Chirac set to complete new government
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-01 18:22

PARIS - French President Jacques Chirac was expected to complete his new government on Wednesday after a shake-up forced on him by voters who snubbed the EU constitution in a poll widely seen as a rejection of his policies.

Chirac named trusted ally Dominique de Villepin as prime minister on Tuesday and brought in likely presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy as number two in the cabinet to try to appease voters angry at high unemployment and failed economic policies.

Presidency sources said the final government line-up was likely to be announced on Wednesday or Thursday, and the new cabinet's first meeting would be on Friday morning.

Chirac said in a nationwide address on Tuesday evening that French people needed to rally together at a difficult time after Sunday's referendum and the government's priority would be tackling unemployment, now at a five-year high of 10.2 percent.

He vowed to preserve the French social model and rejected doing things the "Anglo-Saxon" way -- a dismissal of the free-market economic systems of Britain and the United States which came under fire during the referendum campaign.

"The vote (on the EU constitution) is not a rejection of the European ideal. It is a call to listen, a call to action, a call for results," he said of the referendum, which was widely seen as a thumbs down for the government's economic record.

France's snub of the EU charter, intended to ensure the enlarged bloc runs smoothly, plunged France and the whole of the 25-nation Union into crisis.

French media said Michel Barnier was likely to be removed as foreign minister, perhaps losing his post to Philippe Douste-Blazy, until now health minister.

Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Finance Minister Thierry Breton were expected to retain their posts, although Alliot-Marie might also be a candidate for foreign minister.

DYNAMIC DUO?

Chirac did not say what role Sarkozy would have although he named him minister of state. He was expected to run the Interior Ministry -- the job he held before he became finance minister 14 months ago and Villepin took over as interior minister.

Chirac forced Sarkozy, 50, to chose between keeping his post as finance minister last November or taking over leadership of his ruling center-right party. Sarkozy opted for the party job because he saw it as a launchpad for a bid for the presidency.

"Villepin has not said what policies he will adopt but was due to give an interview to commercial television channel TF1 on Wednesday evening."

The appointment of Villepin, 51, and Sarkozy received a mixed reception from the opposition and media, which asked the question -- can the new tandem turn the economy around two years before the next presidential and parliamentary elections?

For many people, the answer was "No."

"A major new plan for jobs is announced almost every year but all this has failed," said Francois Hollande, head of the opposition Socialist Party. "We have a president at the end of his reign."

Francois Bayrou, head of the small center-right UDF party, refused to join the government because he thought Chirac was offering nothing new.

"Having seen Sunday's vote and given the seriousness of what happened, I asked myself could the solutions proposed work? And my reply was extremely skeptical," he said.

The head of the main French business federation, Medef, said the key task was to create jobs but also said France should make changes to its 35-hour working week to improve productivity.

Medef chief Ernest-Antoine Seilliere said his group would judge the government by its acts.

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