europe 1 radio. The handover is taking place under easy conditions.Sarkozy indicated on Sunday that he was retiring from frontline politics.His communications advisor Franck Louvrier said Sarkozy was preparing to return to his former life as a lawyer at the Paris firm he still partly owns, after taking a break with his wife Carla Bruni and their baby daughter.Hollande is facing a packed international agenda after his inauguration and pressure was already building on the Socialist to stand by Frances austerity commitments.German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made clear she will not renegotiate the fiscal pact setting tough budgetary rules for EU states, which she spearheaded along with Sarkozy.In a letter to Hollande on Tuesday she said she welcomed talks with the Socialist but that Europe was counting on France and Germany to take the necessary decisions to resolve the blocs debt crisis.