The man the French call the "hyper-president" has just gone into warp speed in his drive to change the country. Since he was elected in May, Nicolas Sarkozy has been barreling ahead on his plan to reinvent practically every aspect of French society, including the employment sector. After spending the previous two days courting union leaders, he took time last Monday to muse about a French architectural renaissance. Then, on Tuesday, he picked his first fight, with the unionized workers of the public sector. On Wednesday, he was out to slash civil service jobs, and by Thursday there was more talk of social reform and three television appearances to pitch it.
See "Sarkozy ready to battle the workers", Geraldine Baum, Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2007