The same said however that the decision is not taken

The pressure will rise and it is Jacques Chirac who exercise it on Nicolas Sarkozy. Since that he began on 31 December evening series of vows, the President of the Republic insists: he wants an Executive "at work" to the end, that does not have diverted from its task by the presidential campaign and claims its balance sheet. Yesterday, in response to the wishes of the Government, the head of State said his thinking. Asking each Minister "a total mobilization in the service of our fellow citizens", he set a "clear principle" with regard to the campaign: "this commitment in the electoral debate cannot be exercised at the expense of your governmental mission.".

No starting date

The note was directed, primarily, to the President of the UMP, which on November 30, has promised that he "would not Minister at the time of the presidential election", without to date his departure from the Government. Among the sarkozystes views. There are those who incite their champion from quickly, as soon as the Congress of the UMP on 14 January. At that time, the Director of Office of the Minister, Claude Guéant, will leave the Place Beauvau for campaign HQ. They feel that Nicolas Sarkozy should not "keep her clothes of Minister of the Interior" too long to take the time "to immerse yourself in the population" like the fact already Ségolène Royal and to soften his image. A fast start is a member of the first circle "clearly contemplated." The same said however that the decision is not taken. As with other relatives of the Minister rely instead on polls showing that the action of Nicolas Sarkozy Place Beauvau is appreciated to wish that remains in position at least until the end of the parliamentary session on February 23.

A review of the action in March

The right arm of the President of the UMP, Brice Hortefeux, is working, he, to relativize the debate. "We are in the 21st century, not in the second half of the 19th, when the Ministers of the Interior and the prefects organized entries and identified the winners", he said on RTL yesterday morning. Speaking a few hours before the statements by the President of the Republic, the Minister delegated to local communities has the possibility of prolonged overlapping of the functions of Minister and candidate in advance, defended: "everything is question of capacity and Nicolas Sarkozy has widely."

If it exerts pressure, Jacques Chirac does not extend to the ultimatum, as it had done in 2004, requiring Nicolas Sarkozy to choose between the Government and the Presidency of the UMP. Yesterday, the head of State preferred to challenge once again the theme of "break" by launching this Board: "in a time where, by the force of things, the cartoon could win on the reason and the temptation of the"Tabula Rasa"on respect for the work done, know claim and bring high your action! Believing that "the bulk of the decrees for the application of the laws passed since 2002 must be taken", Jacques Chirac announced that "one of the Councils of Ministers of March" would be devoted to the balance sheet, Department by Department.

In the late afternoon, while he was receiving the wishes of the Constitutional Council, the head of State warned "those who would like to dismantle the legacy" of the Fifth Republic: "we must seek in the mirages of institutional adventure a misleading outlet to the difficulties of the country." Warning, this time, could apply to the many presidential candidates wishing to reform the institutions.