Tsarkozy Marginalizes His Prime Minister
THE GUARDIAN: · Five-year programme seen as president's
· Fears of one-man rule sidelining parliament
The French prime minister, François Fillon, yesterday set out to answer the critics accusing him of acting as the puppet to the president, Nicolas Sarkozy, by outlining his roadmap for the nation.

Mr Fillon has been so overshadowed by Mr Sarkozy's omnipresent style that he has been dubbed "mini-me", someone happy to jog alongside the president for the cameras on morning runs, then step back into the shadows.

In a lengthy speech to parliament yesterday he set out five years of reforms to create a "new economy" and stem France's public debt. He promised to cut unemployment to 5% in five years, and to reform labour laws and overhaul France's struggling universities. But the symbolic address simply outlined Mr Sarkozy's programme, confirming Mr Fillon as a loyal lieutenant. "The president is the initiator, I'm the agent," he said.

Mr Fillon's speech came amid warnings from opposition politicians and the media that the "hyper-presidential" style of Mr Sarkozy, nicknamed "Tsarkozy" or "Emperor Sarko I", threatened to emasculate the prime minister's job, reducing it to a vice-presidential role. Emperor Sarko leaves PM to be just a messenger (more) By Angelique Chrisafis

Mark Alexander