NICOLAS SARKOZY prepared the ground for his entry into the presidential election campaign last night by announcing measures to create more jobs, ease the housing crisis and make France more competitive.
In a prime-time television interview broadcast on eight channels, the French president also confirmed France would “give an example” to Europe by introducing a 0.1 per cent financial transaction tax from August.
In a unpopular move that had been resisted by some in his own UMP party, however, Mr Sarkozy said value-added tax on goods and services would rise by 1.6 per cent to 21.2 per cent from October onwards.
With French unemployment at a 12-year high and economic growth at a standstill, the economy is set to be the major focus of the election campaign this spring. Opinion polls show the Socialist Party’s candidate François Hollande has a strong lead over Mr Sarkozy with three months to go before the first round of voting in late April, with the National Front leader Marine Le Pen closing the gap in third place.
In last night’s interview, Mr Sarkozy said new laws would be drafted to force big firms to take on more trainees and apprentices, to allow homeowners extend their houses and to create a public investment bank to lend money to small businesses and start-ups.
The president’s move came a week after Mr Hollande described the world of finance as “my biggest adversary”. The socialist pledged in his manifesto to increase spending in education and bring the deficit under control by shifting more of the tax burden on to banks and large companies.
An Ifop poll published yesterday in Le Journal du Dimancheindicated voters considered Mr Hollande the best candidate to tackle unemployment and debt reduction – two areas where Mr Sarkozy has traditionally performed comparatively well in polls.
Forty-six per cent of voters said they had more confidence in Mr Hollande to fight unemployment, versus 22 per cent for Mr Sarkozy. Some 34 per cent chose the socialist as the candidate to best handle the public debt, versus 32 per cent for the incumbent.
Mr Sarkozy has yet to declare as a candidate for re-election, and the opposition accuse him of delaying as long as possible so he can campaign at the state’s expense.
Last night he reiterated that he would announce his decision before the deadline for nominations in early March.
Confirming the open secret of Mr Sarkozy’s candidacy, however, it was revealed that German chancellor Angela Merkel will “actively support” her French counterpart during his election campaign in the spring.
A spokesman for Dr Merkel’s Christian Democrat Party, a conservative sister party of Mr Sarkozy’s UMP, said she was planning to make joint campaign appearances with Mr Sarkozy ahead of the two-round election on April 22nd and May 6th.