Ambitious French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday used the defeat of the government's controversial youth employment law to position himself as the hope for French reform and for next year's presidential elections.
Sarkozy was presented in the French media on Tuesday as the only survivor of the political "shipwreck" after President Jacques Chirac caved in to street protests and scrapped a new youth employment law.
The president's move handed a victory to France's trade unions and was a blow to Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Chirac's preferred presidential successor.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Sarkozy vowed to stick to his potential presidential slogan: the need for la rupture -- a "clean break" with France's economic and social model -- by introducing sweeping reforms to bring the country into line with the global market place.
"Rupture is now more needed than ever," he told Le Figaro.
Asked by Europe 1 radio whether the millions who took to the streets in protest at the government's controversial measure to combat unemployment showed that France was impossible to reform, he said: "I don't think the French refuse reforms. The French accept change but want to be assured that it is fair. They found these proposals unfair."
His interviews were the latest in a string of media appearances designed to present himself to the electorate before the center-right UMP party chooses its candidate next January.
Far from the violence ravaging Haiti, a market on the border with the Dominican Republic has maintained a welcome degree of normal everyday life. At the Dajabon border gate, a wave of Haitians press forward, eager to shop at the twice-weekly market about 200km from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They are drawn by the market’s offerings — food, clothing, toys and even used appliances — items not always readily available in Haiti. However, with gang violence bad and growing ever worse in Haiti, the Dominican government has reinforced the usual military presence at the border and placed soldiers on alert. While the market continues to
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