Loeb shows off the first trophy of the new season

The Frenchman had led from the start in his Citroen to continue his impressive form from last season.

Loeb beat Ford's Toni Gardemeister, who recorded a career-best result after Finnish compatriot Marcus Gronholm crashed but was able to continue.

Frenchman Gilles Panizzi, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer, was third.

Petter Solberg, who started the day in fourth place, continued his poor run of form in Monte Carlo by crashing out in the morning.

The Norwegian went off on the infamous Col de Turini, where spectators had thrown fresh snow on to the road following a rally tradition.

Gronholm had come to grief in the same spot. The Finn's crash left Loeb over two minutes clear of the field and he safely negotiated the rest of the course to win.

"This was the perfect rally for us," Loeb said after the victory.

My confidence with the Focus has increased with every kilometre Toni Gardemeister

"Very much like last year. It was a very tricky event - lots of drivers made mistakes, but fortunately we didn't and it is very motivating to start the year with 10 points."

Markko Martin's Peugeot debut was an unspectacular one and he coasted home in fourth, one place ahead of Gronholm.

Gronholm incurred a five-minute penalty for missing stage 13 under new rules for this season, but his mechanics did a superb job to fix the damage on his Peugeot and enable the two-time champion to return to the fray and claim fifth.

Manfred Stohl was sixth in the Citroen while Harri Rovanpera finished seventh in a Mitsubishi, just ahead of Roman Kresta.

Second-placed Gardemeister said: "I'm so, so happy.

"It is a great result for us and to achieve it so early in the season makes it even better.

"My confidence with the Focus has increased with every kilometre and this result has been achieved without making a single mistake.

"For me the car is very stable and is very easy to handle and drive and it's is very well for my style."

Monte Carlo Rally final standings:
1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen 4:13:05.6
2. Toni Gardemeister (Finland) Ford 2:58.3 behind
3. Gilles Panizzi (Italy) Mitsubishi 3:40.1
4. Markko Martin (Estonia) Peugeot 5:27.7
5. Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot 7:33.8
6. Manfred Stohl (Austria) Citroen 8:08.9
7. Harri Rovanpera (Finland) Mitsubishi 8:29.3
8. Roman Kresta (Czech Rep.) Ford 9:18.1
9. Alex Bengue (France) Skoda 10:32.0
10. Antony Warmbold (Germany) Ford 15:09.1